December 9, 2011
All I have to say about Leh is oh my gosh the sky! I have never seen such a huge endless sky inmy life!
We decided to stay in Leh another day while Raid moved on tothe Rangdum camp for two days. This was actually the first time Nick had seen Leh properly! Due to Raid he would come after sunset and leave before sunrise. We decided to take it easy and see the sights of Leh. Our first stop was Shanti Stupa which was built by Japanese monks in the 80’s. From the top you have a panoramic view of Leh. We walked up the few steps to the stupa and found a wallet. There was an obviously non-Indian dude standing with this suave looking sleazy guide type of Desi guy. As soon as we picked up the wallet the Indian guy felt for his wallet and turned. We signaled to him that we found it and he headed over. He walked over with the European dude and introduced himself as Raj Khan. The European was actually living in North Carolina and was in India for a friend’s wedding. After they both asked us about our bike, the Desi guy told us he’s an actor for a major super-hit serial on tv and that he was scoping out Leh for a movie. Why in the world would the directors send this guy out? And I have never seen this guy on Zee TV or Sony or anywhere…he doesn’t even look the part! It was obviously BS that he was handing us (especially the poor French dude).
Nick and I had a not-Indian food craving and found the cutest café in Leh where Nick had chocolate pancakes (more like crepes), French fries, and penne arrabiata. It was great, a good change! After lunch we headed a little outside of Leh to Shey Palace and the Shey Monastery. Both were mysteriously beautiful. I wish we had known more about the history or about the artwork in the monastery… hopefully next time we come to Leh I’ll better educate myself!
