...early morning on Tuesday we flew into the Ladakh region, dead tired, after two nearly sleepless nights (first train, then Delhi airport), went straight to the hotel and slept until early afternoon
...we checked into the same hotel as last year and were taken a little aback to see that they doubled their prices (still cheap) and swapped their wifi for oh-so-useful flat screens in every room
...we did not do much of anything, lazing about on sun-filled streets of Leh, savoring local food, strolling on gentle hills and visiting tour agencies
...we tried out an experimental brand of toothpaste bought in Delhi - it had all the color and texture of wallpaper glue but tasted about right...
...we ran into the first restaurant in India where the owners seemed almost insulted by our presence, lashed out at us when we asked them to switch off the tv, which aired mind-numbing soap trailers on a loop without any content all the time, had terribly inflated prices, awful food, as it turned out, and the only thing going for them was a semi-decent wifi connection, not such a common thing in Leh. We noticed Israeli items where struck out of the menu and if even Israelis, who come here by the thousand, avoid this place, that should tell you something. The bar is called Orange Sky - avoid at all cost!
...we discovered two of India's more creative terms for underwear - innerwear and bodywear
...we rented a moped and toured around nearby monasteries - Thiksey and Hemis - fortunately the visibility was much better than last year in Goa and traffic less intense, unfortunately - the moped's most important implement - was clearly busted and sounded at best like a hamster farting in the wind, which made us feel very exposed indeed; also the lights were busted, as we were to find out after dark
...we witness a Buddhist prayer, it was a new experience and quite enchanting
...we spotted some new funny warning road signs: "Darling I like you but not so fast", "I'm curvaceous, go slow", "Be soft on my curves!", "If you sleep, family will weep", "Speed Is a knife that cuts life", "After whisky driving risky!", "Be Mr. Late, not Late Mr.", "Three enemies of the road: liquor, speed and overload", "No hurry no worry", "Alert today, alive tomorrow", "For safe arriving no liquor in driving", "Lower your gear curve is near", "Slow drive long life" and more in the same vein; inventive and fun! Some were more somber such as "Drive like hell and you will be there", or even plain sexist such as: "Don't gossip, let him drive!" (Heheheh)
...we signed up for a trek up the area's highest peak: Stok Kangri at 6,123m; with a guide, cook etc. but still we're afraid altitude might overwhelm us at some point; oh well, worst case scenario we'll go down before reaching the summit; heading out tomorrow, summit attack scheduled for Monday morning (from 1am); fingers crossed everyone!