Leh

So again I'm going back in time but I wanted to write about Leh as it was the city I enjoyed most in India.....Strangly so, or prehaps reflective of my tastes it was the most 'un-indian- city' we went to.....Don't get me wrong...I LOVED India and so many of the places that we went....But Leh was just so amazing!

Two days bus travel north from Shrinigar, and another two back south to manali it is settled right in the heart of the rocky himalayas in an area known as the Ladakhi region. Its a true hikers hang out and we often felt a little intimidated by their flashy gear and muscular bodies...THe one day hike that we did over the mountains to a nearby village left us exhausted and with the realisation that we need to do A LOT to increase our fitness before annapurna.

There was a festival on in Leh whilst we were there so they had all these crazy things on that we went to see like a real life polo match(where we nearly got trampled alive! so THATS why noone was sitting in those seats so close to the ground....) as well as a dance show and a local comedy and rock concert..the comedy and rock concert was all in Indian so we were the ONLY westeners cramped into this tiny town hall but it was so worth it. The highlight was the lighting effects which consisted of turning on and off the flurescent hall lights for like 2 horus straight. crazy indians. was a good laugh though..the music was hurrendous!

Also went for a few half day walks up the surrounding hills to some buddhist gompa's and stupa's (ie. temples) which provided some amazing views down onto Leh and across the mountaions...

I learnt a lot here about globalisation and the effects we as westerners are having on their traditional culture...which was traditionally living a life off the land, entirely self sufficient with no access to money etc. Sadly now that has changed a lot in the area because of our influence...