An impulsive decision immediately after returning from the Sar Pass Trek was to go on yet another one. Software Industry does that to you i guess ;)

So i booked the ticket to Leh before i booked the Youth Hostel. It was a Mountain Biking expedition and i roped in one of my colleagues also into the fray.

The Beginning 

We reached the base camp at Leh roughly at 11000 feet above sea level. One thing which i still recall is the instruction that the camp leader gave about acclimatisation, which i didn't follow and had headache for the first few days. However it slowly went off in it's natural way partly coz it had to and partly coz we were in Leh and the place is simply beautiful.

They organised a couple of trips to local attractions and we had to choose some. Given my spiritual underpinnings i choose the one to Shanti Stupa in Leh. Below is the view you are treated to when you have climbed and are tired .

It had a long flight of stairs(not shown) but the view from above was worth the climb. From the top one could see the oasis like appearance of Leh. In between mountains that are silent and devoid of life, there is this green patch bustling with activity, both human and otherwise.

Only later we came to know that this was a feature common to many of the villages we were to encounter in our bicycle trip to the final destination.

During our stay at the hostel (which was a makeshift one, somebody had rented a set of rooms to the Youth Hostel) when we used to stroll around back and forth trying to get a hang of the local cuisine (momos, avocado soup, some kashmiri delicacies) we passed a house and there was this curious couple there every morning, both of them pretty old. The woman would sit outside everyday as if gazing upon the world around her and how it had changed possibly in a way she wanted or she didn't. While she would be gazing across the street trying to find what she was the man would come out and hold her and take her back in as if suggesting that somethings never change after all. Somethings stay. He being one of them.

On the Way

As we started out on our mountain bikes excitement levels were high, initially we even tried to compete with each other as to who was the fastest but the ascent of the route slowly drained out all enthusiasm to reach first. Thankfully that happened and i started looking around more and clicking more. It was so open, so very desolate arid and cold.  There were these  interesting road signs all along the way put up by border roads organisation.

One of the camps along the way was situated on the banks of Indus river that passes through laddakh. I was lucky to capture this curious Himalayan Marmot that wanted to cross a bridge and was tired playing hide and seek when we were crossing the bridge so it came out to settle it man to man.

Another one was of this bird sitting on a tree it seems like a 3D scenery with the bird that is either meditating or isn't real. Or maybe it was posing there for me. The background seems as it has been done in paint (Microsoft Windows paintbrush  ;) ).

Along the way i often encountered these curious set of round rocks on which were carved some things which i later found out to be the mantra 'Om Mani Padme Hum'. The monks put such stones at various places and these collections you may find at many places around laddkah. Our guide said that it is almost sacred as a temple wherever such a collection of carved stones is kept.

How can i end this section without treating you to the sight of mountains. There were simply too many of them compared to anything else i could have ever clicked. 

This was the sunrise as seen from the youth hostel window.

Some of them giving a glimpse.

Most of them barren and dry surrounding the greens

Last Few days

After completing our mountain biking expedition we decided to do some more sight seeing around Laddkah. There were plenty of sites including some highest motorable roads like Khardung-La (La means mountain pass) or ChangLung La. The Zanskar Valley, Pangong Tse (Tse is lake). We finally narrowed down to Pangong Lake and Khardung-La.

Pangong was a fantastic site. The lake itself is strangely located 1/3rds in India and 2/3rds in China. The water was so clear and it was completely silent. Very peaceful. Below is a water body that i saw just before you see the first glimpse of the lake. This point is  when you are about 500 meters from the actual site. For some reason i find this whole scene very beautiful. Maybe  because of the color of the water, or maybe coz by now i simply loved the arid background too much.

And then there is the lake...

Khardung-La was amazing and very very cold(okay i was in India coming from hot and humid delhi, certainly less cold than what we have here nowadays in the netherlands)

One sight was simply by coincidence that i caught. There was ice on the rocks and since the sun was out it had begin to melt however on the side where there was shade it was still cold. By some scientific phenomena which i really didn't care about (i was on vacation!!) the melting water was passing beneath the ice which had taken shape of small bubbles and it looked like an open jewellery box full of diamonds and pearls. See the picture below you'll understand.

One thing about laddakh you will notice is the clear blue skies and all shades of blue. It simply seems as if it will end up into blackness of space somewhere. Atleast i couldn't capture  that in my camera.

On our way back from the lake i had a bad mood swing and was feeling not so good, probably some kind of altitude sickness, we stopped for some refreshments and that helped but what helped more was this

This little guy was among one of the local kids and he chuckled so brightly that it shoved off the bad energies around me instantly and i smiled one happy smile. It was as if he was asking Why so serious? :)

On the afternoon of the final day was also the closing ceremony of the Laddakh Festival (15th september). We attended that and had a good time. Some of the people from the group we had by now (photographers most of them with better cameras :) ) also danced with the locals who were performing.

This guy was dressed in the uniform of a Lddakhi King. They were narrating a local folktale where in two smart lads mislead the king by covering themselves in Yak skin and challenging the king to take control of it and how the king fails and had to reward them.

Then there were these kids who intrigued by all the camera gear that was placed around me(the group left me gaurdian of the cameras, tripods and lenses and went to dance :) ). so i took some pics of those bright cheerful faces.

Talking of faces there was one which had a million stories to tell and she just smiled when i took her picture.

Someone accompanying her later told that she was 2 or 3 shy of a century of story telling :)

Well I'd say impulsive decisions sometimes bring about the most beautiful things. I had a great time being there and i hope you take time out to be there as well.

For now i guess my adventure spirit is cosily sleeping at the back of my mind while i ropewalk my way through studies at Delft. Till it wakes up i'll write some more...

(More of my pictures at sevacircle.nl - Sar Pass Trek and Goa Beach Trek)