I first went to the Himalayas when I was 16. It was the first time I was in the mountains, the first time I saw hail and snow, slept in a sleeping bag, and the first time I went ten days trekking from campsite to campsite. I have been dreaming of the day that I could return to the mountains, and it finally happened this year, higher and further up north. In September, the boss, C and I made our way to Ladakh
(On work. Booyaaah), in conditions much less "campsite" than my last trip.
The most spectacular 360
° landscape ever, sun on my back, a decent stash of pens and TWO moleskine notebooks (gifts from the niece)...definitely the most I have drawn on a ten day trip.
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Essential accessory to intrepidity: Ray Ban stolen from dad.
The moleskines were the perfect ones for this trip. Blue and brown. Sky and Mountain. |
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| An unexpected start to the journey – Delhi airport throws a profound one our way |
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| Barely 20 minutes out of Delhi and we were over mountains, with no sign of anything else in sight |
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| Advaita love goes to a new level (quite literally). I swear Suspended was on loop in my head the whole time we flew over the mountains. |
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| Making the most of an opportune window seat flight. |
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| I stole an apple from this tree on our last day at Leh :P |
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A restaurant we found with great food and the most amazing view. We went there everyday for lunch and chocolate momos.
Yes, that's a thing. |
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| Testament to low levels of oxygen in the air, all the apples I ate stayed white. |
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| We got to Leh in time for the Ladakh Festival, an annual end-of-tourist-season event showcasing traditional arts and culture from the different regions of Ladakh. In a span of half an hour spent under a severely scorching sun, we got to see a few dances performed by people of Leh, Zanskar, Nubra and Tibet. |
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Did I expect to see a mosque bang in the middle of the Leh market? No.
Goes to show how little we actually know about a place till we get there. |
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| Old men and women in shades, hats and gonchas, walking around with a mane and prayer beads, resolutely circumambulating the monastery only to stop and turn the line of larger prayer wheels |
At the start of the trip, I thought carrying two notebooks – even if they were small and smaller ones – was ambitious. But by the end of my second day (day 1 - 1.5 was spent in room acclimating), I actually began to wonder if they would be enough. Book 2 in the next post >>
