Dropping into Ladakh

The landscape looked different as soon as we dropped down from the last pass. Stupas, or chortens, as they are called in Ladakhi are the white cultural artifacts that mark the landscape and fields. They can be in multiples or stand alone objects. Most that we saw were solid, built of rock and plaster. Those at Alchi Monastery were hollow with paintings of the cosmos for contemplation on intricate inner ceilings.

Some stupas are "punishment stupas," built in order to redeem the doer of the deed. The badder you been, the bigger the stupa. Others might say hail mary's. Perhaps the word stupid comes from the sanskrit origin - meaning heap. It was difficult for us to discern between the holy stupas and the punishment stupas, except in their proximity to monasteries.

These white plaster object sculptures were among the curvy, feminine, oh so green wheatfields. Poverty was less visible in Ladakh than in the south. Ladakh was cleaner with less garbage in the streets. I was so happy to eventually see a public trashcan in Leh.

Leh is a polyethelene-free zone. When I heard this, I was ready to pack them in my suitcase. As much as I like to say no to plastic, I couldn't imagine being without a plastic bag for so long. Was I allowed to bring plastic into the region? How would this be enforced?

Turns out stores don't give plastic shopping bags. They typically package goods in incredibly thin tissuey bags, or in "bags" made of newspaper, like glued origami projects.

I had plastic water bottle anxiety (who doesn't?) On the one hand, I was told even on a trek to buy bottles and give them to the guides, who don't usually pack water. I began to imagine the never biodegrading heap o' bottles. I looked around and saw people DO buy and drink bottled water. Pressurized and boiled water is also available to refill water bottles on the street and at most guest houses. I found a Tibetan pharmacy (glass jars of little spheres of herbs) and did both - buying and refilling in order to buy less.

Imagine a polyethelene-free New York!