After our hectic, sleep-deprived night at Delhi Airport, we took a spectacular flight over the snow-capped peaks of the Himalaya and into the winter wonderland of Leh, in Ladakh – northern India.
This former kingdom, wedged between Kashmir and Tibet, is commonly referred to as “Little Tibet” and upon touchdown it is easy to see why. There is a very strong Tibetan presence in this small city – a result of the large number of Tibetan refugees that have flooded into the area over the years to escape persecution from the Chinese government.
The region however, obviously has a long history of association with Tibetan culture – evident in its architecture, dress and local culinary delights (though if you’ve ever tried a mutton ‘momo’, ‘delight’ probably isn’t the word you would use here..!) This strong connection is probably due to Ladakh’s relative proximity to Tibet, and its geographic isolation from the remainder of India (In the old days, it probably took about 2 months worth of yak travel to make it from Leh to Delhi – though don’t quote me on that of course… I didn’t quite garner that little fact from Wikipedia). In fact – as we wandered around the city, I was surprised how unlike India it felt… far too chilled out, for one!
Anyway – Leh has been home for our stay in Ladakh and the base for our explorations of the local hot-spots. We’ve hit town at the end of the season (…one of the few tourists crazy enough to attempt trekking at a time when even the locals are de-camping and heading south to Goa!)
Despite that, we’ve settled in nicely – adjusting ourselves to the holiday pace and getting used to the idea of dining out for every meal (such a struggle!). We’ve spent our days exploring the Old City (where the sounds of Buddhist chanting sings out alongside the Muslim call to prayer – though not always harmoniously apparently), as well as working on our high-altitude training in preparation for the big trek (well… one walk up a big hill, but it’s all about baby steps… don’t want to overdo it..!)
We’ll keep you posted on our trekking exploits… but first we’ll polish off this plate of honey pancakes… (another essential part of the training regime, of course…!)
