Moved to Leh

Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007--Srinagar to Leh

Last night, I went to a Punjabi restaurant and had mixed vegetables with rice. It was delicious--a mixture of various vegetables in a nice sauce. Then I stopped to say good-bye to Juneed and his father at their hotel. I got to my hotel about 8:30, packed, and went to bed by 9:30 so that I could get adequate sleep before getting up at 4:00.

Today is Independence Day in India. That means it is a sensitive day in Kashmir, since the Kashmiri people resent the presence of the military and wish they were independent from India themselves. Even though there is normally a big military presence here, today security is tighter. Added to that is a strike to indicate that Kashmiri people resent being a part of India. Shops will be closed and cars will stay off the road. That's why I had to get up at 4:00. Walking was the only choice I had to assure that I would be at the airport in time for my flight.

I left the hotel at 4:30. I had already paid the afternoon before. Immediately, I was stopped at the first corner by the military. On the way to the airport (15 km or 9 miles), I was stopped at least 8 times to be questioned. Two of the times, they made me open my suitcase and my backpack for them to check what was inside. All of that created delays. But I still arrived at the airport at 6:45--15 minutes before the gates were opened to admit people for the day.

The security there was unbelievable. There was a military station at the gate where the luggage was x-rayed and we were patted down. They made me take my battery out of my camera and transfer it to my checked luggage bag. Then there were the same x-ray and pat-down procedures at the airport terminal entrance and again to enter the gate area. Even at the gate area, we had to go outside and match our luggage with our tags they gave us at check-in, and only the bags that were matched that way were loaded onto the plane. We departed at 9:00--30 minutes later than scheduled.

I met Thierry, a French Jew, in the terminal. We visited while having coffee and tea that the airline provided. Then we visited again at the gate area. He's an orthodontist from Paris. He was commenting about the security. He was comparing how unorganized it was when compared to the level of security and its efficiency that El Al, the Israeli airline, has.

The flight into Leh was dramatic. We came down below the clouds and suddenly there were mountaintops just beyond our wings on each side of us. We were flying through a valley with the Himalayas around us. They are dry, brown mountains as compared to the green ones in Kashmir. And they are much higher with lots of snow on top of them.

Thierry and I met up again at luggage claim and decided to share a taxi into town. Then we went walking to find a room. There are far more tourists here than any place I have visited recently. Finding a room became a problem. And it was made worse by the fact that Thierry wanted to stop and have a drink at a cafe before looking. By the time we went to the place that was our first choice, it was full. Then we started checking places along the way and found that they were either full or too dark and dirty. He eventually took a room that he found acceptable and I went off on my own at a faster pace and into areas with less traffic to find a room. I finally settled on one that was nice enough that I could accept it. Then I went looking further and founded a nicer place at half the price. The lady said she would keep the room for me until tomorrow.

The tourists here come in all kinds. There are lots of younger people. There are many Israeli travelers. There are quite a few families. And I keep seeing a number of people my age--traveling independently and as couples. A lot of them are having trouble with the altitude (3505 meters which is about 11,500 feet). Some Israelis that Thierry met at the cafe said they had suffered headaches and nosebleeds for a couple of days. I saw one guy with his nose bandaged because of bleeding, I guess.

The town is dramatic with an old palace similar to the one in Lhasa in Tibet on top of a mountain in the center of town. The buildings are made from mud bricks. It's very dry. Everything is brown and dusty except the leaves on the trees and the flowers in the courtyards of the hotels. Being here reminds me a little of being in Siwa in Egypt. And Thierry compared it to a place in the Sinai.

I wandered the streets exploring. I found a wonderful place to have a lassi (fruit drink made from yogurt). I got sawbuck thorn juice in mine. They also have apricot juice. There, I met an interesting person who has gone native. There are quite a few people like that here. This lady, about 45, has taken a Buddhist name and has been in India for 7 years and Leh for a month. She introduced me to her boyfriend, about 25, who was dressed in native woolens, had a shaved head, and also had a Buddhist name. Many of the local people moved here from Tibet, so they look more like Tibetans than like Indians.

I ate early. I had a special local soup with fried egg, mushrooms, vegies, noodles, etc. I also had a plate of vegetable momos (dumplings) and a fresh lemon drink. Then I went to bed and slept well.

Thursday, Aug. 16, 2007--Leh

I took a nice hot shower this morning. Here in the mountains it is hot in the daytime and cool at night. Then I moved to my new guesthouse--the Rainbow guesthouse. I really like the woman who runs it. And she has the sweetest young son who seems to like to show me things and touch my arm. He's probably 3 years old.

I finished reading The Master by Colm Toibin (2 1/2 stars out of 4) this morning. It is a fictionalized novel built around the life of Henry James. I found too much of it to leave me "outside" the story. I didn't feel drawn in or particularly interested in it for at least 1/3 of the novel.

I walked the city streets again in the late morning. I stopped at the Penguin Restaurant and had a western breakfast. It had scrambled eggs; wonderful hashbrowns that were in big chunks and fried with garlic, onion, and green pepper; a big toasted, homemade roll; jam; and a glass of hot tea. It was delicious and filling.

After resting another two hours and reading at the guesthouse, I went back into town and bought a piece of carrot cake at one of the many German bakeries here. I took it back to my lassi shop and had an apricot lassi to go with it. I got my water bottle refilled there, too, with water that has been boiled under pressure; it saves on the environment by recycling plastic that way here.

Most people here have come to trek or to ride the rapids in boats. I find myself just wanting to relax. Of course, the altitude is part of the reason for that. I haven't had a headache or a nosebleed, probably because I was already partially acclimated by being in other mountains, although not as high as here, before arriving here. I may make some side trips to some nearby villages, but I am not interested in the trekking or the rafting.

Note: Computer connections here are not very fast, and they are 3-5 times the price of elsewhere. That's why I have not made any links for this entry. You can do a google search to find information about Leh, the book I read, etc. I hope you will. It's an interesting place.