my love for leh has grown exponentially. and, of course, increases with nostalgia as i write from a boiling internet cafe in delhi. after hanging in leh solo for a week, peter joined me and multiplied the adventure level with his presence. on his second day, we crossed the third highest pass in the world and visited one of the largest lakes in asia, pangong tso, and had a picnic on a sandbar near the ever-so-turquoise waters. 
after that, we rented motorcycles to explore alchi and likir monasteries. of course, driving a motorcycle through the most amazing terrain ever was the highlight. at one point, we happened upon a construction site with bulldozers and a foot of thick, sandy gravel. since i struggle with shifting into gear, two construction workers silently approached, affixed themselves to the back of the motorcylce like training wheels, and pushed me through the thickest of the sand. the whole scene was akin to a parent running behind a child learning to ride a bike and releasing the bicycle as she overcame the wobblies. despite that moment, bajaj was right about their latest add campaign, riding a motorcycle does make you feel like a god.
after road explorations, we headed for the trail. however, we were far from roughing it. it was sort of ridiculous and embarassing. the tent i ordered never arrived and, because of the moon-like terrain, we went for a package deal-- guide, horses and cook. now, we did walk the whole way, crossing 3 over-15,000 foot passes. and we were rockstar hikers, peter, the aussie-we-met, jacob, and i. but rough it we did not. each day our guide, sonam, brought us tea in bed as our cook, kumar prepared a too-large breakfast. we'd hike for about 5 hours, usually up a pass with some occassional huffing and puffing. the 8 horses carrying the tents and our larger packs, the horseman and cook would arrive ahead of us at camp. miraculously, camp would be set up and we'd be served hot pineapple juce as soon as we arrived. tea time and a seriously-five-course dinner followed and assured that this hike was the first in history to make each of the trekkers gain, not lose, girth. despite the over-pampering, i've never been surrounded by so much natural beauty. when we descended the highest pass, 4950 meters, i orchestrated an ipod mix on the fly and ran through the valley, pausing to visit baby donkeys and yaks and skip across a stream on the way.
we only passed 3 villages in the course of the 5-day trek, but on the first night i was pleased to find that the schools in leh were on break and the kids (strikingly absent from the villages i visited on the snow leopard hike), as friendly as all ladakhis, included me in a game of volleyball. though simply the ball-retrieving-sherpa on our college intramural team, each time i hit the ball, the girls would call out "very good!" if only all the areas in my life garnered such positive and immediate feedback. my favorite kid, dorje, was a young, enthusiastic monk who called out, "yes, please, hello!" each time he made contact with the soccer-ball-like-volleyball.
peter and i finished out our time in leh by renting a motorcycle and scaling the highest motorable pass in the world, somewhat over-estimating the road quality of the last 5 km leading up to the 18,000 foot pass. stepping off the plane into the delhi heat was not exactly a welcomed experience. but by the time peter and i worked our way into the american embassy, all returned to leh-like bliss. i don't think i've ever written about this heavenly oasis, the american embassy acsa club. it will sound like a mirage, but it's olympic-size pool, hoegarden beer and bacon cheeseburgers are real.
alright, i've got to get back to the grindstone-- reading harry potter and drinking coffee in air-conditioning. photos of the most beautiful place in the world are to follow. someday. next stop: bhutan, land of the snow dragon.
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