A Quick Note

Ugh, that was a rough night. My stomach’s not terribly happy with me. The dogs barking early this morning didn’t help; it seems they sleep during the day in all Leh’s shady corners to rest themselves for the barking match when the moon is up. I spent the morning on our rooftop, reading, though it’s difficult to concentrate on a book when you’re surrounded by such a spectacular view. It’s amazing. The Old Ladakh Guesthouse where we’re staying is on the north side of the town, which is higher up on the mountain than the rest of the town, so we have a pretty amazing all-round views of the Himalayas. Further north is Leh Palace and the monastery, and towards the south the mountains are snow-capped and spectacular.

I took my first “shower” here as well – if it seemed like a long time to you, then you can only imagine what it was lie for me. They don’t really have showers here. I used a bucket and cold water. You can heat the water here but it didn’t work for a while, even after I waited, which was annoying, especially in the chilly morning air. I feel much better afterwards though, and my hair is actually clean again. It’s a blissful feeling!

At noon we headed out to a the company we’re hiking with tomorrow. It’s an organisation run by women, who only accept male participants if they’re accompanied by a woman. They seemed the most professional company when we were researching (surprise, surprise) so we booked with them. We bought hats and proper hiking socks like they recommended, and now I’m all packed for our adventure tomorrow. I just hope I’m up for it – I found it tough walking around the town today. I think it’s because I haven’t had any fuel a while, so if I keep down a solid dinner tonight I’ll go. If not… we’ll see.

I’m off to the internet café to post this and the other blogs now and register for college. It’s liberating being free of internet but you can only avoid it for so long.

If all goes according to plan, this will be the last post for a couple of days as I’ll be hiking through the mountains, so to my family, don’t panic if you don’t hear from me! I’ll be fine, and I’m coming back on Saturday. I’ll be sure to take some photos; it’s going to be spectacular! Lots of love, always thinking of you.