City of Leh, Ladakh, Jammu Kashmir, India.
Posted on April 23, 2017
Leh is the capitol of the Leh region in northern India’s Jammu and Kashmir state. Around 32 000 people live here….so being in India its’ a tiny little city…more like a village around here…
seen from Leh Palace
beautiful Pagoda entrance into the city
the fruit and spice market with many interesting people and dried fruits, nuts and spices
I think we tasted most of them and then we bought some cashew nuts and some yummy dried apricots.
main market was a walking street….and no one was driving here ! almost like gågatan in Ystad, at home in Sweden.
a walk around the stupa…
morning prayer
round and round she went.
Wild asses, Pashmina goats and yaks in Leh Ladakh, Jammu Kashmir, India.
Posted on April 22, 2017
I’ve never been close to a wild ass ( if we are talking about the animals that is, hahaha), a Pashmina goat or a yak before so it was exciting to get really close to them during our road trip to Pangong Tso Lake. Well, the wild asses are really wild so I didn’t get that close but still…if you get my drift.
yap, they showed me their a…. , as soon as I took one step to close for comfort
they are not easy spotted in this scenery….everything melts in to the colours and the background
adorable though…
see the shepherd and the Changthangi – pashmina goats ? guess we have to get closer….
can you spot the shepherd ? not easy when you’re in a moving car I tell you.
she was just so cool….and I spotted her in time to stop and get out to have a “chat”
my new friend, so curious and sooooo cute
checking me out ! look at that face, it looks all terrified.
hmm, mother nature sure is wonderful.
a yak shepherd in his movable house….
yak valley, so beautiful.
Pangong Tso Lake, Leh Ladakh, Jammu Kashmir, India.
Posted on April 21, 2017
Our adventure to Pangong Tso Lake = high grassland lake, began early in the morning. We knew that it was a long drive to get there and a drive that would take us to the second highest drivable mountain pass in the world. It turned in to one of the best adventures ever. The ride itself was fantastic. We got to experience spring, summer, fall and winter , wild animals, high altitude training, freshest of air ever and the bluest of sky you can imagine. Not to forget the narrow winding serpentine roads going up up up and all of a sudden down down down…
Enjoy the ride !
a monastery in the hill
oh my god…. is this what we signed up for ?
this is what you do when no winter tires on and you can’t get up the icy snowy slope ! how many Indians can you have hanging on to the back of the car?
at the top….5361 meters up…..Changla mountain pass.
not easy going down either…..
and of course being in India why stay in the one lane that exist when there’s two at this spot…..of course he honked too !!!!!!!!!
women working the roads …
look at the winding road behind her !
after snow we got greyish sand blowing across the road just like in the desert
then it was spring….
6 hours later we arrived at the lake….Pangong Tso lake 134 km long from India to China !
they say that in the summers the lake have 7 shades of blue…I can kind of see it already.
and the hills are brown and red in all different shades….
this was one of the things on our Indian bucket list , check, …Pangong Lake, the Himalayas, 17 586 feet up in the air, second highest drivable mountain pass.
WOW, mother nature sure is fantastic, isn’t she ?
Shanti Stupa and Leh Palace, Leh Ladakh, Jammu Kashmir, India.
Posted on April 20, 2017
Shanti Stupa is built on a hilltop in Chanspa in Leh by a Japanese Buddhist in 1991 as part of Peace Pagoda mission.
the scenery reminded me of pictures from the moon…..
the stupa….
loved the views !
Tibetan flags are seen everywhere.
After the stupa we headed for Leh Palace. You see it in the right corner built on, in the mountainside.
love the jaks…..and their wool.
praying wheels at every corner, almost.
a buddhist monk
remember that we are on 12 000 feet so you have to walk slower than usual so you don’t run out of breath.
Leh Palace was built by a king in the 17th century and not much have been done to it since. Not much to see besides the views, that is. They had a photo exhibition inside but didn’t turn on the lights so it was kind of no point looking at them. Strange since we had to pay rs 200 entrance fee. They didn’t accept our PAN cards ! First time that has happened ….I do wonder if the “monks” outside where really monks, because they where not really friendly !
Thiksay Monastery, Leh Ladhak, Jammu Kashmir, India.
Posted on April 19, 2017
On a top of a hill in the village of Thiksay, 19 kilometers east of Leh we found this magnificent Gompa – Monastery. Built after the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet and it’s he largest gompa in central ladakh.
truly beautiful and magnificent
a pagoda entrance
intricate details…..
up up up ….
60 monks live at the monastery
the colours seem even brighter against the brownish landscape….
so cute…
stairs leading up to the Maitreya Temple, built in 1970 to honor the 14th Dalai Lamas visit.
the Temple has a 15 meter high statue of Maitreya , largest one in Ladakh.
whoever did this white line must have had to much to drink, don’t you think ?
again a place worth a visit if you are in the neighbourhood !
Shay Palace in Leh Ladakh, Jammu Kashmir, Himalayas, India.
Posted on April 18, 2017
After our little adventure to the Leh Ladakh high up in the Himalayas I’m excited to show you some pictures. Good to know is that Leh is situated on an altitude of 12 000 feet = 3658 meters above sea level which means you have to adjust to the high altitude the first day. It’s only an hours flight away from Delhi !
Shay Palace is situated approx. 15 km south upstream from Leh and was built 1650. It has the largest Changchup Chorten – Victory Stupa in Ladakh. The top of it is made of pure gold. Stupa is a dome shaped building erected as a Buddhist shrine and they are seen all over.
prayer wheels leading the way into the palace…always spinned clockwise.They are used to accumulate wisdom and good karma and to purify negativities ( bad karma ).
a Royal room with a view, already in 1650…
the Victory Stupa with gold….
inside a 7.5 meter high Sakyamuni Buddha copper and brass plated with gold, silver studded with gems and semi precious stones.
stacking of stones is seen all over outside stupas, The coordination, balance and concentration needed to control the mind and body is the intended outcome.
Instant swimmer, just add water in any form ! diving from Shey Palace…..
in a month or two the landscape will be green and you’ll find blooming apricot trees.
Shay Palace is worth a visit if you come to Leh Ladakh.
Instant swimmer, just add water.
Posted on April 3, 2017
How I wish it was that easy !
Training season is again up and running here in northern India meaning that pools just opened up. You would think that they could have opened up a month ago since it’s been above 30 degrees celsius ever since, but India is a country filled with rules, regulations and bureaucracy. Applications, inspections, stamps and payment is part of that. From 1 april pools are usually aloud to open, hence all above is done of course. So now I have access to our pool in our society and to our pool at Kunskapsskolan International.
I must admit that I took the opportunity to swim while I was in California and I’m so envious of the programs at some of the pools over there. Take Stanford for instance, three opportunities every day for masters swimmers to work out with a coach and a group ! (and to practise at such a facility….hmmm, who wouldn’t want to swim every day)
Here it’s pretty much me and only me. Almost every time I swim I do get questions from Indians who would like to swim like I do and who wants to get the crash course in an hour !
This morning I had the pool to myself (almost) and did 3500 meters. Trying to take it easy and build up meters every day since I have a very troublesome back. The only time during the day I don’t have pain is actually when I’m swimming ( minus the flip turns)
Please let me know if you are interested in some workouts. Maybe there’s more lonely masters swimmers out there who could benefit from some different workouts.
By the way, congrats to all fantastic Swedish Masters swimmers who just finished off a great nationals again. I do try to follow your accomplishments and maybe some day ……
Busy Saturday at the colourful temple
Posted on March 27, 2017
since we had a friend visiting us we wanted to show the colourful temple even though it was Saturday and thus filled with people.
lots of food where being prepared ….a group of kids ( actually everybody ) where intrigued by our visit since we where the only non Indians at the temple.
Nandi, Lord Shivs mount
Lord Shiv
Lord Hanuman
climbing into the tigers mouth …walking down the tongue
some of the temple cows….young ones
the temple Sadhu and I…this was the first Sadhu I met four years back and ever since I sit down and have a little “chat” every time we meet and every time I get his blessing
a big group of Sadhus waiting for the food that was being prepared at different spots around the temple.
this was actually the first time I saw the whole process of the blessing of the food for the Sadhus who eat first and then they serve all the people at the temple.
Hummingbird babies
Posted on March 19, 2017
our hummingbird is now a proud mother of a tiny bird and an unhatched egg
feeding time…
I tried to get a picture of their long tongues but I wasn’t fast enough ! Only managed to get the tip of it.
Susanna Rosen Photography 