Arriving in Leh

Leh, Ladakh is a remote spiritual centre situated 10,000 feet high in the Himalayan Mountain range of Jammu Kashmir State. It's desert landscape is dusty and dry yet the town centre itself is an oasis alive with a spectrum of colour and people.

I arrived in a weary state on August 14th after traveling for over 48 hours from Toronto ... talk about sleep deprivation. Let's just say my body was in a state of shock. I caught a nasty little sore throat, cold, cough and fever. This could be attributed to many factors ... the long, arduous journey, the altitude and change in weather, the whirlwind tour of Ontario that involved many late evenings of excess and yes, debauchery visiting friends and family. Whatever the reason, I was flat on my back for a solid week and a half and felt miserable.

Now when you are visiting such an incredibly different place you want to be up and at em. You want to tackle the streets, visit the sites and climb the hills. I was forced to surrender to my situation and to simply lay low until I was feeling better. Just walking into town from my guest house took all of my energy ... and we are only talking a 10 minute rendez-vous. But alas the heavens were telling me to take rest and let go of my expectations.

Thank goodness I was staying at the Ashoka Guest House where I stayed two years ago and became very close with the family who owns the establishment. They looked after me keeping a watch on my temperature and concoting traditional Ladakhi remedies that I happily choked down. It was such a treat to see little Padma Dechen again ... the girl who I have been thinking about everyday since my last stay at the Guest House. In such a short time she had grown so much ... her baby teeth that were rotting were replaced with healthy adult teeth ... her hair had grown to her shoulders ... and her smile was still the same... enough to melt your heart. She was so shy at first but it didn't take too long to open up. She remembered Natalie and myself from our last encounter. It made me so happy to reconnect and be in a place that I once felt such peace and tranquility.