Idle in Leh

Well, here I am in Leh, the capital of Ladakh. I was a bit out of breath yesterday because of the altitude but now I feel fine. The flight was OK with very little transfer time escept in Delhi. There I had to wait all night until the flight for Leh left. But it was a beautiful morning with sunrise over the Himalayas. I'm staying at Oriental again. They have expanded a bit since last summer perhaps losing some of the family athmosphere. But it's still much better than any other place I know in Leh. Last year I broke a brand new toaster for them so I had brought a new one with me from Sweden.

There are not many tourists here and most of the tourist shops have closed down for the winter. The ones that are still coming are hard core trekkers not fearing the cold nights and snow on the high passes. In Changspa, where Oriental is, the days are warm and sunny. Nights are cold but with a sleeping bag I have no complaints.

I called Gulzar in Kargil today. he is still in Srinagar but will be back in Kargil on Wednesday. I suppose it means that I can go there on Thursday at the earliest. In the mean time I can do some reading.

Today I met Sonam Joldan whom I've been in email contact with for a while. He got his PhD at JNU under Dawa Norbu before he passed away (Norbu, that is). Not much going on for an academic up here but he has applied for a post as scientific editor with the J & K Cultural something under Ngawang Shakspo.

The Muezzin is calling out for prayers in the mosque nearby. Leh is a mixed Muslim and Buddhist community which is always a potential threat of unrest. At the moment things seem to be fine, though.