Kampot

Having enough temples I headed back to Phnom Penh, making it through Battambang this time. This town was cheap, nice and quiet, with French mansions along the river bank. There's plenty of peaceful countryside around, with some mountains standing among rice fields. The mountains are important and sacred to Khmer, since most of the country is plain. Many of the mountains have wats (monasteries) on their top. During the Khmer Rouge some caves in the mountains were used to throw in the bodies of their victims, these days the bones and skulls were collected and presented to visitors with a request for donation. It's not easy.
Coming back to Phnom Penh I still hadn't enough stamina for sight seeing in the capital and after a couple of days left for the south. The town of Kampot is a quiet place on the river, again the French boulevards with shattered overgrown yellow buildings - after seeing plenty of these places in Lao and in Cambodia, it still has its charming effect. The town is near Bokor mountain. Only the French would think of an idea to bring elephants and cut a road right through the thick jungle bushes, all around the slopes, to the plain uphill where they built a 3-storey hotel-casino watching all the Gulf of Thailand, a church, and some mansions. All that is left of the buildings is just the outside. There're remaints of a big cannon platform just above the church, made in China and served the KR to exchange compliments with the Vietnamese who took the opposite hill, with the hotel... The wind is wild up there, going through the empty rooms with a wail... It's a ghost place, the spookiness comes with a beatiful scenery and this makes it a one of a kind experience. All the forest covering Bokor mountain is declared as national park, and there supposed to be plenty of wildlife, but I've just seen birds, many though.

Siem Reap

After spending an afternoon in Kratie, I moved east to the beatiful forested hills of Mondulkiri. The capital of the province, Sen Menorom, is really a village, with a lot of interconnecting trails going around the hills. The weather can be quite chilly in early morning and becomes hot in daytime.

Very quiet place, it's probably just before the tourist boom will hit it, because the scenery around is amazing. The hills are either covered by grass or by jungle, with lots of waterfalls, some of them quite difficult to reach. The road to Boo Sra waterfall, 40 kms northeast of town, is ok most of the way, ang gets pretty bad towards the end. It's worth the journey, though. The waterfall has two levels, and is very impressive. It's possible to walk above the top, between the floors, and go down to the bottom. Jungle is all around, birds are pretty rare to spot, but big butterflies are in abundance, so are dragonflies, red ants and those cool little bugs that slide on the water.

After enjoying few days biking around the hills I took a bus to the capital, Phnom Penh. After several weeks in countryside the noise came as a surprise. The most common question is 'You want motorbike, sir? ' coming from hundreds of bored moto drivers. But, on the afternoon I got also something like 'You want shooting, sir? Not far away, near the Killing Fields.' I decided to leave it for some other time. I decided to get some Angkor stuff and took off. Stopped on the way in Kompong Thom. There's a complex of ancient Khmer ruins near the town, called Sambor Prei Kuk. There's not much left of the red brick temples to see, but it's located in a forest, so it's a nice walk. Next day I arrived to Siem Reap, a village that has grown out of proportions with hotels and restaurants, thanks to its location near the Angkor temples. The Angkor park is a very busy place, but still beatiful. Just need to get up early, come to Bayon temple around 6 a.m. and be greeted by all these smiling faces...

Kratie

The roads infrastracture of Laos is still in poor condition. The only way to reach many remote villages is still by boat. It's pretty expensive, unless several people share the boat. After taking a pick-up truck from Luang Prabang up north to Nong Khiaw, I decided to go to a small village of Muang Ngoi, further north on the river. Travelling against the current was rough, at some point the boat hit the bank on river, and the driver took off his clothes, staying only in underwear and ran back and forth on the boat, bringing tools and fixing the navigation, while the passengers grabbed the branches of a bush on the bank to prevent the boat from flowing away. Seemed it wasn't the first time the driver had to deal with this situation, and after half an hour the boat sailed on its way. The village of Muang Ngoi is completely isolated from the main roads, and the loudest sounds are of boats' motors and roosters' cries at morning. The weather is pleasant, at morning even cold, lots of mist cover the mountains near the banks. The scenery around is very beatiful, Lao farmers in pointed hats working in rice fields, small picturesque villages with traditional wooden houses, surrounded by jungle crossed by streams and caves nearby. Trekking around is very easy, since most of the trails are flat. After staying there for 2 days, I was planning to go further north on the river, but there was no "local boat" scheduled, so next time I guess... Made the same way back south, stopping in Luang Prabang and Vientiane to break the long bus journey, for some Beerlao on the bank of Mekong river. Next place was Savannakhet, a French ghost town, reminding of the capital a little bit, with its shattered colonial buildings, but much more quiet. Not much to do there. The guest house was very nice, with a wooden veranda and a balcony, with 2 old bombs fuses. It's really no problem finding souvenirs like these around. On average, US poured on the head of every Lao citizien more than half a ton of explosives! Next day, Pakse. Around: waterfalls, coffee plantations, and lots of friendly people. After a couple of days there I took a boat down the Mekong to Champasak, a nice village located close to Wat Phu, which is a complex of ancient Khmer ruins. It's probably not as impressive as Angkor Wat in Cambodia, but it's nice, since in Laos there aren't many ancient sights. The complex has 3 levels, connected with steep naga (serpent) stairway, with the national Lao trees providing some shade from the sides. The temples themselves aren't very impressive, but the view from the upper level to the complex downstairs, the pools near the entrance and the villages on the plains is stunning. There's a sacred spring coming from the mountain and a few big boulders with carvings are scattered around. Worth the afternoon.

Moved further south, to an area called Si Phan Don, or 4000 islands. I stayed in a bungalow on Don Det island, watching beatiful sunsets over the Mekong, walking around the rice fields, playing with local children and jumping from the veranda to the Mekong for a nice dip in hot afternoon.

After running out of kip (Lao currency), I decided to cross the border with Cambodia, which is only 20 km south. Crossing is very easy, after putting $1 bill in the passport for the nice Cambodian officials. The closest town to the border is Stung Treng, from where I took a bus east, to Ratanakiri province. The roads in Cambodia, if they're not brand new, are in VERY bad condition, not to mention the red dust which covers the clothes and the skin with a thick layer. Fortunately, respiration masks are sold everywhere, and they're essential for motorbike travelling, so are sunglasses. After arriving to a dusty town called Ban Lung, I explored the surroundings, which include a beatiful crater lake, several waterfalls and ethnic villages, where people still sacrifice animals in case of problems. The Cambodians are very friendly, considering the horrors which they were passing through just until recently. The monks are especially glad to get a foreign visitor, they are eager to practice their English, and are extremely hospitable.

Education is considered very important and it's good to see there are schools in most of the villages. The poverty is much more eye catching though, although there are lots of 4WD navigating the bad roads, most people are definitely very poor.

Luang Prabang

While waiting for my visa to arrive, it was hard to stay in Bangkok. Made one day out, in Ayutaya, former Thai capital, sacked by the Burmese. It's spread over huge territory, with red-brick stupas and temples, statues of Buddha, sitting, reclining.















The place is nice, but very tourist-oriented, probably because it's near Bangkok. I didn't explore Thailand this time, but after a week it felt very commercial.
Immediately after arriving in Laos the atmosphere is different, the life flows in its slow patient way, there's no need to rush things. Vientiane is a sleepy capital, more an urban village. The communism is funny because the mentality of people is not to make noise and be content with the small pleasures. They're very sympathic.




















The capital is located on the coast of Mekong river, la promenade is full of food and drink vendors. There are also a lot of temples, although there's communism, and monks everywhere. The biggest city can be explored in one day. About 160 km north - Vieng Vieng, a village near Ham Son river. The main street is just a pack of guest houses combined with TV restaurants, where episodes of "Friends" are running all day long, with pretty much success it seems. The river is very nice, good to swim, cool and clear water. People float along the river, in inflated tractor tubes, it's called 'tubing'. On the way there are jumping towers and small cafes.














Motorbike is possible to rent in the village and good to explore around. Beatiful countryside with banana plantations and rice fields.














On the other side of the river - wicked mountains covered with thick jungle, with caves, some of them are very deep and going a long way, with Buddha statues, stalactits, big underground pools of water, strange fish etc. Very nice. Next place along the Rte 13 up north - Luang Prabang, very charming French colonial town. Lots of temples, beatiful night market with clothes & handicrafts. Morning market also very nice, selling frits & vegetables, live and dead fish and animals, insects, spiders, frogs and snakes. The town is pretty small, but not boring. The French villas, together with traditional Lao wooden houses, create a very enjoyable and unique atmosphere.

Bangkok

It's only two hours flight from Kolkata to Bangkok, but the difference is huge, it looks like another planet. Shit, I thought Kolkata was a modern city! Guess 8 months in India got me completely out of proportions. I forgot completely about girls in mini-skirts, clean streets (no cows, now they're in the menu), skyscrapers, girls in mini-skirts, new age electronics, supermarkets and shopping malls... Did I mention the girls in mini-skirts? Damnt, they're beautiful! Although some of these dolls hang hand by hand with ugly looking Westerners, I guess not for the purpose of discussing quantum physics... Well, what to do, all this city is one huge shopping centre, everything's for sale. So I found myself in a state of some shock, which was much more overwhelming than after landing in India. I can manage it though :) Bangkok is nice, in a modern city's fashion. I really enjoyed the Sky train. It goes above the city's pagodas, palaces, monuments, parks and bridges; the stations and the cars are spotless. If there was one like this in TA, then it would be almost like here. There's already lots of Thai people in TA. The people are smiling and nice, willing to help although their English pronunciation is hard to understand. It was surprising to see lots of obese people on the streets. In India it's a rare sight, most of the people are slim and a belly is often a sign of a comfortable job with steady baksheesh incoming (police & government). Here I guess it's a sad result of Coca Cola world domination program. Food stalls are everywhere, cooking all kinds of meat, vegetables and noodles. Although they're Buddhist, the Thais are definitely not vegetarian... Of course, sight seeing is a must, all these pagodas and palaces. The train connects with a river, which has boat service, with piers close by to the important sights. The first place I went to was Wat Pho, it was really the only place I knew about in the city, except Kao San road. 1 hour of Thai massage fixed me the sens that got messed up in a sleeper coach from Varanasi to Kolkata, where I had to share a bed with 3 Indian soldiers (nevermind). It's good to feel a neck again. After 2 days I moved to Kao San, the backpackers' area. Lots of jewellery, piercing & tattoos, music, clothes and etc. Now I'm just hanging around, waiting for visas for Laos and Cambodia to arrive. When I'm done with that, I'm outta here! Shopping's not for me.
Sabai dee :)

Varanasi again

From Goa to Kolkata... I made the way through Mumbai, just for half a day, but it brought back the good memories of the first day. 15 km of slums from the train station to the center, and then, art galleries, cinemas and fancy shops in beatiful colonial buildings. Surprises never stop, that I already learned, and everything is possible in India. You can get your ears cleaned by a guy walking on the street with huge roll of cotton (didn't try this one). It's really nice, Bombay. Next, I went to Khajuraho, the country side of Madhya Pradesh, where I have good friends. Coming this place 3rd time this trip, guess it is special for me. The people are kind and beatiful, and the scenery is amazing. Abandoned palaces and temples, lakes with crystal water lost in the thick jungle, which was a setting for Mowgli's story.

Just take a motorbike and ride for 50 kms and find yourself in amazing places that are in no guide book. The weather was quite hot, and although the monsoon hit pretty hard the rest of India this year, it didn't come to these parts. The farmings suffer badly, and some weird diceases erupt. It also cause an invasion of small stinking black bugs, that are affectionnately named "Gandhi" by the locals, probably because their unagressive, but sticking character. I escaped the heat by swimming in the lakes, rivers and a dam, just few kms away from the village.

Good time, and really good memories, I'll really miss these places and these people and sure hope I'll see them again...
Kolkata is the next destination, but train tickets are impossible to book now from countryside. All trains are full for the next 2 weeks because of Diwali festival, which is coming tomorrow, and hundreds of millions of people apparently shift themselves all over the country. Luckily I had a connection in Varanasi, the guy succeeded in booking me a train ticket for the same day, which proves again that everything is possible, with some baksheesh. So after a night bus I got to the Ganga just in time for sunrise.

Happy Diwali!

Palolem beach, Goa

Here I am, in Goa, on a beach where a sunset looks like a postcard. I'm very busy: I do yoga at morning and then sit most of the day on the sand and think until my brains melt on the sun. Then I get in the water and swim, get out and sit on the beach again - and the process goes on. The beach looks like if a tsunami recenly passed over it: apparently, the municipality came with buldosers and destroyed illegal buildings, which used to be restaurants. I suppose it's more quiet now this way, and the season hasn't started yet although there's lots of people. Vendors of fruits and coconuts wander along the beach, so are icecream and massage wallas. It's hard to stay an hour without hearing one of them, so it's not really quiet. But there are more deserted beaches in a walking distance, it's pretty easy to escape.

Kochin

Several days in Kochin, a pleasant place. An old port town, with marks of Portuguese, Dutch and English. There are very old trees growing in the middle of pavements in the streets of the port, several griths in width, with young leaves growing from their trunks and branches. More cats on streets than dogs, and they're not afraid of people at all, although they walk cautiously. The Indians, the goats and the fish eat the coconuts pulp, I don't like it too much. Big chinese fishing nets along the dock, lifted and dipped by 5 men. The variety of sea food that they fish out is great, and very delicios, as the traditional South Indian food. The guest houses area is near two big churches - Santa Cruz and St. Francis. It's really amazing how strong is the faith of people all over India. Although the gods change, the worshipping of statues is same, and sincere. I'll never understand this. Farther right is the Bazar, there are shabby buildings, that are overgrown with moss and plants due to long time and moisture. Families live in them, spices and oils merchants hold their shops, and communist activists make their ideological work. Now they're fighting agains Coke and Pepsi (may the Force be with 'em).

Then begins the Jew Town, although the Jews are long gone. Now it's an area of art galleries and spices market. The synagogue is still there, though, empty and light, maintained (pretty well) by Indians. On saturdays and holidays (Jewish) it's closed :)

From Kochin down south lies a big network of water channels, called backwaters, with plenty of cocunut palms and other vegetation on their shores, little houses between them, women are working on farming or collecting some plants, going up to their neck in water, never mind the snakes and all other things in it, and the tourist floating on cruise boats and watching all this stuff.
Peace and Shana Tova :)

Mangalore

Mysore was a nice town, although I was hassled a lot, people were trying to sell me everything, from cocunuts and incense to pineapples and opium. I made sight seeing for two days. I went to the Devaraj market, full of colors and scents. I also visited an art gallery where there are some beatiful works of a Russian painter, Nicholas Roerich, who spent some time in India. At evening I wandered on the streets and got inside a gambling place. Apparently, people were trying to guess a 2-digit number to get 100 Rs. There was a lot of excitement in the air.

After Mysore I moved to Hassan, pretty noisy town, surrounded by villages with some nice sights. First, there is Shravalabelagola (don't know who's responsible for the name). There are two hills in the village, people are supposed to climb them barefoot. On the first, there's a complex of 14 Jain temples, and on the second, a huge monolith statue of some Jain deity, I didn't even try to remember the name. It was going through renovation, but still, looked very impressive.

Next day I visited Halebid and Belur, two villages close by. They have Hindu temples with amazing stone carvings, so much details, great amount of precise work.

Then, I returned to Hassan and took a bus to Kushalnagar. It surprised me to find out there are Tibetan settlements in Karnataka. The Tibetans are very kind and peaceful people. The monasteries are quite big, there are thousands of monks around.
















There are few temples in the monasteries, the biggest is the Golden temple, which has a huge hall with giant statues of Buddha and 2 other guys, I'm not so good with names :) When I got there, there was a morning ceremony, hundreds of monks were sitting and chanting, some hit the gongs, some played flutes, all very synchronized, so the noise had its charm.

I got to speak to a friendly monk, named Ngaway, he showed me around and was very nice. The settlements are a refreshing change from the rubbish of nearby Indian villages. The secular Tibetans work hard, some of them make beatiful art stuff, carpets and thanka paintings.
























The next day I got on a bus to Mangalore, a big modern town on the west coast. It's a mix of religions here: I've seen catholic nuns and women covered with burka on the streets. I finally found a relatively cheap air tickets from Calcutta, so October 24 challo Bangkok! :) Tomorrow heading south, to Kerala state.

Damn't, I can't believe I gotta edit HTML!!!

Mysore

Exploring the ruins in Hampi wasn't an easy task, because of the huge area and the heat. In the 4 days I spent there, climbing the boulders' hills and discovering new temples and buildings of the ancient city, I never got bored. On the second day, I crossed the river, walked through rice and banana fields and climbed 500 stairs up to Hanuman (monkey god) temple. There were lots of monkeys on the way, I gave some bananas to the small ones, and then the big ones came, they were really rude. In the temple lives a friendly baba, a young guy, he speaks well English and is fun to talk to. The views from up there are great, as far as one can see there are boulders in piles, and the buildings seem really small compared to them.

Hampi has so much energy, just sitting under one of these rocks gave me vibrations. I left yesterday on a night train, the ticket was to Mysore, which involved changing trains in Bangalore, the high-tech city of India. I thought about leaving my bag in the cloak room, explore the city for a while and catch a train to Mysore. The station was going through some renovation works. In India it means people have to walk over the renovation site. Hundreds of people coming out of the train, crowded together on the stairs without banister, trying to get out of the platform. As soon as I got out, I took the train to Mysore which was leaving in a few minutes. So much high tech for me, although the plasma screens in the waiting hall of the station were nice. I got to Mysore around 11. Mysore is known for manufacturing sandal wood oil, the maharaja's palace and the ashtanga yoga centre. Since I have no time to learn yoga now, I went to the other attractions. A friendly rikshaw driver took me to the working people quarter, where I witnessed the process of making beedees, the Indian hand rolled cigarettes. It was cool, the guys work with speed of a machine, making thousands of pieces in a day.

After visiting an oil shop I came out with my sense of smell in a state of shock, the guy poured so much different sorts of oil on me. Then I went to the palace.

The architecture was impressive, vast halls with gold decorations, beatiful wood furniture, paintings and statues. The paintings were made in a Victorian style, the maharaja, maharaja's wife and their children in various combinations, all looking very rich and stiff. I really didn't like the big elephant tusks on the walls. Very bad karma.

Hampi

After a few days in Kutle beach I decided to move on. The next destination was Hampi, a village with ruins of an ancient Hindu empire capital. It's located more than 200 km east from Gokarna, and there's only a local bus in low season. It was a long journey, but since the road was flat, it was ok. The place is amazing, the ruins are spread around a huge area, impressive temples and hundreds of gigantic boulders.



















It's hard to believe humans did this amount of work, especially in the ancient times. There was a full moon yesterday, and also a lunar eclipse, the sky was full of lightenings and the whole scene seemed to be taken out of some fairy tale.

Gokarna

I spent 2.5 weeks in Dharamkot. It's hard for me to stick to one place, so I learned some music (flute and table) and also some Hindi to keep my days busy. The weather was very wet, it rained most of the day. I made some thinking where to go next. September is supposed to be really beatiful for trekking in the north, the monsoons are just over, the air is clear and the views are amazing. The south is on low season now. I decided to go south. I loved the mountains of the north, and still I think these places are the most beatiful parts of land we've got, but I needed a break from them. I've got until end of October to hang in India, and I wanted sunshine, heat and ocean. I travelled on the night bus to Delhi and dropped most of my stuff there, and then a 2 days train down south. I got a sleeper ticket and it was a great journey. People were passing all the time, sellers of food, drinks, faked jewellery, magazines etc., and lots of beggars too, mostly children, sometimes cleaning the floor or doing acrobatic exercises in the narrow aisles, also old women and crippled people. If I got change, I gave them. The train crossed places I visited half a year ago on my way north, on the second day morning it entered Mumbai, in few hours it went through Goa and around midnight I got off in the south, a town named Karwar, in the northern edge of Karnataka state. I spent the night on the train station and went to Gokarna on the morning, switching buses on the way (luckily, very short rides). I was very excited and happy when I saw the ocean at least. The weather was beatiful, few people were around. First I was in Om beach, which is shaped like the Om symbol.


















It's a 3 km walk, sometimes in the jungle, to the town of Gokarna. Then I moved to Kutle beach, closer to the town and cheaper too. The town is quite religious, in the Hindu way. I saw many brahmins with white marks on their foreheads and their unique dressing. There was a festival the day I've arrived, dedicated to Ganesh, the elephant god. A procession of kids carrying flags, some men with drums and flutes were playing and others dancing, and 4 guys were carrying a statue of the god. They moved slowly along the street and stopped from time to time, so that more people would join the party. Finally they went to the beach and threw Ganesh to the ocean. Why like this?
Anyway the south is great, although it's low season, and maybe because of it. The water in the ocean is muddy, but it's very pleasant to swim. And they got all these tropical stuff: papayas, pineapples, coconut so I don't have to go far away to get some exotic shake.























Bom

Dharamkot

It's great there is cease fire! May it last for long :)

I spent 6 days at Nagin Lake, the most peaceful place in Srinagar. I could as well spend 60, time was meaningless in this place. I got up early in morning and spend most of the day sitting on the veranda, watching the lake or reading. The shikharas selling everything - handicrafts, grocery, flowers approached to the veranda and I could buy whatever I needed. Internet was the main reason why I got outside. I went for some walks in the city, just to get back after few hours. The old part had brick buildings from the Raj time, and beatiful mosques. I've never been to a mosque before and I found out them to be (at least there) places of true peace. In Jamia Masjid, huge halls with wooden pillars created an atmosphere of tranquility and love to God. Groups of men were sitting among them on the carpets, talking about their things.



















It was a great place for meditation, when the mosque was almost empty between the prayers. I've been warned not to mention that I'm Israeli in Kashmir, but there was no problem at all. The worst response I've got was 'go away' when some shopkeeper asked me if I was Muslim, and I said no, Jewish. Others asked me about the war in Lebanon (as if there was no war in Israel) and some even spoke some Hebrew. On the 5th day I got sick and spent 2 days in bed, until I felt a little better, and than I dragged myself 400 km south. I spent a night in Pathankot and got on a morning bus to Dharamsala. Leaving the Kashmir Valley with its luxurious facilities I entered the plains of India again. Stalls of chai, fields of rice and ganja, and stalls again. And the people, of course. The crazy masala was all around again. As the conductor passed to collect the fares from the passengers, a man wrapped in loungi sitting next to me, told me something about money and pocket. I didn't understand, he insisted, I gave up and looked out of the window. Another passenger reached for the man's pocket and took out a note and handed it to the conductor. I realized the man had no hands. I said I'm sorry, he smiled politely while looking away. Then the conductor enforced the Indian bus rules on me. He said I should move from my seat to another side of the bus. Why, I asked, I feel ok here? He said because I should sit over there. I moved and opened the window. He informed me I cannot put my arms outside the window. There is no point getting angry at Indians (or at anyone else, in fact). Everytime I got angry at them, I felt stupid eventually. The bus stopped on the way, as the driver held helplessly the gear handle. That was refreshing. As a true Indian driver, he managed to drive a little more with means available, with what was left of the handle on the bottom, near the roaring engine. He stopped at some junction and another bus came and picked all the passengers. I got to McLeod Ganj at last, it seemed like backpackers' paradise. Packed with guest houses, restaurants and handicraft shops, it wasn't noisy like most tourist places. The Tibetan community gave the place an atmosphere of honorable dignity. The town looked really prosperous. The economic success of Tibetans seemed to emphasize their struggle against their motherland occupation. I really sympathized them. Their hard work made the place very special. I went up to Dharamkot, small village above McLeod Ganj, which looked like Shenkin street in a middle of a forest. The next day I collected the parcel my parents sent me and after half a year I got music again! It was good to have a break and even better to have it over. Now instead of ignoring all the touts, I just won't hear them :) Anyway, I'm thinking to settle here for a while, it's a nice place.

!כל הכבוד לצה"ל

Srinagar

I left most of my stuff in Kargil and took only the essentials for trekking (berry jam included). From Lamayuru, on the road to Leh, it took me 6 days to reach Padum in Zangskar region. It was very fast, I walked for 10 hours each day, because I had no tent and could sleep in the villages only. It was pretty tough, beatiful though.














On the 5th day getting up and down from the passes was over, I was in the valley of Zangskar river and the road was flat all the way to Padum. I had to return to Kargil, but there were landslides on the road, I had to wait a couple of days, until the bus started going. 40 km before Kargil there was a landslide, the mud river just crossed the road. The bus couldn't go, we crossed by foot and went by jeep from the next village. Then I was on a night bus to Srinagar, Kashmir capital. I woke up to find that the desert mountains of Ladakh were gone. We were on the Zonji La pass, on the eastern border of Kashmir. The mountains were covered with green again, herds of sheep and goats around. In Srinagar the weather was bad. It was raining for the past 3 days, the streets were flooded, and the water in the river and the lakes rised. I spent 3 days in the city, on a houseboat on Jhelum river. The main part of the city is full of military and barbed wire. The recent bombings were arranged by the government, people say. Full of shops selling wood carving, shawls, jewelry, papier mache and other Kashmiri stuff. The vendors have very persuasive techniques, a lot of hassling in tourist areas. But then, there are the lakes, shanti places, the reason why this place is called paradise on earth. The nature on the lake is amazing, plenty of water birds and fish, among floating gardens and lotus flowers.














Salam aleikum.

Kargil

That was kinda weird, but on the way when the bus stopped for chai break, I saw a Homeini picture in the chaishop. It was hanging there among pictures of Laxmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and the Dhalai Lama, as they together would surely bring a very good luck for the business. And Kargil, after an hour, was a change from what I saw so far in Ladakh. A Muslim town, for sure. I wasn't sure if I should tell people that I am Israeli. Then I found out there are some Afgans, so I wasn't sure telling that I'm Russian was a good idea either. But it was ok, noone seemed to care, I'm just another gora :) And it's a nice place, too - people are different, but calm and friendly. Homeini is popular here all right, but just as a poster, it seems. People are more interested in local life than in anything else.

Leh, again...

I spent 2 days in Leh, before going to the Markha valley trek. It was great: I renew my clothing, bought some books, got an ayurvedic massage and felt like a human being again. I couldn't stay for long, I really have to move after couple of days in a touristic place. So I caught a bus to Stok, and made a 6-day way, climbing on 3 passes and getting down again, staying in villages or in tent camps before the passes.



















I really enjoyed the homestays, and I was amazed by the local women. It seemed like the villages are ran down by them: they take care of the animals and the children, the farms and the house, cooking food, cleaning, constantly working and always friendly and welcoming.



















The people are really beatiful down there. They got this inner smile :)



















I usually woke up at 6, drank chai and picked some chappatis with me. I ate them on the way, with great berry jam I took from Leh. I made the last 2 passes really early, waking up at 3:30, getting to the top to the sunrise. It was weird, because I could hardly sleep on these nights, but walking on these hours was almost effortless, and I enjoyed it. It was freezing on the passes, but the views compensated.














On the way down from Kanda La, the second pass, I've spotted many animals, hares and marmites and birds. Very nice.














Anyways, I was looking forward to get back to Leh, to check the news from the North. Not very exciting. I wish those bastards kept using the Baka valley for its peaceful purposes, like people do with valleys here. I pray that this shit will be over soon. Be happy :)

Leh

Seems like a war going on back home. One of the Israeli guys whom I'd met in Spiti, Gadi, who was travelling with a bike, had to go back. His brother was kidnapped in Lebanon. I thought about these people who must feel like great God warriors killing infidels. But they're doing it just for their sick ego, to get some future reward. If God is really on their side, how come they hide in bunkers and live in fear? God has plans for them too, no doubt. Their lives are wasted. So sorry for all people who suffered because of them.

Keylong

I felt that after leaving Kinnaur I will come to something completely different, and I was right. After getting a permit in Reckong Peo to go along the Inner Line, which is in fact the Tibetan border, I took off with a bus to Nako. And man, it all changed as we came down to the river. The green was all gone, there were just huge piles of rocks and then it was a great desert, which reminded me of Dead Sea and Arava. We arrived at Nako, and as I came out of the bus I just said 'Wow' because that is all I could say. It was a desert all right, but in incredible scales, with mountains stuck everywhere with no order as like God went wild with his imagination and just threw them over like some toys. Not only the landscape changed, the villages also. The houses were in Tibetan style - made of mud, painted in white, with flags and piles of straws on the roof.














There was also a small lake by the village. I felt really strange in Spiti, it was sad and happy, empty and full at the same time. The weather was weird also, cold wind blowing and the sun hitting hard, the air was dry. I stayed there 3 days, wandering around. Then I made my way to Tabo, which had an old monastery, 1000 years old, which was built during one night as the legend says. It had some locked rooms, which one of the monks has opened, and there were beatiful wall paintings of boddhisatvas, animals, deities, earth, heaven and hell and so on.



















The people in Spiti are Buddhist, they're modest and friendly, although their life isn't simple. One of the villagers told me that his religion was kindness, and I was really amazed by this. They put white rocks on slopes of the mountains, so one can see from far away the 'Om Mani Padme Hum' (May all beings be happy). From Tabo, I made a small trek to Dhankar monastery, empty of tourists and enjoyed a Tibetan village homestay. Then, to Kaza, the administrative center of Spiti, packed with tourists, hotels and restaurants. There was a festival when I arrived, the Dhalai Lama's birthday, so the monks and the villagers went on procession from the monastery to the village and then made a dance show.














I was really tired of the noise. There wasn't much to do in Kaza, I had a ride to the Ki monastery, and then walked to Kibber, a quiet village, where I spent 3 days.














There I met a Spanish guy, Florean, and we made a little trek together, through the remote villages of Gete, Tashidang, Langza and Komic and then back to Kaza. He was really into all the shamanic stuff, so travelling with him was like being in one of Castaneda's stories. He was a great guy and we had a good time together. The people in the villages were beatiful, kind and helpful, the food was delicious and gave us great energy for the walk. We came down to Kaza after 2 days, I rested for another day and then took the 4:30 am bus, which dropped me at Kunzum Pass, from where I walked 9 km to Chandra Tal, 'Moon Lake'. The weather was cold and foggy, rain started as I was walking. There were tents by the lake, I stayed for 2 nights, happily wrapped in 3 blankets.














Today morning I left, made my way down to Batal, cold wind blowing full power in my face. I was very lucky to catch the Manali bus that was about to leave, so I jumped for 3 hours on the back seat, and got off at Gramhoo, on the road to Leh. Then I hitchhiked and had a great ride in a truck driven by a Sikh guy, wearing a turban and uniform. The road became better, the truck was flying all the way to Keylong and I watched the green trees on the mountains. It was nice seeing them again. Leh is 2 days away, I'll do my best to enjoy this long ride.

Reckong Peo

Well, not exactly. Reckong Peo is just a place with i-net, I'm staying in Kalpa village, above it. I made my way from Shimla, which was a nice place to stay. It didn't look like an Indian city at all, more like a European mountain resort (I guess, since I've never been in one). It has a nostalgic atmosphere of British times. Many buildings remind of this era - concrete and wooden, set among sea of green on the hills.














The town was once British summer capital, and these guys sure knew how to have a good vacation. There aren't many sights in the town, people spend time just wandering in the Mall. After two days there I took off east, to Kinnaur Valley. The main idea was to follow the rivers until the last village. Stopped for 3 days in Sarahan, nice village with beatiful temple.





















The traditional architecture is really amazing - concrete building with wood decorations and stone tiles on the roof. People of this area are more quiet than in plain side, and somewhat sullen. They have this traditional hat, that really amazes me with its lack of functionality. But it's nice, and they wear it proudly - men and women - maybe like a sign for adulthood, since I didn't see any kids wearing it. I made some walking around Sarahan, nice views to the peaks from the hills. Afterwards, more east - to Chhitkul, a remote village in the end of Sangla valley.




















It's really isolated and quiet. Great walking, inside the village and around. The valley is really classic one - the river goes from east to west, snowpeaks above, the slopes covered with lines of vegetation - one side grass, the other trees. Great sunrises and sunsets... The river is crossed in a basket, which is pulled with a rope. Funny experience.















Kinnaur valley is supposed to be the quiet part of Himachal, but the Israeli invasion is here too. I have nothing against my country's people, but sometimes they're extremely noisy. Now I'm making my way along the Indo-Tibetan road, heading for Spiti Valley. Not much trekking, but it's good to rest sometimes.

Dehra Doon

Gangotri was very nice, and there are many interesting places in the area worth exploring. To spare the buses, I wanted to go by foot as much as possible. There's a really beatiful pass from nearby Gangotri to Yamunotri, which is the source of Yamuna. The trek is 3 days long. Started with short ride down by jeep to Sangam Chatti, and from there by trekking up to Agora. Next day - to Dodital, a really majestic lake, surrounded by trees.

The place has a totally shanti atmosphere, and no tourists at all were in the area at this time. Relaxing there was great, and that made possible the tough 30 km hike the next day. First, up to the mountain meadows where there's no people but some cow shepherds with their huts. All is covered with grass and flowers. Good reason to smile :)














The way down wasn't much easy, because monsoon started and the trail became very slippy. Luckily there was a shepherd hut where the boy was very kind to make some tea. I arrived in Hanuman Chatti at evening totally exhausted, but in good mood. The day after I made the short Yamunotri trek, 6 km up swinging dirty road. Many Indian piligrims climbing up, chanting 'Jai Mata Di', probably for power boost. The donkeys and carriers business is flourishing, so it's a pretty busy trail. The temple in Yamunotri is not so impressive as the other three spots of the Hindu yatra, but still it's located in a great location, the mountain with 60 m waterfall is just above. The temple also has a hot spring, very appropriate for cool mountain weather. The piligrims wash themselves there happily after the long way up. Nice walk.
Now I'm in Dehra Dun, the capital of Uttaranchal district, getting some taste of city life. The city has a huge great park, where Forest Research Institute is located. Many kinds of trees, I just spent few hours wandering around... Besides this place, there's not much to see - typical Indian town. Tomorrow - challo Himachal...
bhole bom :)