The adventurous trip to Leh

The Theory
Our initial idea was to go with the government bus from Manali to Leh with an overnight stay at Keylong, as suggested on many forums. Unfortunately this bus does not exist yet and would be operational from 1st of July. So the only option would be to go by local bus or shared taxi from Manali to Keylong about 6 hours and then take another local bus from Keylong to Leh about 13 hours, or directly from Manali to Leh without stop 19 hours. To adjust to the altitude that was one thing we definitely did not wanted to do. Manali is about 2000 meters, Keylong is about 3000 meters and Leh is about 3500 meters.

Manali to Keylong
It took us a total of 10 hours to get from Manali to Keylong. 

The local bus would depart at 6 am from Manali station, well we waited and waited and eventually decided to take a share a taxi with 2 guys, Pete from Oz and  can't remember his name from Colombia. It was the smallest car ever and I had to sit at the back with Pete and the Colombian guy, I can tell you it was not the most comfortable 10 hours ride. 

There was a huge traffic congestion, the roads are narrow and traffic got stuck at every turn, so we got off to stretch legs and had to run back to the car every time we started to move. Funny thing was that Marcus went all the way up to the corner to direct the traffic and dissolve the congestion. But the problem basically repeated on almost every corner, because people are greedy and both sides want to go first. A traffic light would actually have solved the congestion problem.

As we ascended towards the top we suddenly came to a complete stop, because a rock fell down on the road near the top. We had to wait for an excavator to come from the bottom to remove it. At this moment we had some serious doubts if we would be able to reach Leh. Finally after 2 hours, and with the police arranging the traffic, we finally had a smooth ride.

Before reaching the top we had to pass the famous Rohtang pass (Rohtang means pile of corpses), famous for being one of the dangerous roads in the world. And the road is very rocky, so we had to walk this part. Basically when you pass this part no more congestion. At the top, which is about 4000 meters high, we saw this amazing… large crowd of Indian people skiing and playing in the snow hahaha, it was a bit of a weird sight.

After reaching the top we descended on the other side of the mountain, which was a completely other view, dusty very rocky roads, the roads were still being opened up.  It is interesting to realize that every year the locals have to open up the road which literally takes several months. We could still see people paving the road to make it more accessible.

As we finally arrived in Keylong, I noticed that there was absolutely nothing to do here.  Just a simple bus station with a few guesthouses and small places to eat. So Keylong was really for only staying the night, which I was happy with, because I was really tired.

We met these friendly Lamas, who offered me some chai, and Bomi and his cousin from Dharamshala, who were planning to set up a small stand at the Kalachakra event to sell food and earn some money. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture with them.

One of the Lamas asked me where I was from, and I told them I was from Holland and Hong Kong. And Bomi's cousin said Ni Hao, and the lama responded Ni Hao means tyrant.. And I was like…well I am Dutch...and we laughed haha.

The very very long ride from Keylong to Leh
We slept at 7.30pm and woke up at 4am, as the local bus would depart at 5am to Leh, we embarked ourselves on this very very long, dusty, and shaky bus ride. I must say that riding the local bus is more comfortable than the shared taxi.

Somewhere along the way, some guys got off, apparently they needed to take a leak, but they didn’t tell the bus driver. So the bus driver kept on driving, and the guys that got off had to chase the bus. As we ascended several turns, one of the passengers yelled to the bus driver to stop, which at first he didn’t want to, but eventually he did. So we had to wait for the guys to run up the mountain. At that moment I thought, only in India.

The view is absolutely amazing and some parts are absolutely dusty, I should have brought some surgical masks.

It was interesting to realize that to get to Leh from Keylong you have to go through many valleys and over many mountains. During that ride you see absolutely stunning scenery, but I must say, it became rather boring to see the same scenery for hours, it really makes you numb. There is sometimes absolutely nothing and the bus is the only thing on the road. Now and then there was a small camp for food and rest.

Every 3-4 hours the flora and fauna of the area would completely change. And then the excitement and appreciation comes back again, but quickly dissipates. You guys are lucky, you can enjoy the pictures for 10 seconds and can project the imaginary thought of how great it must have been. Try looking at the same picture for 3 hours, haha.

Finally in Leh
The Welcome to Leh sign was tricky, because it took us another 2 hours to get to the city of Leh. Unlike what Marcus said, ooh it should take about 10 minutes to the city haha.

Leh is quite dusty, one thing we noticed, none of our mobile phones work, there is no internet readily available haha.

Arriving in Leh is important, as we can finally get some rest and we will be staying here about 25 days

We have been on the road since Wednesday 15 hours from Delhi to Manali, 10 hours from Manali to Keylong, and another 17 hours from Keylong to Leh. 42 hours on the road, with in-between stops. For Marcus, we need to add another 11 hours for the flight from Stockholm to Delhi.

So I am very glad that we can finally rest, we have been reflecting that we are not doing trekking activity, so it is absolutely not our purpose to travel for so long to reach our destination. But then again it is good to have experience it once.

Fear only exists in the mind.
Looking from outside of the bus or car window and how the bus shakes so much and looking down the cliff, really sometimes scared the hell out of me, but even that actually disappeared after 4 hours of the same thing, it just became numb haha. It seems that the fear grows if you give attention to it, lost in your own projections of ideas and concepts. This was really clear when we had to cross the most dangerous part of the Trottenpath where the glacier melts as a waterfall through the main road. We had to get off and walk, the roads are so narrow that you can easily fall off. Out of nowhere I remembered what David (my teacher) told me before I started this journey: "Be fearless, like a Mahasiddha" for many of you, you may not know what it means, but it changed my mind completely, and I walked that part fearless, that really made me realize that all concepts are created in the mind and we create our own fears by giving it attention.

That road area was the same, but my view only changed.

So high
Running towards the car, during the Manali-Keylong ascend was very interesting, because I became so out of breath after a short run of not even 2 meters. I know I am not in shape, but that was a bit ridiculous haha. As we arrived in Keylong, I noticed my breath becoming faster with a slight headache, but it was doable.

Until we left at 4 am from Keylong to  Leh...17 hours in the local bus with the bus driver high on Manali hash and singing Om Namah Shivaya, we suddenly got stuck for 2 hours, because a truck carrying petrol was leaking. I had some real difficulties in breathing as we ascended, and a painful headache. I wanted to sleep, but every time I fell asleep I woke up because I did not have enough breath. I was almost suffocating myself, At this moment I was really having difficulties breathing and thought damn this is getting problematic. I used my remaining energy to focus only on my breath, actively making very deep inhales and exhales. Marcus was fine he went out the bus took some pictures, I stayed in the bus not wanting to move and kept on focusing on my breath. Basically, the whole bus was like buzzed out during the 2 hours, except for Pete, Marcus and the bus driver. As the road cleared we saw the sign further down the road with 16750ft (about 5000 meters), which kinda made me feel relieved that there was a serious reason for how I felt. Once we cleared that point we started to descent again and I felt so much better.

When we arrived in Leh, I had a massive headache until the next day. Second day in Leh, definitely was feeling better, just more out of breath, and had to pay attention not to walk too fast, and make deeper inhales and exhales than usual. Otherwise, you are out of breath very quickly.

Fly back
After this amazing, long, dusty and rocky road trip we decided to take the plane back to Delhi, to faster to get to our destination. Great experience, and great stories for beer, but no need to torture ourselves like this haha.

Second day in Leh
I booked a guesthouse in advance as most of them through internet were fully booked. The guesthouse was very nice, run by a very friendly family, good food, but the beds and the room were too small. Marcus could not properly fit into one of them and even I barely fitted in one of the beds. So we went looking everywhere, unfortunately most of them were fully booked because of the Kalachakra event or just way too expensive.

We went to Shey, which is about 11 kms from Leh, but only 3kms from the Kalachakra event to see if there was a guesthouse. Absolutely nothing there except a palace and one guesthouse, but the owner could not confirm if there was one room available until 8.30 pm. After visiting Shey Palace, we decided to head back to Leh and do a more proper search. Through a Ladakhi local, we found 2 very spatious rooms, close to the city centre, and a bit cheaper than the one I booked in advance. The room is about 80 hkd per day and is bigger than my old house in Hong Kong.

So finally, we have our own rooms, where we can do our own practice  and sleep properly without Marcus asking me things in the middle of the night in his sleep haha.

To sum up Leh, it is pretty cold and dusty here, I am very lucky that I brought my jeans, my trustworthy knitted cap, and a wind jacket. I was hoping Leh would be warmer during the day, but it is pretty cold as well. The Ladakhis are very friendly people, Marcus' quote sums it up even better haha. Nice place to stay for the coming 3 weeks.

Anyway internet is scarce here, so I will be updating less. It is good now and then not to have internet.

Lessons learned
Quite amazing that due to the high altitude that I noticed we forget to breath, we hold our breaths during our life a lot.  As I inhaled and exhaled deeply, it actually discharged some emotions, and tensions in my body. So, I started to wonder if we go through life without us being aware of this, how much stuff we keep cooked up inside, and by unconsciously holding our breath, we tense up. Maybe as you read this, catch yourself how many times you held your breath, and tensed up. How many times you breath continuously?

It seems like in nowadays society, we really need to relearn to breathe again. The high altitude really made me aware of that. Well, I have no choice if I don't I will not have enough oxygen. Breath in and out, release tension.

Kalachakra
We are going to stay here for about 3 weeks to attend the Kalachakra. The Kalachakra blessing given by the Dalai Lama is basically a blessing for individual peace, mutual understanding, tranquillity and happiness for all sentient beings. From the point of view of liberation it helps you cut time. They expect about 150,000 people to show up.

Marcus quote of the day
It is nice here, there is chapatti, there is pizza, there is coffee, there is chai, there are some hot chicks and the Dalai Lama.