Ladakh trip: Days 7-8 (16-17 June)

Hey all, so I’m not sure if it makes sense to try this, but I’m going to do both days 7-8 as a single entry, and then I will be all caught up.

With some honestly heartfelt goodbyes, we had our last breakfast with the family in Ang and then at 8:00 AM headed out on the next portion of our trip.

As a special treat, they prepared butter tea for our departure. In case it’s not obvious, the preparation process is hard work!

Songba is not pictured here because she was taking the picture. Thankfully she has replacement shoes which won’t hurt her feet.

We all departed together in a small van. Upon reaching the most favorable connection to the mountain pass for the next section of their trek, we would part ways.

When we reached the Indus river, we said our goodbyes. The members of the original group were continuing on with their original adventure, and it was now time for me to make a new one for myself.

You will have to take my word for it. Songnam is the second from the right, next to Dorothée.

Thus, my solo Ladakh adventure began, albeit in a comfortable van as we started the 75 km drive back to Leh. Along the way I really started paying attention to the signs which had been put up by BRO (Border road organization). Obviously, someone had really put some time into coming up with various ways to say: “Don’t be an idiot while driving!”. Here were some I noticed.

More empty road. This is only significant of course if you’ve never experienced most roads in India.

You booze, you cruise, you lose
Drive like hell, soon you’ll be there
Be gentle on my curves
Down slope, check your brakes
After whiskey, driving risky
Stop accidents before they stop you.
Better late than never
Smooth roads for smooth ride
Start safe work safe finish safe
Fast drive could be last drive

Around 9:30 AM we arrived back to Gangba homestay where Betsy and Dorothée’s old room was waiting for me, but it would only be available for two nights. Keeping in mind that my departure ticket was for June 21st, I dropped off my bags and immediately headed out to see what I could put together for my remaining time in Ladakh. After a few rather unsatisfactory visits to different agencies, I reluctantly decided the best option would be to get an early return flight to Bangalore, departing either the 17th or 18th. I was hoping to just be able to change my ticket, but was prepared to pay up to 25,000 INR (320 USD) for a separate ticket if necessary.

Despite making it clear that I had just abandoned a trekking trip, this agency was trying to convince me to go on another, albeit shorter one!

It seemed though that I was not fated to leave earlier. There were no spots available on any flights for the next several days, even with theoretical one way ticket costs upwards of $500 USD! So with that in mind, I decided to first find a place to eat lunch and then once again dedicate myself to putting together some sort of a plan of activities until June 21st. Ladakh was not yet ready to let me go.

By chance I spied a tiny sign for the Ladakhi women’s cafe. I had earlier read that this was a recommended, inexpensive and very unpretentious lunch option. If you are looking for fancy decor, don’t try here, but my delicious lunch of Skyu and butter tea was only 170 Indian rupees. They accept UPI (it’s sort of like Indian Apple pay) payment, but mine was not working due to a poor connection, so I happily just paid 200 INR in cash. Certainly it was worth that and more.

Skyu is basically a stew made with tiny dumplings and a mix of root vegetables.

While eating, I remembered that my friend and co-worker Jenny had spent several weeks in Ladakh and another friend, Ranmali had suggested that if I were in a pinch. I should ask Jenny for help. As Jenny was currently vacationing in Himachal Pradesh, I thought it likely that she would be without a phone connection, but I figured it would be worth a try.

Success! Jenny was available and happy to share her contacts. The guide/agent that she suggested, Lamo, immediately understood both my physical needs, personal interests and my budget constraints. While it was still a bit more than I would have ideally paid – the solo traveller tax (beggars can’t be choosers and she was at least highly recommended by a trusted colleague), she quickly put together a three day itinerary to Nubra valley and Pangong Lake with a departure date of June 18th. At 3:00 PM I dropped off my passport with her so she could get the inner line permit and then headed directly to the nearby Central Asian Museum of Leh.

Despite its size, it’s unlikely you will find this unless you are actively seeking it out. The entry fee is only 100 INR (1.25 USD) and that cost is more than justified just by the building itself. The museum recounts a highly digested version of Leh and Ladakh’s history, doing a good job of making one appreciate its full breadth of various cultural highlights without overwhelming the casual visitor. I liked that it was not jam packed, since this allowed for one to comfortably navigate all the displays in roughly 60-90 minutes. Unfortunately, as seems to be the norm in India and especially in Ladakh, it’s definitely not accessible to people with special mobility needs.

The museum is basically just a small tower. On the left is a view of the same with a white mosque showing in the background.

Each of the four (I think) floors is a simple square with each floor dedicated to a certain period in Ladakh’s history. The first floor focuses on when Leh was at its height as an important stopping point on the old silk road.

Some visitors may prefer more complete descriptions of the display items, but if you want that, I’m sure you can just do a guided tour. I liked the concise labelling done off each item.

The top floor focuses on the important cultural contributions made by varying Muslim groups, which according to the museum, have mostly existed in harmony with the majority Buddhist population of Ladakh.

There are many great picture opportunities in particular on the top floor of the tower.

You take this little bridge as you exit. It leads to a planned garden area which is currently just a dusty square

It had been my plan to head straight back to the homestay, but then I noticed these 20 stands which had been set up on the main boulevard. They seemed to be drawing quite the crowd, so I decided to check it out.

Evidently these were science fair winners from different parts of Ladakh, or maybe it was only just different schools in and around Leh. Regardless, it seemed like a great initiative to have the stands set up in such a public place, and the general public really seemed very interested in seeing their work.

Ways to reuse disposable plastic bottles for construction

Solutions to blind curves which are common on winding mountain roads

I then finally made my way back to Gangba homestay where I had a delicious dinner before turning in for the night.

Vegetable sellers along the pedestrian boulevard were frequent, but the road was wide enough that they didn’t obstruct traffic.

Next morning ( June 17th), I went for a 8:30 AM Breakfast of smashed somosas with sweet and tangy syrup and curd, stewed chickpeas, admittedly uninspiring toast with some sort of a toxic jelly substitute and of course the ever present milk tea. There is a whole process to preparing the breakfast somosas but the end result is delicious.

Step 2, break the somosa into chunks with a spoon

Step 3, drizzle the sweet, tangy sauce over the somosa chunks

Step 5, add a bit of curd and eat! The end result is much tastier than you might expect.

Amazingly, the hookah smokers (at this hour reduced in number) from yesterday were still out, but they had moved to a different area closer to the main entrance of the homestay. I wonder if they came from central India to Leh, Ladakh for the express purpose of smoking hookah all day long? I mean it seems like a rather expensive undertaking, but maybe they just wanted the cooler weather?

Around 10:30 AM, I decided to head back to town.

After wandering aimlessly around the narrow alleys and ruined building, trying to find LAMO (Ladakhi media and arts organization), even though I had seen a sign supposedly pointing me in the right direction, I finally gave up and decided to just go by Lala’s cafe for a honey ginger apricot tea and maybe a small pastry.

Honestly the banana bread wasn’t the best, but the tea was great. More importantly, the woman working behind the counter gave me meticulous instructions on how to find LAMO. Even with her guidance, it was tough, but she had even took me up to the rooftop to point out the exact building, so I was able to find it just on that basis.

With an entry “donation” of 100 INR (1.25 USD) a visit to LAMO is worth it even if it’s just for the architecture. The building, which used to be the residence of the chief secretary to the king, has been lovingly restored and now primarily serves as an art gallery and a library.

I especially liked the collages which had been done by some local high school students.

A few of the rooms are dedicated to “special exhibits”. When I visited, there was a black and white photography exhibition. It’s not generally my thing, but a couple were very nice.

The library has two floors jni, primarily serving as a general reading collection focused on children and adolescents, but there is also a small section of art specific resources

While much of the building had been in relative ruins, in the background one can see some original painted woodwork from when it was still the king’s secretary’s residence and offices

A sculpture made primarily from yack skulls

Although I had read that there wasn’t really much to see, the old palace was right next door, so I figured that I may as well visit. It does seem that a lot of renovation work has gone on during the past couple of years. Entrance for foreigners without local identification is 300 but as I had my residence card, it was only 25. If you are tight for cash as a foreigner, it might not be worth paying the 300, but for a local, it’s definitely worth 25 INR (0.30 USD).

Some renovation work going on right next to the palace

Aside from the restoration work on the structure itself, the first main room has nothing to do with Ladakh. It’s pictures of famous sites in other parts of India.

Without a doubt, the most interesting part of the palace is the prayer room. Photos are strictly prohibited, so I of course took several.

Some beautiful butter flowers which had been left as offerings.

I’m assuming the painting on the high walls is original

To be honest, that’s pretty much all there is, but there are some nice views from the upper floors.

Some wall art which had obviously been damaged during an earlier poorly done “restoration”

When I exited the palace, I went back down through old Leh and then headed back to the center of the city. As always, I was fascinated by the different buildings and ruins.

I actually liked this relatively modern “real house” which was very close to the palace. Of course restoration proponents probably hate it. But I liked that this was a real family just trying to live in their regular home which happened to be in the middle of a mostly fallen down area.

I liked the doorway to the left of this image

It was quite late by now, almost 4:00 PM, but I decided to go back to the Ladakhi women’s cafe for a late lunch. As I came up the stairs, one of the women recognised me, and I was greeted with a huge smile of recognition. I had considered going somewhere new, but I had been so happy there the day before, I figured may as well return. This time I had another traditional Ladakhi dish, Chutagi.

Finally I headed back to Gangba Homestay to start packing again and also to rest a bit before dinner.

A rather large Buddhist temple in the center of Leh.

I think this is a cross between a domestic cow and a yak. It’s the second time I’ve seen one in Leh.

Assuming all goes well tomorrow morning, we will depart for Nubra Valley at 8:00 AM. I really have no idea what to expect, but I have an open mind, and I’m hoping for the best. For those of you who have been following along since the beginning, I hope you’ve been enjoying my journey, and for those who are just joining today, look forward with me, to great things to come!