Life in Ladakh

I have already been in India for three and a half weeks and it has just flown by. We have done so much and it has been TONS of fun! I love it here! So without further adieu... India from June 21st- the Present.

JUNE 21st- Monday

• Quite a lazy day. Nicole and I went into town to a nice coffee shop and read, did devotions, and just hung out. So nice to have some GOOD coffee drinks again!
  
• That night, Nicole, Chris, one of their friends (Steve) and I packed and made some supper. A GREAT day!

JUNE 22nd- Tuesday

• Finished packing and figured out travel details. We finally were ready to leave for Ladakh and when the taxi came it was NOT big enough for all of our luggage so we had to wait for another taxi to come.
  
• When we got to Dehra Dun, we got on the train with ALL of our luggage. We had 2 huge backpacks, 3 trunks, and 3 smaller backpacks. The train was stopped for 1 1/2 hours because a tree fell on the tracks during a huge storm.
  
• We got to Delhi at 12:30 that night, had a complicated time getting a taxi, and finally got to the hotel to get 1 1/2 hours of sleep.
  

JUNE 23rd- Wednesday

• We got up at 3:45 and left for the airport. We got FIRST CLASS in the airplane without even paying any more... SWEET DEAL!!! The view from the windows was amazing as we flew over the Himalayan Mountains.

Some pictures from the plane.

• Leh, Ladakh was BEAUTIFUL and very clean. The hotel had a cute little veranda where we sat and read while surrounded by the mountains. How Perfect?!?
  
• We met with our guide, Rinchen, for the first time and went over our trek plan
  
• That night we went into town and had Pizza at Il Forno with our whole trekking group.
  

JUNE 24th- Thursday

• I stayed at the hotel because I didn't feel the best, but the rest of the group went to a bunch of monasteries and a high pass. I just laid around, read, and did a bit of shopping. WONDERFUL!
• That night we went into town and ate at a Tibetan restaurant. Ladakh is a place where a bunch of Tibetan refugees live and so the culture is a bit different than other areas of India and so fun to see!

The view of the town from the restaurant.

The restaurant.

JUNE 25th- Friday

• Nicole and I went to three monasteries with 2 women that we met on the plane, Becky and Malia Burns. The monasteries were Stok, Shey and Thiksey. We learned quite a bit about Buddhism and had a great time with Becky and Malia.

 A sweet bridge covered in prayer flags on our way to the monasteries.

• We got back to the hotel around 1:00 and got ready for the trek a bit. Then we went into town and bought some sweet presents for people.
• Then we met the rest of the group on a rooftop restaurant, had dinner, and headed home.

JUNE 26th- Saturday- day 1

Day 1 Picture!

• Woke up early and left at 8:00 for our trek with Rinchen. We were served chai after a short drive by some cute women in a 'tea tent'. 

 Our shirts were the colors of a stoplight

• Started our trek at Spituk by walking through a big desert. We were very energetic and played games and talked a lot. We entered the Zingchen Valley and followed the Rumbak River into the Indus River.

 The first group picture... on our way!

• We got to the camp group at Zingchen around 1:00 and read and slept next to a cute mountain stream.
  
• We were served to the MAX on the trek. We had 1 guide, 2 cooks, 2 pony men, 1 helper, and 11 ponies. They set up the tents everyday and made us LUXURY food each night.

• We also played spoons with our guide, Rinchen, and cook, Mingmar. This was HILARIOUS since they had never played it before.

JUNE 27th- Sunday- day 2

Day 2 Picture- Going #2 was a little difficult at times

• We were woken up by chai and hot water, served at our tent each day. Then we had breakfast, which included another cup of chai and set off.
• Nan, one of the girls on the trek with us, didn't feel very good this day so it was a slow day.
  
• Nicole and I went ahead of the group at one point but missed a bridge to cross the river and tried to get across without getting wet, but this didn't work so well. We had to go back and cross the bridge.

• We had some good talks this day even though it was slow and kind of hard. We entered Hemis National Park this day and stayed at Yurutse campsite. It was in a beautiful

JUNE 28th- Monday- day 3

Day 3 Picture- We had three tents for our sleeping!

• Nan rode a pony today because it was a hard day and she still wasn't feeling the best, so our whole group of 6 was incomplete sadly.
• We climbed up 3,000 feet right away and I started getting sick and light headed. But Nicole was a great nurse and took care of me. We set small goals the rest of the day and saw marmots, cows, yaks, and zo. We finally got to the mountain pass of 16,076 feet and felt great. It was marked by a chorten and prayer flags! An amazing welcome sign!

  

• Nan joined us at the pass and continued on with us on our descent. We stopped awhile later by a beautiful mountain stream and took an hour nap! Just what was needed.

• That night we stayed Yurutse campsite and saw a baby yak being chased by a dog. Cute huh?!?
  
• Nicole, Chris, and I had a giggle fest that night while confessing elementary school year rebellions along with other funny stories.

JUNE 29th- Tuesday - day 4

Day 4 Picture- We were served Chai 4 times EVERY DAY!

• This was our favorite day of hiking as we went back and forth over creaks and between boulders and trees. There were beautiful purple and green strips of rock within the mountains.
  
• We stopped at Skiu monastery and ate at a tea tent with an old man who was making bracelets over a fire. It was so neat.

• Stayed at Himanagra campsite this night and played silent football with Rinchen and Mingmar. Oh my goodness is this fun!!!

JUNE 30th- Wednesday- day 5

Day 5 Picture- We did some yoga on the trip and this one had 5 points

• This day was SO LONG! We walked a lot and it was very hot.
  
• We stopped in a field for lunch and an old lady came up and just pulled a bunch of lamb meat out of her bag. It was quiet awesome.

• We crossed some big rivers this day with the help of our 2 cooks and guide. They were very cold and we were sure glad for the added help this day.

• By the end of the walk, we were almost delirious and shouting/singing BINGO at the top of our lungs. Oh my!
  
• We stayed at Hankar this night. I got sick this night with a bad head cold and 'Dr' Mingmar made me some ginger lemon honey mint tea to fix me up and 'Nurse' Nicole read to me while tucking me into bed.

JULY 1st- Thursday- day 6

Day 6 Picture- Our coats were all 6 of the colors of the rainbow

• This day was kind of cold and rainy at first but got warmer as the day went on. I rode a pony this day to try to finish recovering from my cold. The rest of the group had a shorter, but not less-intense day with steep climbs and small mountain paths.

• This night our cooks surprised us with an amazing soup and PIZZA... some of the best we have ever had by the way!
  
• We all bundled up this night at our campsite Nimaling which was at 15,091 feet. We were right next to the Kang Yatse Peak of 20,177 feet... an INCREDIBLE view. It was a very cold night, but luckily we were given water bottles with hot water inside to keep us warm.
  

JULY 2nd- Friday- day 7

Day 7 Picture- All 7 of us on the top of the mountain

• We started UP right away in the morning and climbed to the Kongmaru La Pass of 17,060 feet. This was done with the wonderful skill of 'zig-zaggin.' From the top we had a great view of the Indus Valley and Ladakh range.

• After a 3o minute rest, we started the steep descent and entered the Shang Gorge which had some of the coolest rock formations I have ever seen. There were beautiful waterfalls, colored rock, and interesting terrain. The walk was a bit scary though since the path was only about a foot wide with a 30 foot drop on one side of us. But we got through safely.

AND HERE ARE OUR 'FINAL' PICTURE

Chris

Amy

Nicole

Nan

Laura

Marie

• We ended this day at Lhartsa campsite. We were all wiped and quite ready for a hot shower and clean clothes. Our cooks made us a fun little cake that said 'Happy Markha Trek' on the top. We thanked all of the staff and went to bed.

JULY 3rd- Saturday- day 8

Day 8 Picture- Back at the hotel!

• We woke up at 8:15 and were in the car by 9:00 on our way back to Leh, Ladakh. We stopped by the Hemis monastery, one of the biggest in the area, and then went the rest of the way back to the hotel.

• Once back at the hotel, we said goodbye to Rinchen and then unpacked, showered, and slept.
  
• That night we went out to eat again and checked our email quickly.
  

JULY 4th- Sunday

• SO THIS DAY... NICOLE AND I RODE CAMELS!!! and was it ever fun! They are actually really strange looking animals, almost as if they came from a sci-fi movie.
  
• Nicole's was a bit grumpy and sat down in the middle of walking once. :) And after 15 minutes we had worn them out... well our butts were already worn out too... so we took a quick break and then kept going. We rode for about 30-40 minutes which included a taxi stopping, a man getting out and running up to us, then taking our picture with a bright pink camera. What a scene.

• That night we played cards and had dinner at the hotel to celebrate the Forth of July!
  
• Then we packed and got all ready for our travels of the next day.

JULY 5th- Monday

• We got up early and flew from Leh to Delhi with no problems.
  
• Then we went to the train station and sat in the air-conditioned International Travel room for about 2 hours since our trains were delayed. Chris finally left to go back to Mussoorie on his train, but since Nicole and I were going to Amritsar we had to wait for our delayed train. And we waited and then waited and then waited again. Finally we went down to the non-air-conditioned train platform where our train, originally scheduled for 2:05 p.m. didn't leave until 9:00 p.m. But we were finally on our way to Amritsar.
   

So that was our travels in Leh and the rest is still to come!