Ladahk

Well. What can I say? I've been to India of all places. I know it's been a while, and I'm very sorry for that. Oh, and due to school work and study, this may make to be a very dull blog post, but let's dive straight in. 

School finally finished, and about five hours after the gates closed, I was at Auckland airport, meeting with thirty-five amazing people that had decided to venture off to Ladahk- India. Our flights consisted of an ten-eleven hour flight to Singapore, then five hours to Delhi, and then off to Lai where I sat next to a very strange india man and his friends on the very short one hour plane flight which I slept in. As soon as we got out of the plane, we were straight into 6 °, and it was freezing. So then we hopped straight onto the mini bus and journeyed through the foreign land on India.   

So, for a few days we sat around in our little 'hotel' and got used to the altitude. Seeing as we were sitting at hundreds of ft, altitude, this took a while. We started off by going for little 2-3 hours treks around the village and the mountains. In doing this we got to see the most amazing array of culture. On one side of me would be a bundle of snowy mountains and then I would turn around to look at a clutter of dusty and dry hills. Not only did we see the mountains, we saw the civilisation amongst Ladahk. We walked past Cows and Donkeys that wondered randomly around the paths. We saw women drying their clothing over a fire, and others getting their water out of the ground.

Next we went to Lamdon school and dentist clinic. We sat there for an hour or so getting prepped on how to present and teach the students at Lamdon school how to brush their teeth. Seeing as the students would buy lollies for only one rupee, (US$ 0.017), and wouldn't brush their teeth, they would all have rotten teeth. Seeing as our group went to the class room of six year olds, we needed a translator to get our message across. We found out some pretty crazy things. Most of the kids were terrified to go to the dentist, and I later on learnt why. Whilst our group had gone to talk to the kids, some others had gone to help out and become assistant dentists. When talking to those of us that became dentists, I learnt what bad condition those kids teeth were in. Most of the kids had to get extractions, and Lamdon dental clinic is full of amazing dentists from all over the world that only do extractions as a last resort. I really learnt how little this students knew about hygiene and how much they needed to change that.

On one of our trips to the Leh markets this photo was taken. The strings that hang the multi-coloured material from the tops of the buildings, are called prayer flags. These are a Buddhist belief to promote peace, compassion, strength and wisdom. It is believed that when they blow they spread the goodwill and compassion to others. The flags that are hung at the top of high mountains are very symbolic for this reason, as they are believed to spread a greater distance. I have to say, when I had seen prayer flags and prayer wheels, occupying every inch of every street, I didn't really notice them at the markets. Instead I noticed the culture. The shops that we went into were amazing. We learnt so much about bargaining to get lower prices, (i.e. I got a ring for 800 rupees orginally 1200).

The last part of our journey in Ladahk was an amazing tramp through the Himalayas. I have to say, when I was triple bagging my sleeping bag with fellow tenters, cuddling up to each other, passing around one hot water bottle, and wearing five layers on clothing, I didn't fully appreciate what was going on around me. Everyday we walked and walked. Through snow and sun, it was literally four seasons in one day. Being so high up, was hard for me and I found the tramping very challenging, but now I look back and think about how amazing it really was. Every night, we ate dinner in giant tents, and played cards in our own tents. Every morning we woke up to hot chocolates and tea, (before having to drag ourselves from warmth and un-peg out tents). I meet some of the best people I have and ever will meet. Ladahk, I am truly grateful for everything.

(If you guys enjoyed this, be sure to let me know so I can do a more in-depth post!)

All photography is done by Marco and you can see more photos here 

- Ruby x