After spending 5 weeks in Ladakh and having such fun adventures it was very hard for me to leave. Although part of me knew it was time to leave; it was very difficult leaving behind so many friends. I felt like I had seen Leh at a special time- when I arrived in Ladakh the tourist season was only just starting and over the weeks I had spent there I watched the city wake up and grow from a small village with a handful of tourists into a vast tourist metropolis. I had not only seen the number of tourists multiply, I also watched Leh acquire a seasonal workforce of waiters, chefs, cleaners, craftsmen, businessmen and even beggars- all of whom were in Leh to make tourist dollars.
Walking to the bus station at 4am on the morning of my departure got slightly choked up; walking past all of my favorite spots I knew I had witnessed a special place at a special time!
At the same time I knew that it was time to find pastures anew... I was Spiti bound!
Journey back from the edge of the earth.
I took a different route and a different mode of transport back from Leh- I was going directly south from Leh to a town about 17 hours away called Keylong… by local bus! The journey was... bumpy, squashed, and loooooooooooooooooong- but I knew what I was letting myself in for when I bought the ticket!
The only thing to keep me entertained as the hours ticked by were the road signs (I must admit that the last sentence does sound rather strange- but hear me out)
The road builders of Ladakh were poetic comedians with a message... some examples-
1) Love thy neighbor- but not while driving.
2) Reach for the stars even if you have to stand on a cactus.
3) This is a road not a runway- drive slow.
4) Darling I love you but not so fast.
5) Be slow of my curves.
6) Speed and safety never meet.
7) Better to be Mr late the a late Mr.
8) The road is hilly, don't drive silly.
9) A cat has 9 lives but not one who drives.
10) Shortcuts can take your life.
11) Drive fast to test our recovery services.
All 100% genuine! and - well they made me laugh!
One other highlight on the road back from Leh was...
10km out of Keylong and 16 hours into the journey (just when I started to believe the never-ending journey might possibly end) the engine cut out- the driver seemed as perplexed as anyone. He, like the rest of us was tired and hungry and sick of bloody mountains! So, eventually after 20mins the engine starts again and we drive 1 Km before the engine dies again. This happens 3 or 4 times before the driver announces that we were out of petrol. God knows how a bus that runs every day manages to run out of petrol- so anyway, we had to 40mins for another bus to some and pick us up and finally finally finally get to Keylong and to bed! It was both vintage and typical of India!
2 days and lots of buses later I arrived in Spiti valley!
His Holiness the Dalai Lama- H.H.D.L
Spiti is Ladakh’s younger brother, like ladakh, Spiti is a mountain desert on the Indo-Chinese boarder with a strong Buddhist tradition.
I discovered when I was trekking (in ladakh) that H.H.D.L. was going to be in the Spiti valley so naturally I decided to go along to take a look. How many chances does one get to go to see the Dalai Lama anyway?!
Kaza
I arrived in Kara 3 days before H.H.D.L. did (and one day before the place exploded with hundreds of pilgrims). The town is usually pretty quiet and remote but while H.H.D.L was there the population of the town swelled by about 500%!
To kill time while waiting for the holy one’s (!!!) arrival I got a bike a cycled around some interesting places (monasteries, neighboring towns, you know the usual!) anyhoo, when H.H.D.L eventually arrived the atmosphere in town was electric. He arrived by chopper and the townspeople and well-wishers lined the streets, donning their most fabulous traditional dress to greet H.H.D.L. and have a bit of a party at the same time!
The teachings.
H.H.D.L came to Spiti to give teachings to the local people and to consecrate the brand new gompa. I decided I would see what all of the full was about.
I rocked up bright and early on the day of the teachings and chilled out for a couple of hours to listen to what H.H.D.L. had to saw. Unfortunately, he spoke in Tibetan so I couldn’t actually understand anything he said thus I was not converted to Buddhism. Instead, I just watched- which in itself was a great experience. I couldn’t help but like him- the man has a chuckle like a Tibetan father Christmas- it‘s ace!
Overall, It was certainly a privilege to see him at such close quarters but, one day was enough for me- I came, I saw, I left. I needed a break from the overcrowded kaza.
Dhanker- peace at last.
In a one hour bus journey I went from a town with 10,000 people in it to one with 87 people in- It was great. I walked up to a lake with some people I met and then took about 200,000,000 pictures of a stunningly beautiful old town and monastery.
I stayed in a homestay for a night before going to…
Tabo
Like Kaza I arrived just before the Dalai Lama so I got to see the town in relative peace before the hordes arrived. It’s a stunningly beautiful town but there is not too much to do in town apart from a) play lots of chess, b) admire the scenery and c) chew the fat with Spiti’s own Rastafarian- angel.
After 2 days of lazing around H.H.D.L. arrived and so did the crowds. On the morning he gave his first teaching I decided to pop into the monastery for a quick look, it was much less crowded than in Kaza and H.H.D.L. actually walked about a meter away from me (also, I think he might have smiled at me, or possibly he was smiling at the person next to me, she was much better looking than me!)
That’s all for now folks- just one week to go now. On next week’s episode I will be taking lots and lots and lots of busses and getting really really really hot and sweaty.
Jah. Peace.
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