We ate and slept and visited the Shanti Stupa (a buddist temple, see pics) built by a Japanese order “extending a message of global peace” which was opened by the Dalai Lama himself in the 1980s. (Who can spot Wouter in the first pic below?) 
After a steep walk up it turned out the Stupa was closed – seems to be a tourist attraction rather than a true place of worship. But the expansive views and sound of prayer flags blowing in the wind, combined with a simple lunch of bread and yak cheese made it all worth it. 
At 4.30am on the 20th we boarded the bus from Leh to Manali. We couldn’t quite believe that it could take two days to drive 450kms but soon found out why. The bus was quite modern but could only do about 10 – 20kms/hr on the one-lane, very winding, often washed-out, mostly dirt, switchback road that cross the Himalayas (in the first picture below the winding white line is the road). 
At one point we crossed the second highest motorable road in the world. Don't we look proud?
At one point we crossed the second highest motorable road in the world. Don't we look proud?
Wouter on the bus and a pic to give you an idea of the road conditions.
These pics show some of the mountain scenery and the place where we stopped for lunch ont he first day. Unfortunately Potoala Pang's tent served the most disgusting veg chowmein imaginable and we quickly went next door for some thali (dhal with rice).
The highlights (and low lights) from the 36 hour journey were:
Without a doubt the spectacular mountain scenery. 
We are trying to understand why we find those barren mountains and dusty planes, where nothing lives or grows, so beautiful. Perhaps it is the utter remoteness or the way in which all the colours of the rainbow come together in the different rocks and mountains. Or perhaps it is the way in which it is the first place that really started to help us grasp the concept of time and our insignificance here. Our minds cannot really comprehend how long billions of years are, but in those mountains, where you see the layers and layers of different rock that must have formed over billions of years; the evidence of a once-upon a time ocean (we think); and the way in which the small turquoise river we saw had carved a deep valley out for itself; we both felt we began to understand what a billion years could be like.
We are trying to understand why we find those barren mountains and dusty planes, where nothing lives or grows, so beautiful. Perhaps it is the utter remoteness or the way in which all the colours of the rainbow come together in the different rocks and mountains. Or perhaps it is the way in which it is the first place that really started to help us grasp the concept of time and our insignificance here. Our minds cannot really comprehend how long billions of years are, but in those mountains, where you see the layers and layers of different rock that must have formed over billions of years; the evidence of a once-upon a time ocean (we think); and the way in which the small turquoise river we saw had carved a deep valley out for itself; we both felt we began to understand what a billion years could be like. We attach some photos but this is definitely something you have to go and experience for yourself. Forget Machu Picchu (sp?), Cape Town, the Amazon – those mountains are what you should see before you die! A life changing place. One day, perhaps we would like to do the same journey but with bikes/a jeep and some tents. It would be awesome.
- The other highlight for us (for others obviously a low) was having to overnight at a truck/bus overnight camp stop, somewhere halfway through our journey. 
We were supposed to sleep at a special tent stop where we would each have our own tent with beds, linen and there would be a ‘kitchen’ tent. But when we got there the pitches were empty. So we headed for this tent camp built right on – as close as 2 meters- the main/only road, which obviously caters for truck drivers and busses that pass. The tents are built from a combination of tent material, some bricks and tin roofs and serve as homes/restaurants/kitchens and accommodation for the owners, weary travellers and truck drivers. The pictures should give you some idea of what the tent camp looked like.
We were supposed to sleep at a special tent stop where we would each have our own tent with beds, linen and there would be a ‘kitchen’ tent. But when we got there the pitches were empty. So we headed for this tent camp built right on – as close as 2 meters- the main/only road, which obviously caters for truck drivers and busses that pass. The tents are built from a combination of tent material, some bricks and tin roofs and serve as homes/restaurants/kitchens and accommodation for the owners, weary travellers and truck drivers. The pictures should give you some idea of what the tent camp looked like. After a tasty veg chowmein dinner and some ginger tea, we were assigned beds in the tent. We thought we wouldn’t sleep a wink but by 11pm the trucks that drive through the camp with screeching brakes, leaving suffocating CO2 fumes behind, miraculously stopped. Someone switched the lights off and it was DARK and very quiet. The beds that filled the back of the tent weren’t that comfortable and the bedding very doubtful looking (I estimated it gets washed once a month at most) and we thanked our lucky stars that we didn’t ship our sleeping bags and sleeping mattresses to Martien in Australia. Surprisingly we all slept very well, thank you very much – even those who had permanent expressions of distaste in their faces!
What struck us most was the way in which people essentially welcomed us into their homes. Sure, it was business for them (at 50 rupees/70pence per bed) but nonetheless. It was late when we got to the camp, the owners’ kids were crying and tired, but they cooked us all dinner and gave us beds to sleep in. They got up very early (way before 5am) to make sure people were fed and all the while they smiled. We thought they gave up their beds because in their tent there certainly was no room for a mouse after they had assigned the beds to us. Perhaps they just slept on the floor in the make-shift kitchen, we don’t know.
Life on the side of that road cannot be easy. There is nothing there (not even toilet facilities - the toilets “are everywhere”) and it must get desperately cold in winter. The road closes for 7-8 months every year so perhaps people go somewhere else, but it is not a nice place to be, even for a few days. To us, shallowly, it was an adventure, but to them, that is life.
What struck us most was the way in which people essentially welcomed us into their homes. Sure, it was business for them (at 50 rupees/70pence per bed) but nonetheless. It was late when we got to the camp, the owners’ kids were crying and tired, but they cooked us all dinner and gave us beds to sleep in. They got up very early (way before 5am) to make sure people were fed and all the while they smiled. We thought they gave up their beds because in their tent there certainly was no room for a mouse after they had assigned the beds to us. Perhaps they just slept on the floor in the make-shift kitchen, we don’t know.
Life on the side of that road cannot be easy. There is nothing there (not even toilet facilities - the toilets “are everywhere”) and it must get desperately cold in winter. The road closes for 7-8 months every year so perhaps people go somewhere else, but it is not a nice place to be, even for a few days. To us, shallowly, it was an adventure, but to them, that is life.So, now we are in Manali and booked into this great little guest house in the middle of an apple orchard. We have, out of one window, beautiful views of pine forests and mountains and out of the other the apple orchard. Its quiet here, the owner is feeding us well (had some yellow dahl – lentils- and rice for dinner) and the showers are hot. We are having a fantastic time! Will write more once we do something exciting. In the meantime check out the photos.
Picture of the lunch we had today...
