Been A While, Eh?

Hello, all. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying life as much as I’ve been the past week…

I’m currently hanging out in the village/town of Leh, in the Kashmir region of Ladakh. Surrounding this backpacker joint / old Buddhist town are the great Himalayas, it’s quite surreal walking on the streets, having a chai, all the while staring at these glorious mountains. I’ve met a couple of buddies from the bus ride up and we’ve been walking around the town, hanging in café’s, taking in the sights, just got done with an awesome trip to a glacial lake deep in the Karakoram Range of the Himalaya (Google Image search Tso Pangong). Quite possibly the most visually stunning place I’ve ever visited in my life.

Stok Kangri. 6100+ meters.

There’s lots to update, worry not, as I’ve been keeping a blog offline. Below you’ll find stories from Manali, a great 3 days spent with Tejas and Vik before they departed for the States. You’ll also find an hour by hour update I wrote while on a 2-day bus ride from Manali to Leh, camping at 13,000 feet and going over terrifying 17,000 ft.+ mountain passes with breathtaking views all the while.

How's business, Pops?

I’ll be in Leh for the next couple of days – updates have been slow as the Internet at my hotel is perennially “broken” and there is little connection to the outside world aside from basic Internet cafés and Zack Morris cell phone service. Leh is visually spectacular and is a hop-off point for a lot of backpackers looking to take week long plus treks through the Himalayan valleys, climb mountains, etc. There is a very large backpacker/hippie culture here as well, leading to interesting people and stories.

Karan and C.D. in front of Jama Masjid in Leh. Leh Palace in background.

Me on roof of Leh Palace. Stok range in background. Beautiful.

YAK! Blue Steel?

Above pictures are from Tso Pangong. No photoshop necessary.

Will be back in Mumbai on Friday where I’ll plan my next trip. I canceled my trip to Indonesia due to the bombings but would love to open up the floor to any recommendations. Thinking Tokyo/Japan for 10 days? Thoughts? Anyone know anyone there I could get in touch with?

Lush Indus Valley.

Buddha.

The Crew: My-My, Jason, Karan, C.D.

Hope all of you are well,

R