Thiksey Monastery...

Still reeling from the beauty of Shey Palace, we got back on the road towards Thiksey Monastery which was a few kms down the road. After a while on the road, we turned left into the most beautiful road that went uphill. All along the way, we spotted stupas lined up with colorful flags on them.  And within minutes we had reached the parking lot of the Monastery. 

Once again, this too was situated atop the hill and involved a bit of walking, climbing and marching through flights of stairs. This beautiful Buddhist monastery is the largest monastery in central Ladakh and was set up by the Gelukpa monks.

Within the Thiksey monastery we found Lakhang Nyerma, a temple dedicated to Goddess Dorje Chenmo  Apart from Lakhang Nyerma there are a few other shrines inside the monastery complex. Basically, this Monastery consists of two main buildings with steep stairs leading up to the Buddha.

It is a massive twelve storey monastery complex with a number of stupas, statues, thankas and wall paintings. There is also a large pillar engraved with the Buddha's teachings. There is also a museum many sacred items besides a royal sword among other precious objects are on display. 

While making my way up, I kept stopping to click pictures, admire the writings on the wall and also say hi hello to fellow travellers. Met a lady who was here from Orissa, another duo from Europe and the first question they ask is "So how many days were you sick after landing here?". I would reply"none, i was alright" they would gape and share their story, of how many days they were violently ill before moving on... 

 Also met the lady I had met earlier at Shey Palace [she was part of a large group of women who had travelled from Mumbai, about 3 of them were very unwell and back in the guest house, while 6-8 of them were out exploring town.. all of them were 60+.. I was quite amazed and impressed with them]

As per tradition of Buddhist monastic orders, the successive Lamas are believed to be reincarnations of the original Lama.. The successive reincarnations of the Skyabje Khampo Ringpoche act as Head Lama of this monastery. The main prayer hall has a 15 meter high seated Maitreya Buddha statue spanning across two stories of the building... The prayers are held early in the morning. The one amazing thing about the Buddha statue here is that he is unusually portrayed as seated in the lotus position rather than his usual representations as standing or in a sitting posture on a high throne..

When inside one of the shrines, we spotted many silver and stainless steel bowls filled with water. Alongside was a box where people had put donation in form of money [ across currencies could be spotted here] and then there were boxes of tropicana juice, parle g biscuits or just individual cookies and chocolates. We assumed these were all offerings to the God by devotees. But i was curious about the bowls of water and so when i spotted a monk walk into the place, I decided to ask him. Oh and he put his feet on the torn piece of clothe and waked using them as a base. [conversation took place in hindi]

Me: Hello, can we have a minute of your time?

He: Are you from India?

Me: Yes, am from Chennai.

He: Then say you are an Indian [Bharatiya] . How can I help you.You all know hindi right?

Me: Yes

He: Ok, ask

Me: What is the significance of these bowls of water?

He: Well, Buddha believes all people are equal, no disparity based on money or status and so people are welcome to give whatever they can as offering.  if he began differentiating between people, we would stop believing in him. 

The silver and stainless bowls are bought by our monks whenever they travel. Water is an offering by the devotees. In case they cant afford anything, they can choose to fill the bowls. Normally these bowls would be in count of 7. 

Me: Ah nice. 

Another question, why are you walking on cloth and not on the floor?

He: So that I dont step on anything on the ground, the cloth would swish it away.Knowingly wont hurt anything.

Me: Thank you! 

Once again, we were mesmerised by the burst of colours across the monastery. Yellow, red, blue, green, you name it, they were all there - on the walls, pillars, and everywhere else as well. 

After a good few hours wandering this monastery, we were finally ready to head back down. The steps seemed easy and all we heard was silence around us. There were hoards of people making their way up to the monastery.. Some were taking a break near the first flight of steps in the shade [of the prayer bell]. There was a store near the entrance with some souvenirs, books etc... priced higher than what you find in the local market! 

Can read more on Wikipedia- Thiksay Monastery

Leh- Settling in and wandering through Shey Palace

The few people I spoke to [who had been to Leh] told me to take it easy the 1st day, and pop a pill [Diamox] to help with any acclimatisation issues . Since Leh is at 11000 ft above sea level, our body takes a bit of time to settle in. The whole high altitude and less oxygen levels could prove hard for some- dizziness, vomiting, nausea, difficulty breathing etc are some of the symptoms. Not to forget the dip in temperature!! And so I was prepared, armed with meds and clear thoughts in the head. 

The flight landed in Leh around 11 am and we reached the Lzakar Guest house within 10 mins and are shown our rooms. It is a quaint guest house that has about 8 rooms across ground & 1st floor.The rooms are big, spacious and beautiful.. the ones in the front side have a view of the hills while others have a view of buildings around. All rooms had two beds, a TV and a clean bathroom with hot hot hot water through the day.. We checked in, and decided to just chill that day. Some slept, while I watched TV for a while before snoozing off for an hour or so. Woke up, got downstairs and went out towards the market for a short walk. 

The main Leh market is just under 1.5kms from the guest house and since it was daytime, I went for a stroll. All the while my brain is sending me signals saying "go slow", "take it easy", "you wouldn't wanna fall ill on the 1st day and ruin the holiday". So I paid heed to it and go back to the room within a hour for more chilling. In the evening we all caught up for tea, followed by dinner. The temperatures had dipped further, to around 8degrees and we could feel the chill in the air.  We were all wearing a few layers, inners and sweaters/jackets, socks, gloves etc... 

The next day was when the holiday began officially, with the agenda being to explore Leh - Shey Palace, Thiksey Monastery  and Shanti Stupa ... We were up early, and ready to leave by 8am having gobbled down a few slices of hot toast and omelette, and couple of cups of tea. Bundled up, packed our backpacks, water bottles, snacks and we were off. 

After being on the road for about half hour or so, we reached the parking zone for Shey Palace. As with all buildings in Leh, this too was situated atop a hill. It was almost like the forts we find across our country, how they are all situated beyond reach and you need to put in effort to get there. 

Across the palace was a water body with lush green grass and it was quite a sight from the top. We got off, carrying just out back.. The path is long and winding before you see a flight of steps up to the main building. You really have to crane your neck to get a full view of the palace. There are numerous prayer wheels along the trail which suggest the existence of a monastery within the  royal palace.

The village ‘Shey’ was the old capital of the upper Ladakh. The Shey Monastery [Gompa] and the Shey Palace complex are mostly in ruins now, was built first in 1655, near Shey village, by the king of Ladakh, Deldan Namgyal [or Lhachen Palgyigon as he was called]. Infact this palace was used as a summer retreat by the kings of Ladakh. However, back in 1834 the royal families abandoned the Shey Palace and Leh Palace due to invasion of Ladakh by Dorga forces of General Zorawar Singh and moved to Stok Palace [ located at about 13Km from Shey Palace]. Today, Shey Palace is a historical monument and is maintained and managed by the Archeological Survey of India.

The Palace is famous for two things- it has the largest Namgyal Chorten (victory stupa) in Ladakh, the top of which is made of pure gold. Secondly, the monastery is renowned for its giant copper with gilded gold statue of a seated Shakyamuni Buddha [said to be the second largest such statue in Ladakh]. 

 As we walked down the winding path, my hands reached out the prayer wheels, spinning them one by one while my mind was wondering what it would have been like to live in a place like this....

I got Leh'd, the journey begins...

Every year, around June- Sep, there would be messages doing the rounds on the internet, across social media.. it would be like ants whispering to each other. I would read people talking about how they are off to Leh or just got back from Leh or how awesome it was, the various photographs from the locations, the movie 3 idiots and so much more. And every year, religiously I would look at them all, read the various experiences and sigh wondering when and if I would ever get a chance to get Leh'd. 

This year, around June I dont know what got into me, i started digging around to see if there were groups doing Leh trips, around Aug-Sep, somewhere around my bday! And I came upon quite a few of them, wrote to them, got details, tried making sense of the itinerary and finally zeroed in on one that suited my needs- it was a small group, dates were Aug 27 - Sep 4 and it did not cost an arm, leg or a kidney!! 

Who was the winner that got me as a traveller? This company called Justwravel, based in Noida.. They were doing trips to Leh in batches and thus began my mail exchange with a person from the company. I asked non stop nonsense questions to which he patiently answered.. Payments were made, plans were being made [in my head] and well excitement mounted. 

And probably for the 2nd time this year, I told more than just 2 people where I was headed [even though there was the tiny voice in my head screaming at me every time I shared the update with someone... I have a history where plans just fall apart last minute and go kaput]

Meanwhile, a grand uncle along with 2 friends [all of them 65+] and an uncle [late 40s] were off to Leh but they were headed for a serious Trek expedition of about 75kms. They had been training for a while and all that jazz. Now when gramma heard of this she was sure I was going off on something similar and was gonna not come back and was quite paranoid. I had to then show her youtube videos of Leh and the places around that I would be chilling in to calm her down... :-) 

This time, I decided not to go berserk shopping, but instead did the smartest thing I have done ever in life. Borrowed stuff from friends- bag, jacket, wooden thermals and cap. Ta da... And with that I was all set to go off..

Phew!! Am so kicked I made a start on the blog series.. More to come.. stay tuned.. 

Skywatch Friday... Above the city lines

If you know me, you will know how I love the window seat on an airplane and hog it at every given chance.. This time, during the 4 flights I took, I managed to get window seat at 3 of them. Here are a few shots from the last one, that brought me  back home to Chennai... [in reverse order]

For more beautiful skies, visit Skywatch Friday