I went travelling North of Leh recently. Actually I think it is more East than North, but it felt like I was heading North despite the sun always being either ahead of me or behind me during the bus ride up. Hard to explain the way the mountains around here throw off my sense of direction and sense of distance. I don't think I mentioned it before, but during my trek a month ago I saw a stream that was flowing up instead of down. Not joking.
I didn't get my fill of monasteries, so I decided to do some more monastery hopping. First I took a bus to the village of Likir. A really peaceful place. The first guest house I went to had about 15 people staying in it, mostly noisy young Israelis, so I looked a little more and found a great place farther down the valley. I was the only guest and got to eat dinner with the family. I even got to help prepare the lunch by shelling the peas.
In the afternoon I visited the Likir Monastery. It took about an hour to walk up the valley and reach the Gompa. Its really big so it doesn't look very far away. Kind of like walking to the Empire State building from Battery Park in NY. The main attraction at the Gompa is an enormous statue of Maitreya Buddha (the next Buddha). There were a bunch of small monks sweeping the surrounding area and like most people in Asia that hear what my name is, called me James Bond. There is also a great museum in the monastery full of old Tibetan paintings and artifacts. Some as old as 500 y/o. I was particularly intrigued by a 400 y/o monk's begging bowl. Very simple, but I found it so beautiful. Maybe the old Buddhist Yogi I visited a few weeks ago was right, I should become a monk. Just joking. (or am I?)
After wandering through the monastery I walked up the valley for about 30 minutes. Beautiful contrasting scenery with the desert mountains rising above both sides of the lush green fields of the village. A real oasis. I was talking to a nice Israeli girl a while ago and she said that the landscape around here reminds her a lot of the desert in Israel minus the mountains. I'd like to see that some day.
After a fun evening with my temporary Ladakhi family, I set off the next morning for Alchi. It's famous for ancient temples and buddhist statues. I had tea at a small tea stand and had fun practicing my Nepali with the cook and owner who come to Ladakh every summer to work. I walked around the temples and ruins in the afternoon. I find such things interesting, but get nothing out of them. Some people say that they can feel "energies" in such holy places. They're really just stones. Maybe I'm missing something, or other people are just convincing themselves of such "energies". I'm starting to think there is no "truth" concerning our perception of the world.
The guest house I stayed in was decent. One of the Nepali workers helped me find it. Not a difficult job, but I think he felt happy being able to help me. I had a cheap dinner, Thukpa (tibetan soup) then wandered a bit. Alchi is a good distance from the main road so things are quiet there.
I had to do some bus hopping to continue my monastery hopping the next day. I had breakfast with my Nepali friends then took a bus to a village called Saspol where I had to wait for a bus heading in the other direction to go to Lamayuru. It was easy to do. In Saspol I had some tea and watched some locals argue with eachother. People are so ugly when they are angry. We should all be forced to look in a mirror when we get angry. Maybe then we'll realize our misunderstandings and delusions more quickly and avoid such emotional outbursts in the future. During the busride to Lamayuru I talked with a Kashmiri man and enjoyed the beautiful landscape. There is one very unique part of the land that looks like a moonscape.
Lamayuru is a noisy village. The main road from Leh to Srinagar winds right around the village and is constantly travelled by cargo trucks and passenger buses. The cargo trucks make a strange sound while struggling up the steep road. Much like a whale call. The monastery in Lamayuru is very old. Over 800 years. I did feel some "energy" in part of this monastery. There is a small cave that the monastery was built on top of that an old Buddhist saint named Naropa used to meditate in. I've been reading about Naropa and his students so this was a very interesting place for me. I still believe there is no inherent "energy", just what my mind creates.
Not many tourists stay the night in Lamayuru so I had my pick of places to stay. I chose a large house right next to the road so I could fall asleep to the soothing sounds of the "whales" driving by. The family was really nice, and the kids danced and sang for me in the evening. One small child had a t'shirt that says "100% Genius" on it. All the kid did was cry. What's so genius about that?
In the morning I waited for a bus heading back towards Leh. I had to make a quick detour and get off of the bus half way to go back to Alchi and retrieve my cup which I left the previous morning during breakfast. I bought my cup 7 months ago when I first arrived in Nepal. I'm a bit attached to it. It was still in the small restaurant thankfully. I had lunch, then caught another bus heading towards Leh. Travelling is really easy around here. You never have to worry about missing a bus. If you do, there is either another one coming or you can just hitch a ride with one of the many cargo trucks passing by.
I really enjoyed riding the bus for the few days of travel I did. What an amazing way to see the land. I don't know how people can read a book the whole time. There's too much outside to marvel at. I look forward to more bus riding.
I've now been back in Leh for 3 days, again staying with my adopted Ladakhi family that has been so kind to let me stay with them. Tomorrow I'm heading to the Nubra Valley which is located north of Leh right along the Tibetan border. Since it is so close to the border I had to get a government permit to visit. The bus ride takes me over the tallest roadway in the world with a max elevation of 5600m. 10 hours of bus riding in all. Should be fun.
Also, yesterday I got to see the Dalai Lama for the first time. (not counting a week ago when I saw him drive by in a car) I attended seminar in which he was the chief guest. It was a rather small, intimate setting. He spoke for about 45 minutes. World Peace. Religious tolerance. The importance of practicing rather than preaching religion. It was a great morning.
Thanks for reading.
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