Srinagar

The road to Srinagar was pretty wild. Another all night drive on narrow dirt roads with massive drop offs to the valley below.

Thankfully the jeep was really good and as ever – the company was great (thanks guys :-)

One of the main reasons people come to Srinagar is to stay on a house boat – a left over from the Empire days, when Brits weren't allowed to own land. So they built houseboats and lived on the lakes. They've mostly all been converted into hotels – although tourism has dropped significantly in this area given the stand off between India and Pakistan and the ongoing violence related to the disputed area of Kashmir.

Sadly the houseboats also have a reputation for scamming tourists – with people being given cheap rooms, but being charged ridiculous amounts for everything else – often without being told first.

We managed to find a pretty good place to stay – but we did get scammed on a few things. So we really kicked up a fuss and managed to work our way out of having to pay a huge bill :-)

Inside the houseboat:



The moon rising over Kashmir:



Nagin Lake:



And the mountains in the background:



It was Jo's birthday so we had a party with coffee and cake, and in the evening went for a really great night out - I won't mention the “urban skiing”...but it was fun

:-)





Thanks to Brock for this photo...

Jo and Gabe were heading back to Delhi so they could go to Agra – so after the run out to the airport, Brock and I headed back into town to check out the sights.

The real highlight was the Jama mosque – which is one of the biggest in the world – and is one of the most unusual mosques I've been to, given that it was built in square formation around an inner courtyard.



We also ended up walking around town – here's some shots of Srinagar Old Town:

Looking across the river:



Medieval Graveyard:



To save a weeks travel back to Delhi – we managed to book some ridiculously cheap tickets from Srinagar – so decided to fly. Here's a pic from out of the plane window:

Leh - Part 6

Today was one of the best days of my trip – a perfect day on the road.

Having spent the day before on the bikes – Brock and I decided to do a full day road trip.

So we rented two Royal Enfield Thunderbirds and set off early in morning on the road to Srinagar. Our bikes at one of the stops along the way:



After getting out of town, the road goes through some amazing scenery, along tiny switch back turns as the road winds through the mountains, and then across wide open plains with mountains on either side.

The road is mainly black top – but in places, particularly where construction work is going on, it can get very muddy, and is full of potholes.

The other challenge is avoiding the large lorries that run up and down the route from Leh to Srinagar.

On the way we stopped at a Sikh temple – where Guru Nanak is said to have visited, and where there is an imprint of his back on the rock on which he leaned.

Me at the top of the hill top shrine:



Further down the road it started to rain, and so we pulled the bikes off the road and sheltered under a large prayer wheel. We were joking that if we turned the wheel it would stop raining, and when we gave the wheel a spin – it started to brighten up straight away.

Slightly surprised by this, we gave it another spin, and as soon as it had turned the rain eased off. So we decided to give it another try for a laugh, and when the wheel had made a full turn (amazingly) the rain stopped and we jumped back on the bikes and set off again.

Brock and the prayer wheel:



On the road:



Our destination was Alchi Monastery, which has amazing carvings and even more intricate paintings that are hundreds of years old – for me – they were easily as good as the Magao Caves in China and it was a real find.

Traditional Tibetan style house at Alchi:



Turning wheels at Alchi Monastery:



Some of the carvings at the monastery:



Photos aren't allowed inside the main temples – but here's one picture from one of the buildings outside the main temple area:



After a good lunch at the local bakery, we jumped back on the bikes and headed back to Leh.

It was even better going back – powering down through the tight turns and racing along the long straights. The wind had really got up by this point and it was really cold – and I had to stop and put on a rain jacket to try and keep the chill out.

Brock's clutch cable snapped when we were just pulling out of Alchi onto the main road – so he had to drive all the way back making clutch-less gear changes.

The road back to Leh:



By the time we got back we were really cold – but nothing a coffee and a chocolate donut couldn't solve – followed by dinner with Gabe and Jo.

Perfect...

Leh - Part 5

I've always wanted to be able to ride a manual motorbike – and having talked endlessly with people about it it's something I've just never got round to.

But in Leh there are all these really cool Royal Enfield's and I was really itching to have a go. Luckily we bumped into an Australian who'd been given lessons by one of the guys in town – so we headed straight out to book ourselves lessons.

After a short ride out of town to a quite stretch of road, we were shown the basiscs, and then spent a few hours motoring up and down learning before heading off to one of the monasteries for a road trip.

Brock on a Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350:



And my bike:



Sakti Monastery – our destination on the road trip in the afternoon:



Born to be wild: Jo, me, Gabe, and Brock:



Monastery on the road back to Leh:



Brock, on the road to Leh:

Leh - Part 4

It's Joshua's Birthday today (yes - I really am running that far behind :-), and I was determined to be back in the early evening so that I could phone home.

So after a late breakfast we set off to find Shakti Monastery. What we didn't realize is there's very limited transport there and that it's in the middle of know where – so it took us a while to get there.

We sat for more than an hour in the monastery listening to the monk's chanting and then headed off to look around.

View of the valley near Shakti:



Boy monks:



Carving at the temple:



Looking into the inner courtyard:



View from the top:



After a few hours, and some food, we tried to head back to town – but were told the last bus would be in an hour. I was already running late, and so we headed off on foot just in case we could make it to the main road before the bus came.

Wind Horse on the way back from Shakti Monastery:



Luckily after 30 minutes a man gave us a lift the rest of the way to the main road – from which it was another 45 minutes on the bus back into town.

While I was able to call home – Joshua's party was in full swing and after a quick chat with a few people we headed out for dinner.

Leh - Part 3

One of the really amazing things about Leh is that there's an incredible amount to see in the outlying villages. And while transport can be a bit sparse at times, it's possible to get to most of the places of interest.

So armed with the pages from the Lonely Planet, and some good recommendations from the locals we headed out to find Thiksey Monastery.

It's an impressive sight – set on the top of an outcrop of rock at one edge of the Leh valley:



Inside there's loads of temples and we spent a good few hours wandering around.

Buddhist texts in one of the temples:



The view from the roof:



“200 dollars for Jousting Sticks. Tell 'im he's dreamin'”:



The view from the roof – looking back towards Leh:



One of the tiny monasteries inside the main complex:



Mandala wall painting:



Buddhist Images:



The Library:



Protector wall painting:



Giant Buddha – this one is three stories high – and the upstairs room has a hole in the floor so it can fit:



From there, we headed to Shey Fort. We couldn't see most of it because it was closed for renovations – but we were able to sit for almost an hour listening to the monks chanting in one of the temples.

View from Shey Fort looking back to Thiksey which can just be seen on the left:



The ruins of the old fort:



Brock – enjoying the view:

Leh - Part 2

Another easy day, followed by a trip to see Leh Palace and the monastery which sit in imposing position on the hillside above Leh.

It's a fair climb to the top – but the views and chance to wander through these ancient buildings is definitely worth it.

On the way to the fort:



Leh Palace was built in the 17th century and was modeled on the Potala Palace in Lhasa. It's was abandoned in the mid 19th Century, and while the state of the building deteriorated it's currently being restored.

Leh – from Leh Fort:



Gabe, Jo, Me, and Brock enjoying the view:



The library – jam packed full of Buddhist texts:





Me – enjoying the view:



From the fort we headed up to the Gon-Khang Monastery (Temple Of The Guardian Divinities - cool name :-) at the top of the hill.



Skydiving – Leh style:



Painting inside the monastery: