Reaching There

A self-made video interview of a sadhu in Chitrakoot, India in 2011. I had always wondered about sadhus' who renounce the world and live seemingly strange lives; for a person like me their life is a mystery. My father and I did a short interview of one such sadhu. English subtitles available. Last year I also wrote posts on Chitrakoot which you can read here . You can watch the interview here, the video is available on YouTube with English subtitles.

On the second day in Ladakh, our driver told that we would be visiting Alchi and would do a night stay in the village. I am unaware of Alchi (frankly I just knew about Leh before this trip). Most websites states Alchi to be a place famous for its old monastery. Alchi is conveniently located 70 km west of Leh on the south bank of the Indus River. It is at a "reasonable" altitude of about 3,100 m. Dare I say, 3,100 m (about 10,200 ft) sounds so pleasant after "experiencing" symptoms of altitude sickness at around 4,250 m (about 14,000 ft) in Sarchu on our way from Manali to Leh. Alchi The road to Alchi from Leh is ordinarily beautiful. As the cars traverses on the winding roads of the mountains, a nondescript turn marks the entrance to the village. A small shaded bus-stop welcomes you to a road leading into the village. The doorway to the resort proudly states the traditional hut style rooms available for the guests. The hut is a bit of a misnomer...

I am finding it very difficult to write in a single post about Ladakh. It is a land blessed with immense natural and spiritual beauty. So to make my job easier and in doing so spend more time with the topic, I have decided to break this journey into a series of articles. Lamayuru On the third day of our trip, driving back to Leh after a night stay at Alchi, we made a detour to Lamayuru . This is a small Tibetan Buddhist monastery situated on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh road in the western part of Ladakh region. It is located at an altitude of about 3,510 meters. As our car made our way into the vicinity of the Gompa the place seemed "touristy" but I had a feeling I was in for something special. A lot of building material was scattered around the narrow roads leading to the monastery. "Oye, that way", pointed a monk with a prayer wheel in his hand. Murals on the Wall I made my way up the stairs leading to the entrance of the courtyard. It was decora...