Namaste, Julleh, and namaste
This morning we left Leh city in Ladakh and arrived in Delhi after about five and a half weeks, completing the last part of our program. Laddakh is a pretty big tourist destination and attracts people from all over the country and all over the world. And it makes sense, because the minute I stepped off the plane five weeks ago, I was shocked. The scenic beauty was nearly overwhelming. Mountains on every side, some snow capped, others completely barren, reaching up to the sky, their tips shrouded by low-floating clouds.
So what did we do for five and a half weeks? The first week was spent acclimating. Leh is at an altitude of around 12,000 feet-- a big change compared to Delhi which is almost at sea level. I filled my time with day hikes and reading; beautiful views were no further than a five minute walk in any direction. We visited amazing monasteries all over the city, some more difficult to reach than others. We spent a week at Pangong Lake, the second highest lake in the world (featured in the hit Bollywood film "Jab Tak Hai Jaan"), taking in the beauty and doing service work at the local village school. We
visited Alchi, and made a quick trip down to the Indus River. We had a week long meditation retreat at Khaspang monastery. We went on a 6 day, 5 night trek, THE trek, that I had been looking forward to all year, through the High Himalayas. We spent about a week in the beautiful Nubra Valley doing transference activities. And we spent our days in between trips in the city of Leh.
Ladakh was absolutely amazing. The temperatures were often below freezing in Ladakh, and there was no central heating system in the guest houses we stayed in, or inside the tents during the trek. But I experienced my first snow fall, so I guess it was worth it in the end. We hiked up to about 17,000 feet on the trek, an extreme challenge, but a pretty big accomplishment. On the way to Nubra Valley, we went over the world's highest pass. There were too many amazing views to count. Ladakhi people are adorable, and I learned a new word, "Julleh," which means "hello," "goodbye," "thank you," and "you're welcome."
I'm happy to be back in Delhi, saying "namaste" instead of "julleh." Delhi is much more of an India that I'm used to, though the heat is a bit overwhelming.
On Friday, I get on a plane and come back to America after nine months. It's hard to believe that I'm on my last few days in India-- I'm still having trouble making sense of it. I'm so excited, nervous, and sad to be leaving India. It's been nine whole months, a period of time that didn't seem real at the beginning of the trip.
I'm planning to take in as much of India as I can before I leave. I'll write again when I'm in the United States.
Lots of love and see you all soon,
Ada
This morning we left Leh city in Ladakh and arrived in Delhi after about five and a half weeks, completing the last part of our program. Laddakh is a pretty big tourist destination and attracts people from all over the country and all over the world. And it makes sense, because the minute I stepped off the plane five weeks ago, I was shocked. The scenic beauty was nearly overwhelming. Mountains on every side, some snow capped, others completely barren, reaching up to the sky, their tips shrouded by low-floating clouds.
So what did we do for five and a half weeks? The first week was spent acclimating. Leh is at an altitude of around 12,000 feet-- a big change compared to Delhi which is almost at sea level. I filled my time with day hikes and reading; beautiful views were no further than a five minute walk in any direction. We visited amazing monasteries all over the city, some more difficult to reach than others. We spent a week at Pangong Lake, the second highest lake in the world (featured in the hit Bollywood film "Jab Tak Hai Jaan"), taking in the beauty and doing service work at the local village school. We
visited Alchi, and made a quick trip down to the Indus River. We had a week long meditation retreat at Khaspang monastery. We went on a 6 day, 5 night trek, THE trek, that I had been looking forward to all year, through the High Himalayas. We spent about a week in the beautiful Nubra Valley doing transference activities. And we spent our days in between trips in the city of Leh.
Ladakh was absolutely amazing. The temperatures were often below freezing in Ladakh, and there was no central heating system in the guest houses we stayed in, or inside the tents during the trek. But I experienced my first snow fall, so I guess it was worth it in the end. We hiked up to about 17,000 feet on the trek, an extreme challenge, but a pretty big accomplishment. On the way to Nubra Valley, we went over the world's highest pass. There were too many amazing views to count. Ladakhi people are adorable, and I learned a new word, "Julleh," which means "hello," "goodbye," "thank you," and "you're welcome."
I'm happy to be back in Delhi, saying "namaste" instead of "julleh." Delhi is much more of an India that I'm used to, though the heat is a bit overwhelming.
On Friday, I get on a plane and come back to America after nine months. It's hard to believe that I'm on my last few days in India-- I'm still having trouble making sense of it. I'm so excited, nervous, and sad to be leaving India. It's been nine whole months, a period of time that didn't seem real at the beginning of the trip.
I'm planning to take in as much of India as I can before I leave. I'll write again when I'm in the United States.
Lots of love and see you all soon,
Ada
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