September 19 - We are in Leh, Ladakh, India. It is high (11,500 ft.) in the Himalayas. There is a distinctive traditional culture here. Women wear woolen coat-like garments with bright pink sash, woolen shoes with curled up toes, and a cylindrical hat with a square brim and the corners turned up in front. The traditional culture of dependence on the village and farming is being replaced by a cash culture where there is actual poverty. Anyway its an amazing cultural experience - we have electricity only a few hours a day, no hot water - but we are very comfortable and healthy. We are drinking local apricot juice and eating roasted barley for snacks.

Yesterday we visited 4 Buddhist Monasteries in a jeep - they are high in the mountains. Inside the old and new are mixed. The old is from as long ago as the 15th century and the new is using the same materials and building techniques as the old - sun dried mud and straw bricks carried by back up and mortared in. It is not a "theme park" to demonstrate how things used to be done. This is the only way. There were huge gilded Buddhas which were strangely powerful with their enigmatic smiles and knowing eyes. There were many colorful paintings of spiritual philosophy - all either repainted or preserved.

We came here through a hairraising ride on a road that would be considered impassable in Washington. Fortunately we were in a "jeep" which is a 2 wheel drive square shaped vehicle with no seatbelts and filled with people.

There were thousands of foot drops into gorges as we lurched along - fortunately one of the passengers was a cordial engineer from Zanskar mountains who spoke pretty good english and he had chosen some excellent drivers. There are all kinds of disregarded admonitions by the side of the road such as "Don't overtake on bends". There is plenty of passing on bends (curves) with horns honking in a friendly way and cooperation of all vehicles. We encountered goats, yaks, cows, donkeys, sheep in the road.

Well - next a bus ride over a 17,000 ft pass - I am pretty well aclimitized to 11,500 and have been to about 14,000 with no problem. Destination: Manali.