Day 2.
Rinchen Angchuk, our young and enthusiastic driver reached the hotel at sharp 9 AM . We were informed earlier and hence we were very much ready and excited to see the place. We had a full breakfast at the hotel before leaving. That day we would see the local tourists’ spots in Leh and around. Angchuk was our tour guide too. We saw him offering a small prayer looking towards the photograph of Lord Budha in his car. Off we started towards our first stop which was the Stok Palace. Ladakh, which is at the northern part of India has two districts. Leh and Kargil. These two are the two major cities as well.the population is roughly about 2.75 lakhs and is a very mountainous terrain. Wheat barley and vegetables are grown here.The crops vary according to the altitude and weather conditions. As we drove through the streets of ladakh towards the Stok place we saw many budhist prayer bells, schools, hospitals, shops and other structures and most of them backdropped by the mighty mountains.
This was built in the 14th century by Lama Lhawang Lotus and it was the home of the royals earlier. Photography was not allowed inside the building. It was kept like a museum displaying all the artifacts and items used by the then royal people of ladakh. The traditional dresses,jewellery and other articles were all laden and studded with coral and turquoise and pearls. Very beautiful they were. There were some very old paintings on display which were 1500 years old. They were still intact and when asked the person in charge told us that those colors survived because they were prepared by crushing those semi precious stones like corals, jade, turquoise and pearls and using some organic mixture to hold them together.!! We were amazed at their ancient techniques of art.! We were allowed to take pictures only from the out side of the Stok palace.
Our next stop was the Thiksay Monastery. It was a Gompa or a Tibetan styled monastery. A very huge , white and ancient building. It was situated on a hill and our car was parked at the gates. We had to walk for some time to reach the 100 steps that we were to climb to reach the main area of the monastery. The walking itself was task since we were on high altitude and then climbing those steps were hard and strenuous for us. Even if you are physically very fit, in these mountainous terrains and super high altitude you need to have your breath under control and take it slowly. Most of the people get very excited and run up to reach the top only to get very tired and out of breath. The tip is to do it slow and steady. We saw a very huge prayer wheel at the very beginning of the premises. And as we climbed up towards the long winding steps we reached into a beautifully decorated prayer hall. It was very silent and perfect for meditation. Flash lights were not allowed. There was an enormous statue of Lord Budha. It was huge and multi coloured with gleaming finish entirely. The colors enhanced his meditational posture with folded hands. You will be so humbled by the energy and vibrations prevailed over there that you will find yourself simply sitting there and closing your eye to absorb all that divine energy. All of us sat there silently for sometime only to get super energized to see the rest of the monastery. There were more stairways to climb to enter the worshiping place of other Gods like Tara. the entire monastery had wooden floors. Other major monasteries were hemis, Shey. lamayuru etc.In each such places the statues of Gods and Goddesses were exquisitely made with rich colours and other decorations. Looking at them one will definitely wonder about the craftsmanship of those ancient artisans and artists and will surely bow in their memory.!
Tea break...and here I must write about the black bag before continuing.
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