Day 14 : Around Leh (7th. Sept)

Woke up at 6:55 am and headed to another famous eatery in Leh named Rendezvous German Bakery for a hearty breakfast.

It was a beautiful day to ride. The sunny day lifted my spirits and Chitti’s too (that's what Linda calls my Royal Enfield .Inspired from the movie of one of our favorite actors - RAJNIKANT !!! ) Navigating through the smooth roads I rode towards my first stop for the day - Stock palace and monastery.  

I reached Stock palace at 11 am. The royal descendants, who currently is the sitting MP for the constituency, still managed the palace and so it was in a pristine condition. Cameras were not allowed inside the palace. A large part of the palace has been converted into a museum housing all the royal belongings.  I had heard a lot of tales about the royal family using gold but nothing had prepared me for what I saw. There were dresses embroidered in pure gold, gold wedding jewellery which the Buddhist community call ‘khow’ of never before seen size, gold plated kettle, gold plated saucers, gold bell, Thanka (religious posters) in gold paint, gold prayer wheel and gold etc etc. The other surprising thing was that all these treasures were guarded by the humble, by that I also mean unarmed, palace staff.

Stock Palace

Traditional lock

Stock Palace

Stock Palace

View from the Stock Palace veranda

View from Stock Palace terrace

Outside the palace, I saw another group of palace staff drying the apricots.

After the palace, I headed to the Stock monastery, but it was closed. Right beside the monastery, I saw a new statue of Buddha being constructed. 

Stock Monastery

Newly constructed Buddha Statue 

I went to have a look at it and noticed that the project was being monitored by a gang of old village men who were all beyond their 60s. Soon I found that they only looked old but their wrinkled body held a hurculine strength within. There was a heavy tree trunk lying on the middle of the ground and the gang was not very pleased to see it. Five of these old men just lifted it and kept it at the side. I was astonished to witness it. At that age, it will be a task for most of us to lift a toothpick and these men with grey hair were lifting logs. They too were of X men breed. 

The ladakhki X men 

  

Once the job was completed, one of the old men walked up to me and gave me a few apricots, an apple, and a pear. I don’t know why he did that. I guess I was looking like someone who has not eaten for days, or many be these good-hearted people just love sharing. Whatever be the reason, it was assuring to know that I would not die of hunger in Ladakh.

He looked at me and .....

.... gave me these 

Next stop was the most famous monastery in Leh  -Thiksey monastery. Some locals claim that it’s the most “clicked” monastery in Leh. I had to ride past Shey palace on the way and since the monastery was closed the first day I came to Shey Palace, I stopped to check it once more. Luckily the monastery was open that day. 

Stupa at Shey Palace

Shey Monastery

Right outside the Shey Monastery 

   

I reached Thiksey monastery at 1 pm but the entry was closed for lunch till 1:30 pm. Once the gates were open after the lunch session, I explored every corner of the monastery and in the process, I learned a lot about Buddhism. 

The First sight of  Thiksey Monastery

Blessed Chitti at Thiksey Monastery

Entry to Thiksey monastery

The most special moment at the Thiksey monastery was when I saw the future Buddha named Maitreya. I had seen many statues of Buddha, but the moment I saw this statue, I knew I was looking at something special. It was the most beautiful statue of Buddha I had ever seen.

When the statue was being consecrated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama he had said, “ Rinpoche, you are very very lucky. This Maitreya is very beautiful. Even if you see this Maitreya again and again, you will never see it enough; You will always want to see it more – You will never be satisfied. I have seen many statues but this Maitreya is very special for me. I have never seen a Maitreya like this before.” I stood there staring at the Maitreya and it took me some time to free myself from his captivating good looks.

Maitreya

 The monastery also has a museum which makes a very educative visit. Some of the stuff made from human remains were a bit scary too.

Stand made from the human skull

The Vajra and The Bell 

Trumpet made from the human thigh bone

Ancient luggage bag 

Next, I headed towards Stakna monastery. The monastery was closed but when one of the kushelas saw me, he opened up all the locked doors of the monastery for me to see. He explained to me everything about the monastery and also talked about the monk way of life. I was told that the Rimpuche (The reincarnation of the supreme priest) of this monastery was a three-year-old boy.

On the ways to Stakna monastery

Chitti reaches Stakna Monastery

GIANT !!!!

Kushela who opened all the monastery doors for me 

Gold plated stupas

As strange as it may sound, I lost my way from the Stakna monastery. There was only one way to the monastery, but I don’t know how I found the other way back. I realized that the road didn’t look similar to the one I had used to reach the monastery. I asked one lady if I was on the right track. She made such a strange face biting her tongue that I knew I was pretty lost. I lost some half an hour trying to figure the right way.     

My last stop for the day was Hemis monastery. By the time I reached there, it was already 4:30 pm. This monastery too had a museum. I will remember this museum for that one thing I had never seen or heard before - a vulture’s pup. It’s true. (Taking photos were not allowed inside the museum). It’s quite difficult to describe. It has a body that looks similar to a puppy but the size suggests otherwise. The locals claim that a vulture had given birth to it. It lies there but it has to be seen to be believed. This Ladakh was truly a place of strange tales. By the time I left Hemis monastery, it was dusk.

Hemis Monastery

Ancient prayer wheels made of leather

 The setting sun and the silver moon made the Leh mountains even more mystical.

The sun hands over the baton to the moon 

I reached Leh town at 8 pm and headed straight to the same Angchok restaurant. I was getting addicted to the taste of the Angchok special “Mixed”. To my disappointment, Angchok was closed. I saw another restaurant nearby and decided to have Thukpa and Momos from there. 

It was not a good choice. The taste was nowhere in comparison to Angchok’s, but anyways my dinner was done. Later in the night, I had a stomach upset and as I had to ride early the next morning, I took Ranitidine tablet so that my stomach problem would be cured by the morning.

At the end of the 14^th Day, I had traveled 123 kms.    

*All the special moments which I would not get a chance to do otherwise are in bold

(Do read the other days Chronicle listed on the same page)

#Royalenfield  #trip #leh #bikeride #adventure #ladakh #travel