Kelsang and Yang Chen live with their 3 children, 2 of whom we met. Their daughter is in boarding school. Their youngest son, Tenzing (many boys are named Tenizing after the Dalai Lama) is 7, 2 years older than Delilah. They got along famously, despite the fact that they didn't speak the same language. They mimicked each other. They had a puppy inside, as well a a large dog outside. Tenzin and I drew together. He drew a dream house that wasn't that different from his home. Perhaps a little bigger, and bigger trees. I looked through his (or his brother's) school book and read several english exercises, essays.

When we arrived it was light out, but since the windows were small it was darkish inside. The "Living Room" (our words) had a tiny 6" x 6" "sky light" letting in some natural light. Evertually a single light was turned on. There were 2 couches. We chatted with Yang Chen's sister, a teacher, while Delilah and Tenzing laughed and laughed. We were all laighing. There were two other rooms in the house: the kitchen and a bedroom.

We were served tea and crackers as Kelsang and Yang Chen carried water and cooked. I'm not sure at what point it became clear to us that our hosts would not be dining with us. Champal popped into the room to explain that is the Bhuddhist tradition of service. They served us first - bread in the shape of knots (the first raised bread we'd had in a long time) , rice, delicious greens with cheese, dahl, fresh vegetables with noodles, mutton, fresh salad, teas. Only after we finished did they eat in the kitchen on the floor. We had very mixed feeling about this, both of gratitude (the food was delicious!) and acceptance, but also discomfort and a sense of loss. We also felt like we were missing out on conversation.

I hope that we continue to correspond with Kelsang and his family. I'm getting choked up.

Yang Chen makes and sells jewelry in the passageway down a few steps across from the ATM in Leh. She taught me how to tell the difference between turquoise and plastic that imitates it (turquoise remains cool long after plastics warm to the touch). While we were there Kelsang began to wear a large coral earring that he made. Turquoise and coral are TIbetan good luck jewelry. I wish I had a photo. It was HUGE!

Kelsang Wandu remains copyright of the author leahkreger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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What fun to write again! This is the Hemis Monastery, the first one to which we went. It has a very large sponsorship from all over the world.

How does a large sponsorship translate into what we observed? Construction and reconstruction. We observed more building here than in others we saw, both in the temple and in monks houses around the compound. In the photo below (from the internet, and the same building as the one in the first photo), the section behind the tall blue flag and pole was missing when we were there. You can see that it's missing in the first photo. The roofline in the first photo is not continuous - which indicates the break from the damage.

Rooftop decoration and an homage to our friend the painter Chris Martin.

Adobe, rock and timber walls. This photo was taken from one of the roofs of the main section, above a prayer hall. I picked up an adobe that was smaller than a CMU and just as heavy. Quite dense stuff.

Ladakh has famously little rain. However, it has been increasing in recent years. It rained for 7 days straight just before we arrived! The day we were in Hemis is the last day that we experienced rain on the trip. The affect on traditional construction has been devastating to some buildings, villages and monasteries, as seen in these photos.

Later - when we trekked west from Lakir we camped in the village of Yang Thang. The village had been swept through by the very high waters of glacial runoff – high water everywhere. Wiped out the roads along the streams, as well as most of the villages. To walk along the stream was very difficult for me on foot, and impossible for the horses. The monastery had been severely damaged as well as much of the village.

Delilah takes off her shoes before entering the prayer hall.

I became intrigued by this decorative lintel and eaves detail which I saw in many places.

What is the purpose? My best guess is something to do with waterproofing the tops of the walls and windows or doors, somehow wicking, or directing water towards the exterior of the buildings.

The builders notch the sticks, gather little bundles of sticks about the size of a bunch of asparagus, dip the ends in red paint, and lay them in place. As I watched this construction site some of the women pointed and laughed at my hair, then still in cornrows. They touched it. They seemed to say "Lay! Lay!" with such delight. It was the first time I heard "Julay!" the friendly greeting.

MIles and Delilah walking among the monks' residences above the prayer halls. I had a hard time imagining monks navigating the paths at 4,5,6 in the morn in the dark.

Even a photograph of Buddha is sacred. No flashes please!

Offerings of many colors from interior of Stoknya. The prayer halls are quite dark. One's eyes must adjust. In Hemis, light comes from above, second story clerestories, or a little private skylight directly over the special chair for the lama. I could not access the second stories. As in Stoknya, the light was also indirect. Diffuse. Thiksney was the darkest of all. Prayer halls had many rooms off main room, akin to Christian chapels. Not symmetrical, with many more buddhas. Not just one special room with chapels, but several special rooms. (More like the Met!) Floors were well worn with wide baords, which felt good, varied and polished under sock feet.

MIles in the courtyard of Stoknya Monastery. Much more intimate than Hemis. Hemis was backed up into a mountain in a glacial valley. Upon descent onto the Indus Plain one can see Stoknya in the distance, Stoknya looks like an island in the plain, a fortified island. Some of the walls are crenellated. I was reminded of how Peter Young described "cloud forests" around Bisbee, AZ, that each had their own ecology. From Stoknya looking west one can see Thiksney, which is built where a spur of some foothills meets the flat Indus Plain.

From each monastery one can see the next in the distance. Each of those three has a unique relationship in how it is sited with the mountains.

In the land below Hemis we saw low, broad, dry mortar handmade walls that followed the contours of the landscape. Perhaps they were 3-4' high, and as wide as 12-16'. Carefully stacked flat rocks carved withthe Tibetan words reading Om mani padme hum. Some Tibetans say this to themselves hundreds of times a day to invoke blessings. We would later see very large such carvings into hard-to-reach cliff rocks on our trek.
An unusual flower design.

Monasteries remains copyright of the author leahkreger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The beautiful walking entrance to the Goba Guest House, Changspa, Leh. Just ahead and to the left is the flower garden with tables, chairs and an arbor. We stayed here for 10 days; it was our center as we travelled and trekked. WIth a large community of European and Israeli travelers (and one American!), we made it our home away from home.

The south side of the house and the flower garden.

The edge of the upper terrace of wheat, over the vegetable garden. You see the cold frame in the background. This photo, to the west, is away from the city. You can see the stark difference between the irrigated land of the guest house and the dry foothills. Many of these photos remind me of Sydney and Miguel's home in Chimayo, New Mexico, a place that we love where we feel at home.

We met for breakfast in the garden, and exchanged stories and information about treks and buses and restaurants and yoga classes (only 2 in the city, the better one with an American teacher). Once we began to eat breakfast in this idyll, we began to feel connected, like we belonged to a mini-community. People would hang out during the day as they acclimatized, or during down time between treks, or if one family member was trekking and others were not.

We met a wonderful family from Israel with a 4 year-old daughter named Ofir. It took a little while for her and Delilah to cleave to each other, because though all the parents could speak English and communicate well, Ofir did not, so Delilah and she communicated in other ways. I was so impressed at how many activities, toys and games her parents brought for her: 2 decks of cards, activity books, paints (we had paints too), a speaker system for their iPod. We ate several meals together and she and Delilah spent one blissful day in the garden and Delilah really needed that. She needed to have at least one kid friendship that lasted for a few days. Ofir's family went off the the fabled Nubra Valley (where there are 2-humped camels) when we were trekking. Oh to hear Ofir's sweet voice again! again!

The garden looking back towards the allee.

This photo (someone else's) is of the mountain that we saw from our window. The tallest is Stok Kangri. When we were there there was a little less snow. Stok is a 6000 meter peak that is one of the easier 6000 meter peaks to climb. I met a German woman who had spent most of her weeks in Leh preparing for the 4 day trek to climb Stok. She was travelling alone and met the woman who would become her climbing partner on another trek.

Foreground view from our window which show's some of Goba's wheatfields (Stok wasn't clear in this photo).

Dawa is the proprietor with her husband and his parents. Their season is only two months long due to cold weather, so they put a lot of effort into those 2 months, and really turn their home over to the guests. Their service was gracious. 4-5 years ago Changspa had no restaurants and all the guests ate in at Goba. Now that there are many restaurants (making pizza and pasta among other things) in the neighborhood only a few guest eat in. We did so 3 nights, and they were the best meals we had in Leh.

I consulted with Dawa about where to locate and build another building for guest rooms. We laid out a building on the opposite side of the flower garden/arbor/breakfast meeting place. It is to be L-shaped so that the existing building and the new building will face each other to some extent. The rooms will all have views of Stok. It will be built to that it can eventually have 2 stories, and 10 more rooms. She said that to build in the traditional way, of mud bricks, is easy to maintain. If the walls need a repair, they can be repaired modularly. If the building were built of concrete, if there were a problem, it would all have to be taken down and rebuilt. (she has experience with both kinds of construction.) The thick walls of the mud bricks keep the buildings warmer in the winter. The building will be built in this wheatfield.

Their temple is on the roof of their home. Note the beautiful carved lintel and door. They also have a library with ancient scrolls!

Enat Sidi told me about Goba. She also told me about a particular well in the garden in which she did her laundry. I looked for the well several times when I was there, in vain. This part of Changspa has something like the acequia system that we admire in New Mexico, where neighbors share a water source and it goes to different property, or different parts of the property at different times. Finally, on the last day we were there, I found the well I had been looking for!

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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!

Dropping into Ladakh remains copyright of the author leahkreger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Kelsang Wandu, our driver, is on the right. Changspa (MIles thought Changspal), his helper, our translator (who I developed a crush on) is on the left. We met them at about 6:30 in the morn. I was unhappy to see that the car had no right mirror, and the left mirror was turned in, and our luggage blocked the rear-view mirror. Beyond imagining the dynamics of driving on the right side of the road for us Americanos, driving in the mountains is a very active sport, because of how many various speeds the vehicles are traveling over the narrow roads. Kelsang seemed incredibly comfortable with this handicap of no mirrors. Eventually I felt comfortable with it too. He's a good driver.

They introduced themselves by saying "hi, we're Buddhists." Dashboard alter:

I had a sense as we headed to Rothang that as soon as we went over the pass, we wouldn't see anymore green; that the landscape would change drastically, and that I had to appreciate it (green wet stuff) while I could.

The change was more gradual than I anticipated. It remained green and wetter than I would have liked when we were so high. Though on one hand we felt like we were in the middle of nowhere, every so often, and at some passes, roadside chai-noodle-cracker-curry-chapati stands would pop up under tarp tents.

The changes were gradual, but there were many distinct landscapes that we passed through. The American west came to mind. The Grand Canyon came to mind. I had been taken with the name "Keylong" on a map. It was a town in a gorge on the side of a river valley cut like a gorge itself. I was happy to get through it into a "view". We fell short of our first night destination of Sarchu. We holed up in Darcha, which was a bend in the road with some rock foundation, tarp tents set up. Quite cozy. I think the proprietors of this one gave up their beds for the night for us. I later met a woman who had been on a month-long trek with Darcha as the ending point. It was hard for me to imagine Darcha as a dstination, since we were only passing through and all. Notables: we learned the custom of asking where the toilet is, though sometimes there is no toilet, the idea is that the villagers go in the same general location, near the donkeys or down by the river.

tarp-tent ceiling panel:

One of hundreds of very funny road signs on the Indian highways that kept us paying attention and laughing. This one says: Peep, peep, don't sleep

Very soon after we left Darcha we ran into our steering-column mishap (see earlier blog entry: http://leahkreger.travellerspoint.com/7/) and became temporarily separated from our camera. Hence I surfed the web for these. This is not my photo. This is not my motorcycle. However, these are the landscapes which we drove through. Generalization: motorcyclists take the best photos. Thanks to them.

Graph of altitudes of the road from Manali to Leh. For clarification: There were 5 passes, 2 of which were coupled together.

Photos don't do it justice.

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View from the valley

A proprietor inspecting the concrete pour on her new venture

A Brit motorcycle club after they arrived from Keylong over the Rothang Pass (about 4000 meters, depending on what map you've got). 34 motorcycles, 3 women among them, traveling with 2 first aid jeeps. Their luggage arrived first. They must've just got through before the roadslide we encountered the next day as we headed towards Rothang...

Valley above Manali

D's First Pony Ride This Trip remains copyright of the author leahkreger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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About the leash. At one point in our preparations for our trip I got concerned about loosing Delilah in REALLY REALLY big and dense crowds in Delhi. My cousin suggested a leash. Upon mentioning it to Delilah, she got very excited about it, and though through many conversations my fears were allayed, she remained interested in the leash.

It came in handy in Manali because the ROADS WERE SO NARROW. NO SIDEWALKS. COWS, DOGS, CARS, MOTORCYCLES, and, as I mentioned before, VELOCIRAPTORS ZOOMING ABOUT. With the leash I could reel her in away from the traffic.

Park behind our hotel.

Protest mentioned before in the town square of Manali.

Our first introduction the Buddhist culture on the trip. A temple right in Manali. Had the first of many very large prayer wheels we would see. This one enclosed in a room not much bigger than the 8' high prayer wheen. Always spin clockwise.

Detail.

Dragon detail

Prayer flags above Manali

Monkey

I was extremely excited to see a snake charmer, though this one was one of the most rascally of the hawkers, asking for exorbitant amounts of American money for each of their 6 people though as the photo shows, they started our with 3. People in India don't seem to have change, so it seemed difficult for 2 people to split a tip with one bill. For most of our trip we had to actively pay attention and seek small change.

I didn't get my curiosity about cobras satisfied. Hawker # 1 was too busy trying to put a python on me and asking for money, how could he have known that I had a python as a pet for many years, and it wasn't really a novelty to me at all.

Blank books you will soon be seeing for sale in Miles's store.

One of many.

Manali remains copyright of the author leahkreger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The city is on the west side of the Ganges (pronouced Ganga) and across the wide, murky and holy waters lies green fields. The airport cab drove adeptly through chaos to an ATM, which was our meeting point for the guide who would take us through winding narrow streets to our guest house on the river. I was so eager to see the sunlight when we appraoched the banks. THe river just looks so much better for getting around than walking in the winding, wet, narrow, up and down pathways.

Our room is "super deluxe" in name only. There is an AC. We'll see if it works now. After napping we awoke to boys jumping 4 stories into the Ganges. Naked butts and all. Many seem happy to be photographed. We've been given the bacteria count for the river and probably won't even go near it with our feet. We then negotiated (badly?) for a ride to Asi Ghat (the ghats are the steps that extend into the river). I won't tell you what we saw floating in the river, suffice it to say that it cut through any illusions I harbored about a charming city. It got real fast. We did see a burial for someone without so much money: a body wrapped in orange cloth, and pushed off the prow of the boat about 100 feet out. No burning for that man.

Trusting the people who are helping us is such a factor here. Trusting the hotel, the guides. Our boatmen were 4 teenage boys, whom we will meet at 6 am for the famous dawn boat ride on the Ganges.

I'm thinking of my friend Lilia a great deal here, Shiva is particualrly special to her, and this is Shiva's birthplace.

Love, love, love

Varanasi remains copyright of the author leahkreger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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We didn't know what to expect from the monasteries. I had imagined them, longed to see them, (for years) from the exterior. The insides had many rooms, connected by exterior courtyards and passageways. They generally had at least two really important spaces: a prayer hall and at least one space with a Buddha and a stupa. Some Buddhas were at least two stories tall, but the rooms in which they were placed could be quite tight. So a full frontal head on view was difficult to obtain. We were often at knee height, though we could go around the back, and sometimes to a second floor. Some monasteries let us shoot photos, though without flash. We learned that the photo of a buddha is an object of worship itself. Alchi (an 11th century monastery!) did not allow photos inside at all. Sacred scrolled sutras are rolled up and stacked in the dark recesses.

Monks gather in the prayer halls. We experienced many extraordinary things, and heard that many tourists go during puja, or prayer time (6 am or so). We didn't experience a puja this time.

The prayer halls were quite dim upon entering. One's eyes adjusts to see beautiful paintings on the walls. Most of the monasteries had some type of indirect light over the center of the space, and over "thrones" in which lamas sat. In their absence photos of the lamas (often the Dalai Lama) invoked their presence. The spaces were very centrally laid out, like mandalas themselves, with outer rooms similar to tiny chapels with more Buddhas and stupas. Every so often our guides would be particularly moves by a stupa or a Buddha, and prostrate themselves, or pray.

Paintings covers the walls. Sometimes they were quite difficult to see. I was particularly impressed with the paintings at Alchi: a repeat pattern of thousands of Buddhas about 5" high or so, and large ones with "tattooed legs" with special patterns themsleves. we saw a little area where restoration was experimented with: bright spots of color on the otherwise faded walls. I was reminded of the arguments about restoring the Sistine Chapel, or the Giotto chapel in Padua. The plaster was bubbling off the rock and adobe (11th century) walls, and the experiment only dealt with the surface.

Just before we arrived in Ladakh there was an unprecedented amount of rain in this high desert. As appreciated as rain usually is in the desert, it hurt some of the traditional adobe (like new mexico) construction. We passed upstream of a monastery that had been seriously damaged by the heavy rains. This also affects the homes of the monks or nuns.

I sketched a little. (Sketching is almost always allowed), and found a beautiful architectural study published in 1979 of many or the places we toured, and more.

Offerings of money (many nationalities), food, oil were offered to the Buddhas. Rectangular white silk scarves were thrown (off balconies) around extended arms. By the time we left Leh, Delilah had two white silk scarves honoring her beautiful and holy neck by two of our hosts. Our little Buddha. love, leah

[M.B.I know you've all been waiting and waiting so here, at long last, the Bowel report: Leah: somewhat irregular but otherwise perfectly fine. Delilah - rather....nice, I'd say, nothing to write home about. Mile: well, um, about four days ago, a couple of risky choices began to take their toll. However, I am feeling a little shy about getting too detailed, much as you all long for it. Suffice it to say: information withheld pending further analysis]

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We started out bright on day 1 through a beautiful "alpine" valley, with 5 waterfalls in view at one point. The road was blocked an hour out of Manali. We waited for 5, count em, 5 hours for the road to be cleared from a mudslide the night before. We were quite fresh at this point, and met many people at the (almost ubiquitous) roadside chai/ potato chip and food stands that dot this "touristic route," even in the most remote places. One Israeli woman said she had been waiting since 10 pm the night before for the road to be cleared, so we got some perspective on our situation and could only be grateful. When the bull dozer finally arrived NO ONE of the hundreds waiting CHEERED. My mother, cheerleader extradordinaire, would've been appalled. Don't worry mom, we clapped, and bowed (buddhist style bow).

What was so surprizing was that the mudslide that caused the 5 hour delay looked piddling compared to the many other road blockages that we encourtered, most've which were plowed right through by the 4 wheel drives, not so 4 wheel drives, decorated lorries STINKING up the roadsm buses, motorcycles and BICYCLES. Yes, we saw people biking over the Himalayas. THe switchbacks must make it concieveablem and there are approximatly as many downs as ups, BUT THE MUD. AND THE FUMES. How do they do it?

When the road is described in travel book as as the 2nd highest navigalbe pass in the world (17+ thou, higher than Mt. Blanc!) the writer failed to explain that the road is largely under construction. We had another hour-long stop for a bridge to be repaied, and another shorter stop for some earth (mud) to be moved. The road "surface" goes from macadam to MUD without rhyme or reason. Sometimes the good rood is near the top of a pass, and sometimes the dirt and rocks were at the top of the pass.

The most interesting parts to Delilah were that we were going to the sky and that she could touch the clouds.

I must say something about the widths (varying) and the drop-offs (undeniable). I initially felt the most anxiety about these "qualities", however it's amazing what one can get used to. There were soem momets when I was so grateful that no traffic was coming from the opposite direction because the road was so narrow, when somehow a vehicle would show up coming the opposite direction and the passing would be quite uneventful. The drivers were extraordinary.

Note the use of the word drivers, plural. Half way through our (billed as) brand new vehicle broke a major part of the steering assembly (this particular car part didn't translate easily from Tibetan). What was extraordinary is that within 5 minutes on THIS REMOTE ROAD, an empty jeep going to Leh appeared, and our driver and helper knew them! WIthin less than 10 minutes (not really enough time to be a drama) our luggage was tranferred, the new driver was paid, and we were on our way to Leh. Our parting words to driver and helper #1 were, "see you in Leh" (a city). And we did! Miraculously, as we were shopping, one of the drivers spotted MIles's (handsome) mug, and returned my camera. (That would've been a big bummer).

Tomorrw: to monasteries.

Love and stuff,

Leah, Miles and Delilah

Miles: will detail bowel report in next posting.

Shangri-Leh remains copyright of the author leahkreger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I write from one of the many travel agencies in Manali/Old Manali/ Vasheest. We will lkeave at 6 in the morning by jeep to Leh in Ladakh, going over at least 3 passes, one of which is extremely high. I asked the booking agent how we can make the trip safe, and he said, "pray." The good news is that I've been doing that a great deal already. I am assured that the drivers have at least 15 years experience, and that they are all mountain people, familiar with the roads here.

We are meeting many people from europe, had breakfast with a young woman from Belgium fresh from Dharamsala. She said the Olympic protests are very active there. There is one silent protest here, with 50 or so tibetans (mostly women) with black bands around their mouths, and signage about political prisoners in China. Miles, I think, feels some pangs of regrets that Dharmsala is not on our itinerary.

Manali is green and lush, with apples, mangoes, many kinds of flowers, and, yes, cannabis growing wild along the road. Smells, as we were told, are strong.

We now know that a monsoon does not necessarily mean it rains all the time, but rains can be quite heavy. As we drove from Delhi we saw most people without rain protection on the road, not to mention without shoes. Can be heartbreaking. We took a bicycle rickshaw in Delhi and I felt so guilty on a slight upshill that I jumped out, which may in fact have made it more difficult for the seemingly ancient driver.

Our sleep remains inconsistent, with all of us taking a 3 hour nap yesteday, and me waking before 5 this morning. I was told that one needs 1 day to adjust to every hour time difference.

Miles finally did some book business today, with some gorgeous handmade diaries. We toured one of le Corbusier's buildings in Chandigargh: the High Court. Extremely exciting for me, like a giant playground, and very majestic with the giant colored columns, sculptural concrete, see-through spaces.

Delilah says, "I miss you very much, I'll see you soon. After I get back I'll see you for sure." Animals seen: yaks, horses, monkeys, an elephant, cows, lots of them, all over the road, snakes in baskets, and lots of dogs. Every time we see a blond dog we all say, "Cooby!"

[Miles' ENTRY: extreme poverty, pestilence, mud, heat, slugs & monsoons: what a wonderous vacation!]
[part 2: brightly saried wone riding side saddle on the backs of motorbikes, excellent food, a constant atmosphere of devotion, lush wild life, the people playing and laughing despite their circumstances]

[Delilah says: I saw a dog and she followed us through a long park and I named her Jewelry and I wanted to keep her because we couldnt keep her in the hotel or fly her. Another dog today and he jumped up on us so much and I waas scared of course. ]

Love, and we're dreaming of you,

Love to our parents, we're safe and healthy!

Leah, Miles and Delilah

From Manali remains copyright of the author leahkreger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Travelin' Clothes remains copyright of the author leahkreger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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So this time, remembering that dogs live in the moment and can't tell time, I didn't really say goodbye until the moment I said goodbye, with him in the back of the car. MIles is driving him up to Phonecia to board with a wonderful woman in the country. Her name is Marilyn Manning. She has a paradise with a lovely garden and water features, and two houses. She manages the dogs between the garden and the two houses, dividing them up depending on who's coming or going. We sent along a pillowcase that we hope smells a little like us, for his comfort. Miles will remind Marilyn of some of his vocabulary.

Leah saying goodbye to Cooby

Saying Goodbye to Cooby remains copyright of the author leahkreger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Day 1 Tuesday August 5
Fly NY-LONDON Virgin Flight #26
LONDON-DELHI Virgin Flight #300

Day 2 Wednesday, August 6th
Arrive Delhi
Hotel: The Oberoi Maidens
011 91 1123975464
gm@maidensHotel.com

Day 3 Thursday, August 7th
Leave Delhi
Namaste tours, contacts: Lu Ann and Jawahar
011 911902-252104
Hotel in Chandigarh

Day 4 Friday August 8th
Leave Cahndigarh Arrive Mandi

Day 5 Saturday August 9th
Leave Mandi arrive Manali
Hotel: Negi's Mayflower Hotel Manali

Day 6 Sunday August 10th
Manali

Day 7 Monday August 11
Manali

Day 8 Tuesday August 12
Leave Manali arrive Keylong

Day 9 Wednesday August 13th
Leave Keylong arrive Leh

Day 10 Thursday August 14th –
Day 17 Thursday August 21
Leh
Goba Guest House
ph# 011 91 1982 253670
mob# 011 91 9419179688

Day 18 Friday August 22
Fly Leh-Delhi Deccan flight #786
Hotel: unknown

Day 19 Saturday August 23
Delhi

Day 20 Sunday August 24
fly Delhi-Varanasi Jet Air flight 723
Hotel: SITA GUEST HOUSE
011 91 542 245 0061
SitaGuestHouse@yahoo.com

Day 21 Monday August 25th
Varanasi

Day 22 Tuesday August 26th
fly Varanasi –Delhi Spicejet flight# 119
Hotel:

Day 23 Wednesday August 27th
fly Delhi- London Virgin flight #301
The Geary Hoetink Residence
011 44 771 3063049

Day 24 Thursday, August 28
London

Day 25 Friday August 29
London

Day 26 Saturday August 30
fly London-New York Continental #29
Home!

Tuesday September 2
School starts!

Our Itinerary remains copyright of the author leahkreger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I talked to SOS International today to see if their insurance would complement ours, or overlap. Apparently their speciality is evacuation from medical facilities and repatriation. I think we'll stick with the insurance we have through the airline which covers medical.

Lilia gave me some bucks to buy something in Viranasi for her. She said Shiva is her man, her god. She wants a piece of Viranasi (aka Benares, birthplace of Shiva). Andre, who will be painting our apartment for us when we are gone, went on and on about the Bodhi tree. THe Buddhists are coming out of the walls.

I ran into a yogi as he wa about to go off on a month long silent retreat. I could relate.

$130 worth of pharmacuticals remains copyright of the author leahkreger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Every day before going we do a little more. Today I took Deli to the doc for her well child visit before she stars school 3 days after we return. She got her second hep A shot, as well as a booster for MMR, not required for school for another year, but I thought a booster could help. She has one more doc appointment to go (dermatology) and perhaps Miles will get a second hep A shot as well. Coverage coverage.

We have been torn about whether to book a trek from here via the internet or wait until we get to Ladakh. Our latest decision is to wait until we get to Ladakh, see how we feel, and talk to other travelers about which of the many valleys and towns to travel into.

Latest recommendations: Kargil province, Chiktan and Suru Valley.

In the meantime, my website is up and running after about 3 months of one day a week work with (the fabulous) Corinne. Check it out: www.IndamineOchre.com/new That's the beta version, soon it will be plain old IndamineOchre.com.

Delilah at Beatrice's party

Beatrice - check out those shoes

1 week before we fly to India remains copyright of the author leahkreger, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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