La Revista: 16th May ’09, very late at night, Leh

It is nice to wake up in the morning and have breakfast waiting for you. Can’t remember how many days later I had a proper breakfast this morning. Some toast with honey (yes, sweet and wonderful honey), poached eggs and some black tea is enough to make a breakfast table look decent.

We were a little more active today. We climbed up to the Leh palace and the monastery situated on top of the mountain. I came out of a shop in town to find Palzer and Kenny with an Austrian guy with them, named Wolfgang. All four of us said goodbye to the road and challenged the rocky mountain slopes as we made our way up to the palace and the monastery. The palace was situated at a fair height on the mountain. We reached there first, without much difficulty. The palace was built in the fourteenth century by the then monarch of the place (obviously). Now it is quite a ruin and is undergoing some renovation. Inside, there was a museum (which didn’t have a wide variety of stuff on display) and many empty rooms and passages. We could get a spectacular view of the whole place down below (including the town of Leh) from any open space up there. Kind of enjoyed exploring the entire place. It had a different feel to it. The place really gave me the feeling of being a part of that ancient monument as we climbed up and down the walls of the place. After there was nothing left to be explored, we set our sights on the monastery. It was situated at a reasonable height from where we were, right on top of the hill. It was going to be one tiring climb if we carried on giving the road a miss.

Just a glimpse of the summit excited me. Isn’t it exciting to set your eyes on the top and make your way there by any means? As for me, I love to climb. After an apparently tedious climb, we reached one high point on the mountain – it was a kind of a cliff. The view from there was splendid. The entire town of Leh surrounded by mountains on all sides, that too at so great a height. It appeared magical to me. As we sat there, lost in the ecstasy of the place, the direct sunlight and the cold wind kept kissing us all over, the entire time. After a brief rest there, we scaled the entire mountain and reached the monastery up there. Unfortunately the monastery was closed and the place seemed to be in some sort of a ruin. However, that didn’t stop us from getting all over the place within minutes. We made our way to every place we could possibly reach in the monastery. Standing on the roof – the highest point on that peak, gives an entirely different feeling altogether. The entire landscape of the region from up there reminded me of the videos of Afghanistan I had watched on the Discovery Channel. I think that I would not be able to tell the difference if I were actually in Afghanistan, perched on one of the hills there.

Initially we had planned to hike across some of the mountains to the Shanti Stupa. Unfortunately for me, everyone else seemed to be tired and hungry, and wanted to get back to the town as soon as possible. Reluctantly, I followed these three guys as they swiftly made their way down the very slopes of the mountain we had climbed some time earlier. All the while I kept admiring the scenery around me. Watching Nature from an oblivious point in its bosom gives a better high than anything I have known. When I looked at my companions, I found Palzer leading the pack, moving towards the town at commendable speed. Hunger and thirst are unrivalled motivating agents!

By the time we sat down to have lunch at one of the many Tibetan restaurants in Leh, I had become completely irritated with Kenny (though I did not show it). This guy has got a motor fitted inside, in his buccal cavity. He simply can’t stop yapping. Most of what he talks is crap, as far as my limited understanding is concerned. For the first time, I thoroughly agreed with the saying, “Empty vessels make the most noise.” His head does seem quite empty to me now. Anyway, this time our food tasted pretty decent. To be safe, I had ordered some chicken chowmein. We then returned back to our hotel. I took a siesta while the guys played chess. In the evening, Wolf brought his guitar and we had some nice music and some singing. Wolf is a good guitarist and the other two too can play the guitar. I, once again played the role of the spectator with great perfection. Had a great time (and a relaxing one too) listening to music while sipping on cups of tea in the cosiness of our hotel rooms.

At a time like this, the only annoyance was Kenny yapping away to glory with his secretly designed “motor-mouth.” In this respect, our Austrian Wolf is more agreeable. He seems to have more substance in him. May be that is because he does not speak unnecessarily. Even if he does, he does not yap his way to stardom. I am reminded of a line from the movie, Deadman, which says, “He who talks loud says nothing.” By the way, it’s well past midnight by now, and I must do what I do with great efficiency – sleep.