Leh

Sunday April 24th, 4pm.

We flew into Leh from Delhi, crossing increasingly jagged mountain peaks and making a landing which required zigzagging over mountain passes. Here it’s 3500 metres above sea level – the highest I’ve ever been except in a pressurised aeroplane of course. Spend the first day resting is what the books tell you and they are right. Even the effort of walking up 2 storeys to get to my room in the guest house is more than enough exertion and leaves me short-breathed. There’s a lot to see just by walking round here but for now the magnificent views from my window of the Himalayas are plenty enough and call for no more exertion than keeping my eyes open.

 

Leh is a popular back-packers destination in the summer season, but now, in early spring, the streets are deserted, and most of the restaurants and guest houses still “closed for winter”.  It’s easy to greet the other tourists you see in the streets  since the same faces keep coming round.

 

Time to rest again.