Tents, Two-Tracks and Monasteries

9/9/16

     One of the things about traveling is leaving one’s comfort zone.  Well, believe me, Cynthia I have done that.  It is now 7:30 p.m.  The altitude is 14,100 ft.  We are in a tent, every piece of clothing we have is on our bodies, blankets on top of us, and I can say that I am not extremely cold.  Not warm mind you, but not freezing either.   The tent is actually kind of cool.  

Chandra Tal Tent

Tent City, 14,100 ft
Chandra Tal, Spiti, Himachal Pradesh

It has a double raised bed which is pretty damn comfortable.  It also has a closed off bathroom with a real toilet. The double bed is important as Cynthia and I are going to need each other's body warmth as the midnight hour approaches.  There is a single light bulb and there is electric (solar of course) from 6:30 to 10:30 pm.  Dinner is served at 8:30 (our chef’s name is Red Diamond).  Damn that seems late as I think that is about the time we’d be seeking the sanctuary of the covers, not to budge until the sun comes up.   Oh well.  

     I am finding the experience somewhat zen.  We can’t charge our Kindles and their batteries are kaput, thus no reading.  So for the last two hours we have just chilled.  Literally.  I do not want either of us to get altitude sickness.  I had it once in Cuzco, Peru.  Flew from sea level to 11,000 ft and wanted to see the town immediately.  I was with Callie and my daughter.  As soon as we arrived Nicole said “I am going to the hotel and take a nap”.  Callie and I said “no way” we are seeing the town.  Big mistake.  Vomited for the next 24 hours.  Nicole could barely keep from gloating.  This time we took a bit of a walk, felt it immediately, and returned to the chairs outside of our tent.  Just sat there and took in the scene, which by the way is not too shabby.

     We are in a place called Chandra Tal (Moon Lake) in the Spiti Valley.  Lonely Planet says it is one of the most remote places on the planet where there is road access.  You don’t have to convince me.  It is known as one of the few stop over points available, and there is a beautiful lake about a 1/2 hour hike from the campsite.  

Chandra Tal (Moon Lake)
Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India

The lake is incredible in that in the morning it is completely still.  As I crested the hill I didn’t even see it as the totally realistic reflection of the mountains made me think they WERE the mountains.  The effect was almost dizzying.  

     The day started by doing a repeat of the Rohtang La that I described in a previous blog.  Only one road, so no choice.  We loved it as much the second time.

JB & Cyn, Rohtang La
Himachal Pradesh, India

If I thought that road was a challenge, I had seen nothing yet.  Almost immediately after going over the pass the road completely goes South, and I don’t mean the direction.  It basically turns into a one lane two track and stays that way the entire time.  When a car comes from the other direction it seems like two abreast will never happen, but somehow (often by backing up) the drivers do the impossible.

Spiti Two Track
Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh

The landscape changed completely as well.  All the rain falls on the Manali side of the range and here it is a moonscape.  Beautiful but barren.  Very few living plants.  The “road” follows a river which is fed by the snowcapped peaks that surround us.  Several times today we saw water cascading from dizzying heights.  

     One of the highlights today was where we had lunch.  Another tent.  Felt like a nomad.  The photos will tell a better story than I can.

Lunch Time, Spiti Valley
Himachal Pradesh, India

Dal, rice, chapati and chai (sweet spiced tea with milk).  Tasted great.  Ok, battery running out, almost time for dinner.  

9/13/16

     We are back at Chandra Tal.  We have spent the last 4 days exploring the Spiti valley.  In Manali we hired a car and driver, the only way to get to the locations we have been.  Seven nights and eight days later we will arrive in Leh.  The only places that I have experienced that are more remote than this are on the two treks I have taken.  One in Northern Thailand (and into Myanmar) and the other in the Annapurna Range of Nepal.  Both required many days of some serious hiking.  This place is accessible by road, though not until the 90’s.  But that seems to make it no less barren and remote.  I don’t want to overdue the road description but it deserves further mention.  A dirt and dusty two track, sometimes with drop offs from staggering heights, always with stupefying views in all directions.  

     Our driver, Vijay, is skilled and confident.  Damn good thing.  Just for fun I asked the manager of our hotel who arranged the driver, "is he cute?"  She said yes, but shy.  Well good thing as I think Cynthia got a minor crush on him.  I could see why as, indeed, he is cute!  

Vijay with rare smile

  

Vijay and our Fine Ride

     Motorcyclist ply the route as well, as it is somewhat famous in Northern India for the extremely adventurous minded.  I love riding, but I must admit to no desire to tackle this route, even if I were twenty years younger (or even forty!).  The roads are obviously treacherous and the dust would be a total deal killer.  One sees a moto go by and the rider is covered head to toe.  Scarf wrapped around the face, helmut shield down.  For me it would take the fun out of it.  

     When I first saw the Dolomites in Northern Italy I remember thinking that I had never seen anything like them.  The same goes for Spiti.  One comes here for the incredible scenery, but also for the monasteries.  Some over a thousand years old, they were founded by the Buddhist Monks of Tibet.  Two of them, the Key Monastery and Dhankhar Monastery are placed on treacherous precipices that must have created incredible, seemingly insurmountable, obstacles to build.

Key Monastery
Kara, Spiti Valley, Himachal Predesh

But create them they did.  If the idea was to imagine and create a place so solitary that the mind would have no distractions, they certainly succeeded.  These two monasteries felt ancient.  They were built with mud, rocks and straw.  The Dhankar Monastery actually had more of a cave like feel.  Very little, almost nothing actually, has been done to bring them into the modern age.

     (I just have to interject.  It is now 4 o’clock in the afternoon.  The weather seems to be changing.  The winds are whipping across the flat plain that we are camped upon.  Dark clouds are forming over the snow covered glaciers that not long ago, it seemed we could almost touch.  We have had to retreat to the inside of our tent.  The walls are dancing freely as the winds take control.  It gives one a slight idea of what it would be like here when true winter sets in.  Uninhabitable in a word.  They close this entire camp site in 10 days and I think it will be none too soon!)

     The rooms were dark, particularly in the Tabo Monastery established in 996 A.D.  But we brought flashlights and were totally amazed at the wall murals depicting a wide range of Buddhist themes.  They were so well preserved, a lot due to the semi darkness in which they resided.  There were two things about each monastery that stood out.  One was the physical place itself, and the other was the experiences we had while inside.  The monks were totally welcoming.  Most of the time we were the only tourists there.  
    

Cynthia and the Monks
Dhankar Monastery, Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh

In the Dhankar Monastery we literally felt our way up into the main temple area, climbing mud stairs that would be a lawyers dream in the U.S.   A chanting sound is really what gave us direction.  One monk greeted us in the small gathering area and we sat and listened to the chant, accompanied by a constant drum and interspersed with a very bass-like horn.  After perhaps 1/2 hour the chanting ceased (the monks were in a small private meditation room directly off of where we were sitting) and perhaps 6 or 7 of them came into the area we were in.  They each smiled in greeting.  They then served us a chai tea and we stayed with them for another hour.  Conversation was limited as they had very little English and we had zero Spiti, but that did not stop us from having a lively discussion.   It seemed that an understanding was reached on several subjects.  Perhaps at times it’s better if you don’t speak the same language!

Dhankar Monastery
Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh

      
     In the Tabo Monastery we found our way into the main temple.  Diffused light was streaming in from a window created in the ceiling, but one’s vision was minimal.  The room measured perhaps 25’ x 20’.  On the surrounding walls of the entire temple were sculptures depicting the various Buddhist deities.  Individually they fascinated and the overall effect was incredible.  In the temple was one presiding monk and perhaps 16 village tribal women.  Cynthia and I took seats on the cushioned low bench to better understand what was happening.  Such an interesting interchange was taking place.  The monk would speak for a while, then ask a question.  The women would give a lively reply.  What amazed Cyn and I was the obvious humor that was being exchanged.  The monk relished having the women laugh, and they would in turn exchange humor with each other.  Being in no hurry to leave we spent another hour just drinking in the atmosphere and the conversation, of which of course we understood nothing.  And yes, there was a short break at which time chai was served to all, including Cynthia and I.  I know, as we continue our journey, there will be other, perhaps more well known, monasteries to visit.  But the experiences we have had so far have been priceless.  

Puja, real desiccated sheep
Dhankar Monastery, Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh

     Tomorrow morning early we will continue our journey to Leh.  It will take us three days to traverse perhaps 300 km.  We will be going over passes that measure more than 17,500 ft.  Right now we are healthy, engaged with our experience, and doing a very good job of “Being Here Now”.    

9/15/16

     Another tent city.  This one is at 13,750 ft and is called Sarchu.  If one is going from the last main village (Keylong where we stayed last night) to Leh, it is too far to go in one day.  Add to that that there are no villages in that entire distance (the last gas station said no more gas for 365 km!), one never gets below 12,000 ft, and you don’t want to sleep in the car, thus these small tent “cities”.  This tent is perhaps a bit fancier than the last.   A bit larger, double windows with screens, a particle board floor in the bathroom instead of stones, and better made.  Odd thing is, this place is the most expensive place we have stayed since we left Manali.  R3,500 ($53).  Now that does include dinner and breakfast, but still, we are in a tent for Christ’s sake!  In the other small villages we have stayed in we sought out the nicer hotel and were paying between $12 and $23 a night.  Now we aren’t cheaping out mind you, that was all there was available.  I also hope the price comes with a better chef than we had in Chandra Tal.  The food there pretty much sucked.  I know we are in the boonies but I remember meals on the Annapurna trek, several days hike from a road, where the meals were scrumptious, and one had a choice.  Dal and rice with a chapati was about all that was shaking at Chandra Tal.  

     Of interest to Cynthia and I is that these tent cities get completely dismantled in about 2 weeks from now.  It is impossible to traverse the road, especially through the passes that reach almost 18,000 ft., once the snows start.  They truck everything out, then bring it back in June.  I was wondering if they dug new holes for the toilets or just reused the same ones.  I’ll have to ask!

     The main and only road between the Spiti Valley turnoff and Leh seems much better than the Spiti Valley roads.  At least so far.  A lot of it is paved, and that which isn’t is in decent shape, comparatively speaking.  I am quite surprised because after experiencing the ruts they called roads in Spiti, I was expecting the worse.  Tomorrow we will have an 8 hour journey to arrive in Leh, Ladakh.  We traverse the two highest passes, some reading says the highest road in the world.  Yikes!  Right now the climate is fairly comfortable, though we have retired to the tent.  Once the sun goes down I know the temperature will drop like the preverbal rock.  Word is the pipes that feed the toilet and sink are frozen, thus we have buckets of water to flush.  Tonight we have a little fortifier for the cold.  Last night in Keylong I bought a small bottle of Scotch!  A blend, but single malt just wasn’t on the menu! 

9/16/16

     We have arrived in Leh.  Both Cynthia and I are upbeat, especially given last night.  The temperatures plummeted to the 20’s and sleep was almost impossible to come by.  It wasn’t the cold, I believe it was the altitude.  We went to bed about 9, and stayed in bed until 6:30.  During those 9-1/2 hours I literally slept about 1/2 hour.  It was a first for me.  If I ever do anything like that again I will have some serious sleeping pills with me.  Believe me, it was not fun.  But today was a ride of a lifetime and first impressions of Leh are very upbeat.  More about Leh and today’s ride in the next blog! 

Cyn and JB Making Plans
Tabo, Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh