Oct 8, 2009 - Srinigar to Jammu

Ten hour road trip from Srinigar (Dal Lake in Kashmir) to Jammu so that I could catch a train to Delhi and on towards the border with Nepal. ... Nice road surface but horrendous traffic - including goats.Ten hour road trip from Srinigar (Dal Lake in Kashmir) to Jammu so that I could catch a train to Delhi and on towards the border with Nepal. ... Nice road surface but horrendous traffic - including goats....

Oct 7, 2009 - Morning Vegetable Market, Dal Lake

I got up at 4:30 a.I got up at 4:30 a....

Oct 4, 2009 - Leh to Srinigar

Leh to Srinigar in a shared minivan.Leh to Srinigar in a shared minivan....

Oct 3, 2009 - Nubra Valley

The attached photos show a two day visit to the Nubra Valley.The attached photos show a two day visit to the Nubra Valley....

Sep 30, 2009 - Pangong Tso Lake - Border with Tibet

Pangong-Tso lake is on the north east border of India with Tibet.Pangong-Tso lake is on the north east border of India with Tibet....

Sep 29, 2009 - Leh Monastery Tour

Today I visited six monasteries in the Ladakh region surrounding Leh.Today I visited six monasteries in the Ladakh region surrounding Leh....

Sep 28, 2009 - Leh - Rawan Hindu Religeous Festival at the Polo Ground

The attached photos show a Hindu religeous festival at the Leh Polo Ground. ... The festival is Rawan, and although I need to do some research you can see from the photos that the large men (and a house) are basically being offered up by fire.The attached photos show a Hindu religeous festival at the Leh Polo Ground. ... The festival is Rawan, and although I need to do some research you can see from the photos that the large men (and a house) are basically being offered up by fire....

Sep 27, 2009 - Manali to Leh

Today I passed through the Himalayas. The route I took today was from Menali to Leh, a distance of 450 kilometers over 16 hours. ... At Taglangla Pass we reached the second highest mountain pass in the world - 17,582 feet or 5,328 meters (the highest pass is close to Leh and I’ll be doing that in a few days). ... At this altitude I had an almost out of body experience – you feel light headed, breathing is more difficult, initially your body shakes a bit like after you’ve had extreme physical exertion.Today I passed through the Himalayas. The route I took today was from Menali to Leh, a distance of 450 kilometers over 16 hours. ... At Taglangla Pass we reached the second highest mountain pass in the world - 17,582 feet or 5,328 meters (the highest pass is close to Leh and I’ll be doing that in a few days). ... At this altitude I had an almost out of body experience – you feel light headed, breathing is more difficult, initially your body shakes a bit like after you’ve had extreme physical exertion....

Aug 19, 2009 - No Power Stinks!

But a nice thing about Leh is how trusting and friendly the people are! The other day I wanted to buy this ring, but didn't have enough money so I told the man to hold it for me and I'd come back later. ... In other news we found out today that the Dalai Lama is in town! He is "delivering teachings in Zanskar and Leh". ... We have been busy touring aroubd Leh and some surrounding towns the past two days. ... Yesterday we hiked to the Leh Palace, which looks exactly like what you'd expect a 17th century mud building to look like. ... We accepted, and ended up spending the rest of the day sight-seeing with them around Leh, and then shared a taxi with Miquel (the one from Spain) today to go visit the neighbouring towns. ...

Aug 17, 2009 - Our Zen Experience

So today was day 3 up here in Leh and I think we're both starting to get acclimatized. ... On the first day we couldn't even do 10 stairs without being winded and today we did over 500 to climb up to this Buddhist peace pagoda thing above town called the Shanti Stupa.So today was day 3 up here in Leh and I think we're both starting to get acclimatized. ... On the first day we couldn't even do 10 stairs without being winded and today we did over 500 to climb up to this Buddhist peace pagoda thing above town called the Shanti Stupa....

Aug 15, 2009 - Happy Indian Independence Day!

Happy Indian Independence Day! We arrived in Leh earlier this morning - and boy the Himalayas are beautiful! We've rented a room in a guesthouse here for 300 Rs (about $3 each per night), and the view is incredible! We can see the mountains right out of our window (pictures to come soon)! Leh is about 12,000 ft. ... Leh is also a tourist/vacation town, so it's really quiet and feels really safe. ... We've finally found other tourists (in Delhi we were beginning to think we were the only tourists here!), so hopefully we'll meet some other interesting travellers.Happy Indian Independence Day! We arrived in Leh earlier this morning - and boy the Himalayas are beautiful! We've rented a room in a guesthouse here for 300 Rs (about $3 each per night), and the view is incredible! We can see the mountains right out of our window (pictures to come soon)! Leh is about 12,000 ft. ... Leh is also a tourist/vacation town, so it's really quiet and feels really safe. ... We've finally found other tourists (in Delhi we were beginning to think we were the only tourists here!), so hopefully we'll meet some other interesting travellers....

Aug 13, 2009 - Khardung La

Up early (4am) to the call of the Muezzin chanting from a nearby minaret. Half a dozen of our group of cyclists left at 09:30am to do Khardung La, which is The Highest motorable pass in the world! I opted to ride in the vehicle to the checkpoint at 25kms - we got there in the jeep almost the same time as the riders did. ... Had permits in tow.Up early (4am) to the call of the Muezzin chanting from a nearby minaret. Half a dozen of our group of cyclists left at 09:30am to do Khardung La, which is The Highest motorable pass in the world! I opted to ride in the vehicle to the checkpoint at 25kms - we got there in the jeep almost the same time as the riders did. ... Had permits in tow....