Leh Ladakh Post 2

 Leh is the most incredible place. The Muslim call to prayer wakes me at 4:50 + - every morning and it is beautiful. Then the Buddhist horns and chants can come drifting in the wind -- It is most exotic. The drivng seems absolutely chaotic but I have not been able to find a single car with a dent anywhere! No animals run over in the roads. Just really strange. The bike boys are gone and it is much less festive around here. I have work to do on that. Even Buddah the Nepalese serving boy seems sad. He and the bikers were big friends. We have made friends with an old Tibeatan lady that runs the now infamous momo restarant. Excellent english and two daughters in the university in Delhi. A lot of young Germans have arrived and the dining room conversations are picking up again. Fransisco and Bianca are back from a two day trip to the Numbra Valley and have good stories. We climbed up to the Shanti Stupa for dawn and climbed to a local monastery. Really hard getting photos out on the blog but I keep trying. Maybe in Delhi Monday I will have a faster connection. All is well with us. See you later Jullay! D

Jake and Julian (sun in their eyes) the day before leaving for Vietnam by bicycle.  Oct 6th update they were in Srinigar India resting.

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In the dining room having tea.

Peggy and Buddah - our server from Nepal

The NYC boys leaving for Vietnam and the girl that joined us for the momo dinner.  She had solo climbed one of the snow covered peaks in the Stok range a few days before.  Then as if it was an omen a donkey came trotting down the street to also see them off.  Possibly offering his services. 

Peggy asking the donkey what he wants. 

Favorite fresh lemon ginger honey tea. Yumm.

Photos below are Monestery above Leh that we climbed up to one day.

Burning an offering - some herbal mix.

The travellers

The Mosque in town -- also notice the Buhddist prayer flags across the streeets.

Looking down on part of Leh on the way down from the monestary

View from our bedroom window in Leh

Darryl and Susan with the Buddah at one of the Monasteries

At a Monastery school

Old leather prayer wheels

Francisco picking apples from his second story window.  Francisco and Bianca are from Brazil and she is working in India for a while.

Store

cows being herded down the road.  The lady behind them gave me hell because she didn't want her photo taken but I didn't even se her when I took the photo of the cows. 

Cooking traditional flat bread in oven

slapping another round to the side of the oven.

Spice shop

walking in Leh

Shanti Stupa

Buhddist meditation room at the Stupa.

Indus river running through the mountains.

Prayer whells -- always to the left.

Looking down on Leh