What a change Leh is from Delhi! it's different in climate, terrain and
people -- it's definitely a change for the better. Leh is nestled in the
Himalayan foothills, so all around us you see mountains. We haven't found
the Abominable Snowman yet, but we're looking! The mountains nearest Leh
are relatively barren and brown -- a little like Arizona, or Egypt,
depending on your frame of reference. Although it's the foothills, Leh is
still a good 11-12,000 feet high, so there was a little bit of adjusting to
the altitude when we first got here. Lots of deep breaths. There are
streams all through town, which we think are diverted from the Indus river
in order to irrigate the town. The most difficult thing for us tourists is
the lack of street names or signs. We've gotten multiple maps, but none
have managed to help us not get lost -- mostly because they only seem to
have 2 streets plotted on them. In a way, it's good, though, because it
really makes you feel as though nothing much has changed. Even though there
are touristy shops selling everything from gold jewelry to crampons, you
can still feel like you're in a real village, where people give directions
by saying "go to the market and turn right."

Leh is a very peaceful place to be, and very relaxing. It seems to have a
wonderful balance. There is more Tibetan influence than Indian (for all we
know about both of those countries). It strikes a perfect balance between
tourism and "real" culture, as well as religions such as Buddhist, Muslim
and Hindu. We can visit a Buddhist monastery, then come back and eat
traditional Indian food while prayers are played over the mosque
loud speakers. And, everyone seems so friendly. Everyone you pass on the
street is quick to smile and say "julay," which is quite a multi-purpose
word. It can mean hello, thank you, you're welcome or goodbye. And those
are just the meanings we've figure out. Who knows how many more there are!

Our guesthouse is perfect, although not at all posh. There's no hot water,
although you can request it in a bucket for your "shower" in the morning.
No toilet paper, and toilets don't flush -- you just pour a bucket of water
into them to flush them. The electricity only comes on from 7:30pm-11:30pm at
the guesthouse -- and the town has some outages too, as we found out during
our impromptu candlelight dinner last night! Sarah may not be as fond of
the guesthouse, however, as there are 2 cows that live right outside her
window which smell and moo a lot. Even though we're both from Ohio, we had
no idea cows could be so loud! The doors are also not made for a tall blonde person like Sarah.
She may be suffering from a concussion right now. Our ski pro Sandy may have to send us a list of symptoms, as Sarah has been hitting her head on every doorway we come to.

The environment is a big issue in Leh. There has been a big push to make
people more aware of environmental factors. We watched a video at the
"Women's Association of Leh" that talked about the impact of "western"
thinking on Leh, and how tourism has affected the traditional way of life.
It was very interesting, but also very long-winded and political. The
Association has done many good things, though, like banning plastic bags in
Leh, since plastic is such a big problem. No recylcing program and no
potable water can spell trouble, unfortunately, as everyone buys bottled
water and throws the bottles away. Luckily, there is a great place here
called Dzomsa. Dzomsa pressure boils water, so that you can refill used
water bottles with safe water. It also serves a variety of yummy healthy
drinks like lassi, a yogurt drink, and apricot juice. Dzomsa also is a
laundry, and we got our clothes washed there. They use environmentally safe
detergent, and wash the clothes away from the town so they don't contaminate
the water. The traditional washing method is to wash the clothes in a
stream, and then use sticks to beat the clothes against rocks! We saw a
good number of clothes that had gotten away and washed downstream. Luckily,
we got all our items back.

We've done a lot of sightseeing here, and we've worked hard to see it!
We've seen many Buddhist monasteries (or Gonpas, asa they're called). Once
we found the bus stop, we were able to take a couple day trips to
monasteries, too. The path that we found to get to the bus stop is most
certainly not the typical tourist path. It takes you on a footpath winding
through houses and across a desolate mountainside. It's actually very
beautiful -- until you have to walk past the human excrement. That tends to
put a damper on things. But then we get to cram into a bus filled with more
people than the fire code should really allow. We seem to have much bigger
hips than most typical Indians, and I, for one (this is Kelli here) do not
fit on the seat as well as I should. In a way it's good, though, because
having so many people jammed in the bus helps keep your balance on those
long bumpy rides over the mountains. You just lean against the person next
to you! But, inspite of the dirty path and the crowded bus, the things
we've seen are beautiful. Most monasteries seem to have lots and lots of
steps to climb to get to them -- these monks must be in great shape! From
the ones we've visited (some 700-900 years old!), our calves are already
burning. I guess we won't be joining the monkhood anytime soon. And, on
several occasions, we have braved tumbling to our death on sheer cliffs on
our trips to monasteries and around them. Sarah also got a good taste of
the local culture when she tried to find the path to Leh Palace and ended up
traipsing through people's kitchens. Everyone was very polite about the
whole thing, and kept telling her "yes yes" when she asked if this was the
way. So, she stepped over their cooking fire, and went out the back door
into someone else’s house! But, in spite of the difficulty getting to
sites, the monasteries are truly beautiful, both inside and out, with
beautiful vistas on all sides of mountains, and giant gold Buddhas inside.
Stangely, many of the Buddhas have blue hair, piled on top of their heads,
reminding us of Marge Simpson. Probably not the association they were going
for. There are lots of rules to follow in the monasteries. We have to
remove our shoes, and you should only walk around them clockwise. We saw
one woman today get scolded for spinning the prayer wheels in the wrong
direction!

Overall, Leh is a beautiful and peaceful place. It's the captial of the
Ladakh area, and we're not sure where Tibetan culture ends and Ladakhi
culture begins. It all seems to flow together. We haven't found one
restaurant serving Ladakhi food. We tried to reserve a Ladakhi dinner at
our gesthouse, but unfortunately we were too late. Perhaps we'll never know
what a Ladakhi meal is. But, we have eaten Tibetan food, and boy, are those
momos yummy!

Today is our last day in Leh, and we're all sad to leave. Tomorrow we'll
spend the day in Delhi, and then take an overnight bus to Dharamshala, the
home of the Tibetan Government in Exile.

Until next time!

Sarah, Joe and Kelli
Journal Entry Leh India Posted On: 7/23/2005