[more pictures to follow]First - where is
Leh,
Ladakh? An excellent question, as I had not heard of it until recently.
Leh is in the
Ladakh area in the state of
Jammu & Kashmir, all the way in the north of India. J&K state is best known for its Kashmir area which is continually disputed over and claimed by both Pakistan and India.
Ladakh is in a region of J&K whose border is disputed with the Chinese, but is relatively far from the Pakistani disputed area. There is a very heavy military presence in lots of random spots and numerous patriotic signs (e.g. "We love peace but are ready for war"), but this and the excessive permits needed to travel around are the only signs of conflict in the
Ladakh area.
Ladakh is a heavily Tibetan influenced area of the Indian Himalayas. Most people speak
Ladakhi, which has the same written script as Tibetan but is pronounced differently. Most people look and dress Tibetan, though there are definitely Indian influences as well.
The north and west sides of the Himalayas (where I went in China) are very wet and are mostly
rainforest at altitudes where plants grow. The south and east sides of the Himalayas (here) on the other hand is very dry and is mostly desert.
We spent the first day mostly acclimatizing to
Leh (altitude of 13,000 ft) and exploring some of the old Tibetan
monasteries in town. Day 2 we explored some of the sights in the immediate vicinity of
Leh. These included a really cool fort/palace built into the mountainside and a big Tibetan
monastery above the fort.
These Tibetan
monasteries looked
almost exactly the same as the ones I saw in
Shangri-La. The one major difference was the photos of the
Dalai Lama. Here, there were many pictures of the "real"
Dalai Lama. In China, however, the government imposed a PRC friendly
Dalai Lama in the 1970s. It is illegal in China for a
monastery to show photos of the real
Dalai Lama, so they all have photos of the China-appointed Lama. Though a few times, way in the back, you could see some pictures of the real
Dalai Lama in China.
Lotus temple, Delhi
Lotus temple, Delhi
Ferryman's house, somewhere near Tiger Leaping Gorge
Yak tea with Tibetan monk, Shangri-La
Mountains near Shangri-La
Main Square, Shangri-La
New friends, Shangri-La
Random temple on bike trip, somewhere near Shangri-La
Field of flowers (poppies?), near Shangri-La
Much needed rest, near Shangri-La
Monastary view, near Shangri-La
Tiger Leaping Gorge
Tiger Leaping Gorge
Tiger Leaping Gorge
Tiger Leaping Gorge
Tiger Leaping Gorge
Tso Moriri, Ladakh
View from teahouse, Lijiang
Riverfront cafe, Lijiang
Main square, Macau
Winding mountain roads, Ladakh
Well-decorated truck ("Fruit King"), Ladakh
View from airplane, Leh
Tso Kar, Ladakh
Runaway camel, Rajasthan
Finding some shade, Taj Mahal
Ruins, Jaipur
Fort, overlooking Jaipur
Sunset with Tibetan prayer flags, Ladakh
