Ladakh - 3

Leh as I said is like a hill station at 3500 meters. It is open to tourists only for couple of months a year.It is a lazy town, everyone walks at a snail's pace, shops open towards the afternoon and close again in a few hours for a siesta. It is strewn with German cafe's,Tibetan restaurants,rows upon rows of shops selling jewelry and souvenirs,Tibetan open markets,Kashmiri stores selling carpets that are priced in lakhs.We started our tour in Leh on a very informative note. We saw this documentary on Ladakh and its culture, the changes that the land and people were going through under the influence of tourism.The dominating religions there are Buddhism and Islam. Ladakhi's are very friendly,laid back yet very very hard working people. There is a look of serenity on all their faces. I never saw an unhappy child in those 5 days I spent there.They looked like cherubs with rosy cheeks. The Ladakhi have such enviable happy wizened faces.

Arriving at Leh is like suddenly entering an oasis after hours of travel through never-never land. The greenery and sudden burst of life splashed amidst the barren desert is a quenching and refreshing sight. The roads are narrow and lined by ancient houses made of mud and bricks. Strewn all over are Stupas and colorful Gompas. Stupas are globus structures which represent the basic principle of Buddism, i.e. interdependence of everything to everything else and the harmony that exsists between them.
Gompas are monasteries.

The shanti stupa meaning world peace in Japanese was inaugarated by the Dalai lama in 1985. It stands on top of Changspa overlooking a panoramic veiw of distant snow capped mountains cosseting an indolent,ancient town.

Hemis Monastery is one of the richest, biggest and most famous gompa in Ladakh.The monastery houses silver chortens studded with precious and semi precious stones, an impressive library of Tibetan style books, large number of thankas, various images of Buddha and frescoes including the famous "Wheel of Life".To me the monastery signified silence and comfort.

Thiksey is an imposing monastery and one of the finest example of Ladakhi architecture. It contains numerous stupas, statues, wall paintings, swords and a large pillar engraved with the Buddha's teachings. The main prayer hall has a 15 mt high seated Buddha figure.It was getting hotter as the afternoon wore on. Th silence in this monastery was so strong ,it started to ring in my ears. All of us were feeling sleepy and having climbed several steps to get there, we all settled in one tired heap in front of the huge Buddha.One of the monks was sitting reading his scriptures.The windows behind him were open and I just couldn't imagine a more beautiful place for a monastery to be. The tall Buddha seemed to be overlooking all those bare mountains reaching far upto the horizon.

Pangong lake(14000+ft).....This lake had every shade of blue, violet, green and purples I had ever seen.Beyond this point words fail me so I shall let the pictures speak for themselves.

Then there was the cultural show we saw on our last day in Leh. I was really wondering why on earth their dances were so slow until I joined in and realised...at that altitude and with those heavy torquoise studded costumes moving a couple of steps in snychrony is a big feat.

11 days,14 friends, 1 unimaginably great trip.So many memories and momets flit by me.To end this I would really want to come up with some famous last lines but in all honesty the only thing that makes perfect sense and is the truth is......'Some experiences in life are too big or too complex that it just cannot be expressed by words or contained by even the choicest of adjectives.'