Julley From Leh, Ladakh!

“Julley” is how you say “hello” in Ladakh! It is also what all the shop owners say to me as I walk by and they try to lure me inside. I actually do need to buy a headscarf tomorrow and I will be visiting monsateries where woman must be fully covered up, head included. The curse of being a woman in religious parts of the world. Just wait until later this year when I travel to a place I have to wear an abaya.

But back to today. With a stop off in 2018.

In 2018, I had a trip planned to Leh, India. Then I unexpectedly got a new job and didn’t want to ask for 3 weeks off after I started and then another 3 weeks later in the year for my planned trip to Jordan and Egypt. So I saved to Egypt and Jordan trip and abandoned Leh. Finally 5 years later, I am on my way.

Last night, I went up to my hotel roof and took this photo. The closest thing I did to sightseeing on this leg of my trip.

Worked for my last time before taking a month off. I really need this break. My job has been driving me absolutely bonkers.

Hired a driver to take me to the airport at 4 am. Did one last trip up the step and almost took the desk out as I was leaving. Why am I so clumsy? I tripped up and down that step about 7 times.

I have way too many rupees on me. That whole paranoia where every ATM failed at the beginning of the trip made me stock up at every ATM that did work.

Currently at the Delhi airport, waiting to board a flight to Leh. I am a good American and had French fries and cold coffee at McDonalds in the airport.

Now I’m sitting on the plane, getting ready to fly over the Himalayas. I’m psyched not only for that, but also to be in a cool climate for 6 days.

Air India first class menu:

When I arrive, I will do nothing for a full day while I acclimate to the altitude. After living inside 2 very different time zones while working EST in India, I am psyched to just rest.

I would like you to know I thumb typed that all out on my phone on the plane. It didn’t quite work out like that.

View of the Himalayas from the plane. I’ve seen photos and videos of it in winter when they are all covered in snow and it is just so incredible. But these aren’t too shabby.

I got in trouble for taking this photo:

The taxi stand at Leh airport is not clearly marked at all. Should you go, exit the airport and look to your right. There is a hill with green material. Under that green material is the “taxi stand” which is a man booking taxis out of his car. Quick and easy once I figured it out.

Got to my hotel and the dude seemed confused I was there. I had contacted them ahead of time to ask for early check in and it was granted. So he gave me a choice of 2 rooms. I picked the one with the view blocked by greenery since the other had the sun blaring in it. My windows are taped shut and this is the bane of my existence right now. I need fresh air dammit.

This is my room. The bathroom is typical for this area of the world. Those buckets are for showering. You fill the big bucket and then use the little one to pour the water on yourself. There’s also a shower head that would have fully been featured had I moved the camera up JUST a bit, but didn’t.

I do have the window open in the bathroom – look at the view outside it! But the air doesn’t seem to be coming into the room.

I realized very quickly that I do not have phone service here. Not just internet, but no texts. Fuck this means I also do not have Google Maps. Still, I go outside. I know from researching before I left that there are eleventy billion coffee shops right near my hotel. I should be able to stumble on one.

I did find one but it seemed a lot of things were closed at 9:00 AM. From here, I wanted to go get my permit to travel though Ladakh but the lack of Google maps is really making things difficult. I decide to buy some water and head back to the room and maybe ask the hotel to call me a taxi.

And I got lost.

So lost

Rule number one of being lost: Never ever walk DOWN a hill because if you are going in the wrong direction, you will have to walk back up it.

I walked down a hill. For a very long time. I finally stopped at this prayer wheel.

And then had to walk allllllll the back back up the hill. It isn’t hot out, its about 50 degrees. But the sun is super hot in my face. I got sun burned for the first time this trip. And the altitude made getting up this hill a nightmare.

But I finally found my way back and took a nap. I was very excited to be able to sleep in a room without air and in high altitude. I don’t do well in high altitude. The worst was that one time I was at Mount Everest (how ridiculous is that sentence opening) and I could not lay down at all because my heart was pounding so hard. So I just sat up holding my cute little stuffed dog all night long.

When I woke up, I was absolutely starving. I needed to find something insanely close to my hotel since no mobile data, beggars can’t be choosers. I picked Lamayuru Restaurant which may be the most popular restaurant in all of Leh.

The food was good but I could not finish it all. I feel like restaurants in India are really bummed out when you don’t finish the food they serve. No it was good I promise, it is just too much. But I ordered too much because I was starving and it all looked so good, I am sorry.

After that, I went and got a coffee. I thought I would spend my night stopping at many coffee places but ended up just stopping at a store and buying a bottle of iced coffee to bring back to my room.

Which is where I am now, typing up this blog.

I have wanted to come here forever and ever and once I finally did, all I got was lost, sunburned and oxygen deprived by my hotel taping the windows shut. It will be better tomorrow because I will actually go and see stuff. I just feel like I wasted an entire day on nothing and the days on this bucket list trip are precious.

I considered leaving my hotel and moving to one where I can open the windows and breathe but in the end, it isn’t worth it. I haven’t paid for the room yet so having to deal with trying to explain that I am leaving early to someone who does not speak English outweighs my wanting an open window.

I don’t think I will be able to keep posting regularly. While I have wifi now, my access is soon going to be sporadic for a bit. My blog hates me because the wifi at this hotel uploads photos absolutely fine on every website except my blog. I’ll probably draft some posts and just add photos and get them up in the pockets I do have wifi.