Now in Chennai...

After a couple of very relaxed days in Manali (walks in the forest, hugging trees...), we had a very comfortable bus ride to Delhi (it's all relative, but boy it felt comfortable after all those crazy mountain rides!), and then followed Mariette's advice to go out in Haus Khaz Village - Mariette, thanks so much for the tip!!! we ate so well! and I totally fell in love with the tiny little street, design/eco-friendly shops and cool hang out cafe's (French people would call it 'bo-bo'!?).
Then it was time to say goodbye to my travel companions of 1-month and there I am, in transit in Chennai, waiting for the night train for Madurai...


I even have a sort of planning for the rest of my stay:
- visit Aravind eye hospital
- go back do Bodhizendo for 10 days
- around July 12th, fly back 'home' to Ahmedabad - a few more weeks of service with Manav Sadhna, enjoying the monsoon
- on August 5th, fly back to Paris...
Let's see if I stick to that! :)

Ladakh - on the roof top of the world

So Caroline K., Ian and I hoped on a mini-bus to Leh on June 5th, 2 a.m.: 20h ride, the most beautiful scenery all along the way, from green and lush in Lahaul Valley to dry and rocky to snow covered passes, including Taglang La at 5359 m high! (my highest point of this trip)
The driver was gentle and careful, maneuvering on tricky terrain - melted snow, mud, rocks, unfinished or irregular asphalt roads, missing bridges that make you drive parallel to the road for a bit; he didn't even lose it when we had a puncture an hour before getting into Leh, and changed the tire quite swiftly. We only got worried when we saw him get really tired and realised he had been driving since Delhi, arrived in Manali at 11pm and started driving again a couple of hours later...

Leh is a cute little town, at the foot of an austere palace and beautiful gompa. A backpacker hangout, which means access to some nice 'western' food, lots of shopping opportunities, and some historical buildings, it was not yet the high season we didn't feel overwhelmed and could enjoy its quiet pace...

As planned, we met up with Sev after 1 day: instead of the harrowing bus ride we did, he had actually walked from Kunzum La to Chandratal Lake down to Batal and on to Chitru gotten various rides until Keylong (Lahaul Valley) and got on a mini-bus too from there, to arrive one day after us. The scenery was incredible, and the whole story epic, although Ian and I were quite happy we had slept in warm comfy beds in the mean time. :)

Next step was a trek around Rumbak. Philippe, from Quebec, joins us for the few days of trek. So we start from Zingchen, where a taxi drops us, and walk for 4h to Rumbak. The last part of the walk is under the rain, Ian is feeling sick, and once we are settled in our homestays (one for the girls, one for the boys) and the snow starts falling, the moral is at a low...  We get up to a bright blue sky, and in high spirits. We decide to head to Ganda La Pass, climb up and return to Rumbak that night, leaving Ian to rest. Well, the map at the entrance of the valley is largely inaccurate and we end up trekking up a canyon that appears to not be the one we expect. Anyways, the views are amazing and we enjoy the blue sheeps (sort of Ibaxes) running wild and the eagles above us. The climb is really tough for me and while the others are powering through, I enjoy more and more scenic breaks - after all we started walking up from 4000 m high...
It's a much easier walk downwards, especially the parts where the ground is so soft we can slide down. Nothing like a chai after a 8h day out!

Time to take it easy for a few days - Ian goes on a meditation retreat, while Sev and I roam around town and enjoy the vegetable garden view from our guesthouse... The next big day is Pangong Lake: 5h drive to the lake, beautiful scenery and another high pass, Chang La, 5289 m, covered in snow, and a starkly blue and green colored lake, 4350m. This is a big attraction for Indian tourist as the lake appears in the last scenes of "3 Idiots", a big Bollywood hit from a few years back.
We feel we've had our quota of trekking in the mountain and uncomfortable jeep rides for the season and we are ready to pack up and move to Manali... which means more bus in the mountain!
This time the driver is on a mission to get us there as fast as possible and 'takes no prisoners' as Ian would say! so we make it in less than 16h despite the traffic jams of tourists coming to experience 1 day of dirty melted snow at Rohtang La pass...
This was two days ago and I'm still recovering ...

Thanks to Caroline and Sev for the pictures!!

Album: Ladakh

Manali is now at perfect temperature, and mostly sunny, so really enjoyable. Making the most of it before heading for Delhi on June 23rd!

Ladakh

In Leh since 2 days - enjoyed the awesome minibus ride from Manali! Now getting ready to explore the area...
Pictures and stories to come :)
xx
Caroline

Incredible Spiti Valley!

All the details of what I've been doing in the last few weeks and the pictures!

Album: Spiti Valley

In Manali, Dave and I stayed at Amar Family Guesthouse, actually in Vashisht. Vashisht is really pretty and cute, but a bit overwhelmed by the traffic of tourists coming up to see the temple.
I had a wonderful grilled trout and glass of white wine at Johnson Lodge, as a birthday pre-celebration...

After an 18h bus ride, I reached Rekong Peo, where I needed to get an inner line permit to get into the Spiti Valley, and first met Ian, Sev and Leah. I stayed in Kalpa, a beautiful little village surrounded by apple tree orchards. That would be the most green I would see for almost 2 weeks!
Back on the bus, for only 8h but a pretty scary road and amazing side, I met up with Sev and Ian. We then simply followed the Spiti valley northwards, visiting Gompas (Buddhist temples) in this largely Buddhist region and walking around/trekking where we could. Each village was incredible for their unique location and surroundings, always mountains but always so different... Nako and Tabo, the first villages we got to, were really beautiful.
Dhankar simply blew our mind away for the way it is hanging from this rugged and steep mountain. There we stayed in the comfy homestay run by Anil, who also organised our 5 day trek and guided us there. We walked from Dhankar to Lalung to Demul to Komik to Langza to Kaza; with the support of Tanzin and of a donkey and her baby, re-named respectively Dil and Prem :)
 In each of these villages we stayed also in a homestay, cozying up in the family kitchen near the stove, eating local comforting food, and playing cards with Anil! We got used to the irregular bucket showers, the dry toilets (happily contributing to fertilizing the fields :) ), and the nurishing Dahl Bhat (rice and lentils), but we were quite happy to reach Kaza, and, when the power came back on, to jump in a hot shower, wash some clothes, use the internet, eat nuttella croissant at the german bakery...

Our next target is Leh. Ian and I opted for the uncomfortable and long bus ride back to Manali - 3 days that felt like "groundhog day" to me - but what a pleasure to find this cute little guesthouse in Old Manali, and have dinner again at Johnson Lodge, this time with Caroline (MS volunteer) and Ian! So lovely also to catch up with Caroline after 2 months away from Manav Sadhna!

Merci – from the Himalayas

A couple of days ago, I reconnected to the internet after over 12 days ‘in the wild’. I found this avalanche of emails from all of you and felt so much love building up from reading those emails and FB messages one after the other; tears of gratitude came to my eyes for this feeling of connectedness. Merci J J J

I was in Kaza, at the heart of the Spiti valley, with limited access to power and to internet connection, so please be forgiving if I take time to get back to you individually but please know how much I was touched, and feel the love vibration I’m sending beyond borders and oceans and continents to reach all of you.

The last weeks have been wonderful as I’ve been travelling deeper into remote areas in the mountains, on scary roads, into simpler guesthouse and homestays, and also deeper within, inspired by the mighty mountains surrounding us, by the quietness of no connectivity and no cars, by the forced mindfulness when walking, between 3900 and 4700 meter high, where each breath and each step matters.

Sev, Ian and I have been travelling together ever since we caught up on the bus ride to Spiti Valley, and those days have been full of fun also and Buddhist discussions… We were able to celebrate my birthday with Nutella Chapattis, learning how to make momos, drinking a cup of local homemade alcohol, and looking at the starry face of the night. The monasteries reveal their secrets to us, with smily monks and sometimes opportunities to meditate.

We are now trying to figure out the best way to get to Leh, with some passes open and others not – to be continued!

Xxx

Caroline

PS: I'm now in Rekong Peo again, with Ian. Going through Manali to get to Leh; while Sev has opted for the walking option. We should all meet up again in Keylong or Leh in a couple of days! 

PPS: pictures to come, it might take a little while to load.