Leh

We've moved on again - we've left the plains behind and are now in Leh, the capital of Ladakh. It's very very different up here, and possibly one of the nicest places we've visited.

Ladakh is in the far north of India, beyond the himalayas, on the borders of Tibet and Pakistan. Culturally and geographically a part of Tibet, it's only through an accident of history that Ladakh is Indian, rather than occupied by China.

When we left Delhi it was approaching 40C, but it's still winter here. It snows occasionally, there's no leaves on the trees, it's cold at night, and we're surrounded by snowy peaks. It's very clear however, so it can get quite hot in the daytime. Spring is due in a few weeks time, hopefully.

Ladakh is a high, dry, cold desert with hard winters - but the landscape here is strangely beautiful, very sandy, stunning mountains, solid whitewashed houses and smallholdings with lots of very fluffy animals. It's amazing that people manage to make a comfortable living in such a bleak place.

There's only two roads that lead out of Ladakh - both high mountain passes that are blocked apart from June - October. For the rest of the year, the only way in or out is by flying. This means that there's not the usual goods that you can buy elsewhere in India - the people have always been more self-sufficient (and Carrie can't find a diet coke - in fact any fizzy drink - anywhere - she's started drinking TEA!!).

The people here are a mixture of Ladakhis, Tibetan refugees, Kashmiris, and Indian soldiers (who look very out of place - being posted up here can't be very popular).

Ladakhi people are very friendly & welcoming. They're more easy-going and honest than most people in India. There must be something in that buddhism malarky.

It's very high here - Leh is 3500m above sea level (2 miles up). Carrie & I had rotten altitude sickness for the first few days - we flew up from Delhi, which is practically at sea level. We were well looked after by the guesthouse owners - Tsering and Dolkar - who practically confined us to our beds for the first few days. We're much better now - and can yomp up gompas with the best of them.

We're about the only guests staying at the guesthouse at the moment, and have the best room in the house - there's a panoramic view of snowy himalayas from our bed. We get home-baked ladakhi bread and apricot jam for brekkie, and veg-dhal-rice for dinner.

There's a few more eating options in Leh town - a singaporean cake and coffee place, a few tandoori restaurants and lots of tibetan kitchens. In the tourist season (when the mountain passes open) there's a lot more going on here - at the moment it's quiet, and many things are closed for the winter. But this is nice - it's peaceful, we've got the place almost to ourselves, and Carrie is managing to get her studying done.

Leh