The first impression after a 10-hour sleep - the headache is gone.

In the morning, after a somehow strange sleep, interrupted by unfamiliar sounds from outside (are there sleepless birds? unknown animals?), I wake up with a heavy head. From my room window I hope to catch a glimpse of high mountains, of desert-like slopes, but all I am offered are low-lying clouds.

The breakfast room is packed, I look for one of the last available tables and head for the breakfast buffet. There is everything the western heart desires, but also Asian tastes are served with all kinds of spicy smelling food.

At the adjacent table an American family, parents and two teenagers, sit in lively discussions. Of course, it doesn't take long before I become part of the discussion (that's one of the American virtues I've always loved; our European reserve seems almost antisocial by comparison). It turns out that they have little time and want to make the most of it.

A weak old horse

In contrast to the headaches, the breathlessness persists. There are exactly two stairs with about 20 steps up to my hotel room, so one would think nothing special. But every time I arrive at the top, I gasp like an old horse in its last moves. Sometimes I meet an Indian at the top of the stairs, about my age, we knowingly smile at each other, shrug our shoulders regretfully and keep panting wordlessly.

But the city is calling. Unfortunately I had to find out that my hotel is quite far away from the city centre and therefore a longer walk is unavoidable. And obviously the way leads upwards, which will be another test for the short breath. But let's see …

"Special Price for you!"

The first exploratory tour into the city centre proves to be the feared effort. The path actually leads constantly uphill. It reminds me painfully of the somewhat tin-sounding loudspeaker voice shortly after landing. It warmly recommended us not only a strict rest of at least 24 or even better 36 hours, but also slow walking.

Well then, let's shift down one or two gears (only the Rollator is missing) and enjoy the surroundings!

The road, which I will probably be walking more often in the next few days, leads between new hotels and dilapidated houses uphill towards the centre of town. Soon the first shops appear. And that brings us to today's words. How many times have I heard it, this "Hello Sir", mostly friendly, occasionally aggressive, but always with grim determination? Thousands, thousands of times. With small nuances always the same slogans in all countries at all possible places. Maybe completed with "Where you from?" or "Special Price for you".

Shops with souvenirs
This image will now follow me for some time
The women are friendly and very businesslike
The women are friendly and very businesslike

But the vendors are nice, pushy in a friendly way. As soon as one has been recognized as a victim, the nets are thrown out and then the action begins. You have to endure it with a certain serenity. Just part of it. At first you're still nice, you answer every comment with friendliness, but that quickly wears off and your ears close by themselves. It's like the noise of an airplane, which dies out after a short time.

The city center

And there I am. Suddenly and unexpectedly I'm standing in the middle of a long, large plaza. The slow walk along the numerous shops and restaurants – in the meantime a merciless sun burns down, astonishing after the ice-cold evening – opens the view to the everyday life.

Leh center
The center of Leh
Relaxed strolling
Relaxed strolling
Busy hustle and bustle
Busy hustle and bustle
New shoe soles?
New soles?

Leh is also called "Little Kathmandu". 15'000 inhabitants, in the high season increasing several times. Situated at 3500 meters in the Indus valley in the middle of bare dead mountains and hills (which initially confused me a lot, because could it be the same Indus we crossed a hundred years ago in southern Pakistan?)

It is indeed so. The river has its source somewhere in the Himalayas, initially flows northwest past Leh, before it finally turns south and eventually becomes a huge river reaching the Arabian Sea after thousands of kilometres.

Leh is actually a small town, but even now, in the off-season, it is bursting at the seams. The dense traffic leads to traffic jams at all corners and ends and brings the narrow and bad streets and alleys to the edge of their capacity (it seems to me as if I have already told the same story several times, whether from Mandalay or Luang Prabang or other places overrun by development). In any case, as a pedestrian, you are well advised to develop a well-functioning escape reflex, and even older people are recalling their former agility with advantage.

Colored sights

The eye has trouble getting enough. At some point you sit down, get tired, heated, let chance lead you.

And in the middle of a cow
And in the middle of it a cow
... and happy monks
... and happy monks
Tibetan woman sells necklaces
Tibetan woman sells necklaces
... and he sells pashmina shawls
... and he sells pashmina shawls
A shy smile for the stranger
A shy smile for the stranger
Vegetable sale on the sidewalk
Vegetable sale on the sidewalk
Whole generations taking a walk
Whole generations taking a walk

The Castle

Apart from these unfortunately all too familiar signs of civilisation development, the city offers everything the insatiable Traveller heart desires.

The actual center of New Leh makes a rather modern impression (although the term "modern" is to be taken with caution). There is a pedestrian zone flanked with numerous stores (indeed!), whereby stores mean souvenir stores, guesthouses and trekking agencies. A few meters behind Old-Leh is located with a maze of winding alleys, in which the stranger loses all sense of orientation after a short time. Twisting alleys lead into the middle of an impenetrable labyrinth, and sooner or later you will find yourself stranded in backyards, dead ends and enchanted squares.

The castle, or what is left of it
The castle, or what's left of it

And above all the old royal palace is towering majestically on a hill, uninhabited and in rather bad condition. And a little further up the hilltop, the remains of a castle stare down at their former citizens. I will visit the two ruins tomorrow. Today I have to draw in the atmosphere and feel the energy. Everything that makes up this place. Made it so special ...

 

P.S. Matching Song:  Sia - Breathe me

And here the journey continues ...

 

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