communication errors cause stomach ulcers in the Himalayas

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Well, we hired a jeep (how very Augusta road!) and driver for the next part of our journey across the greater Himalayas and across the boarder into the unknown and amazingly beautiful country/region/no mans land of Kashmir/Ladakh/Leh----who knows quite where you describe it but im sure going to do lots of reading when im home about this region.........Anyhow, this was stunning and took us two days..... at one point- Talang La, we reached over 5060m (the worlds second highest road pass).Round and round and down and round the mountains....the land change was incredible to witness. We were driving all day everyday and my jaw was just at my knees the whole way.......im utterly wordless about what i saw.....We met an Indian Scientist at the village we stayed in over one night who is studying the glaciers in that region- the Himalayas are the worlds oldest mountain range and are the fastest growing but they are also the most affected by global warming and without the glaciers the very beautiful valley we camped out in will sadly soon be no longer! ...... meanwhile back in our environmentally friendly car (not) our driver was a little gem, only he scared us so much when we thought we had stumbled across a 'Shooting Mob' in the mountains!...after i despirately tried to get out of him who, what , why , where ?????? !!!!!!we then realised that the screams we heard up ahead and the crowd were infact 'Shooting a Movie'...gooooood one! Rachel was poised to phone home and give her goodbyes.

Leh is a beautiful town , very dreamy and welcoming.....maybe the most beautiful town ive ever had the pleasure of dreaming in.........i met lots of people who said some very inviting things about the beauty of Kashmir........im regretting having so little time to explore. xxx

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Photos

a long way from westway now
Talang La