We switched hotels the night before because we decided to stay an extra night in Kochi. We had breakfast provided in our new guesthouse. A huge mug of chai tea, bananas, papaya, curried egg, coconut milk with cardamom, and rice noodles. So tasty!! In the morning, we left via taxi to Munnar. It was about a 4 hour drive. We stopped along the way to see some waterfalls (Cheeyappara and Valara) and a spice plantation. Once we got to Munnar, we ate lunch and walked around the city. There was a parade we got to watch. Pretty cool!
Day 13 we spent the day going on a Alleppey backwaters tour. We got to see a spice farm, women making rope, and the nature in the area from a very relaxing boat ride. We also had some great conversations with other tourists from around the world. In the evening, we went to a performance near our hotel. Check out more information about Alleppey here. We spent Day 12 sightseeing in Kochi (formerly known as Cochin). More information about Kochi can be found here. I was feeling a little sick but we still managed to have some fun. We mostly spent the day walking around Fort Kochi (the older part of the city with sightseeing attractions). Kochi was very hot and humid compared to Ladakh.
We woke up and had breakfast then flew (3 flights) to Kochi which is in the southwest part of India (the state of Kerala). We got to our hotel in Kochi pretty late at night. We were able to get dinner quick before going to bed. We had to spend some time planning out what we were going to do the next few days.
We woke up early to watch the sunrise at Pangong Lake. It was pretty, but only lasted 15 minutes. After eating breakfast and warming up by the kitchen fireplace/stove, we drove back to Leh. We went back to the same restaurant in Leh where we got the dumplings and ordered a noodle soup. Very tasty.
We drove to Pangong Lake on Day 9. It was about a 5 hour drive. It is a protected lake and the majority of it is in China. We took the third highest motorable pass to get there. Lots of windy, mountain roads where you honk before every turn! We stopped in a very small town along the way for lunch. Once we got to Pangong Lake, we had to get through some icy roads. We were also staying with a family (guesthouse) in a very small community (maybe a few families). Heat was minimal. We were hoping it was our last night with the propane heater. We hiked around when we got there and had a home cooked meal (made by the old woman we were staying with). Very delicious! We drove back to Leh from Diskit, taking the highest motorable road. Once we got back to Leh, we found a restaurant with dumplings. We did some shopping for souvenirs and relaxed in our hotel room. It was a bit cold until the heat kicked on early evening!
On Day 7, we traveled to the Diskit in the Nubra Valley. To get there, we have to take the Khardungla (the highest motorable road in the world!). It was very windy and slightly scary. We stopped along the way for chai tea and lunch in a small town that had been hit with a flood in August. Once in Diskit, we visited the Diskit Monastery (founded in the 14th century!) and a giant future Buddah statue. We also visited the nearby sand dunes. In the afternoon, we just walked around the small town. We were looking for a yak farm that was advertised, but never found it. On Day 6, we drove back to Leh after we ate breakfast at our guesthouse. Along the way, we stopped at the Likir Monastery. Once we got back to Leh, we got some sweets,coffee, and lunch. Afterwards we walked around the city. We also hiked to a nice vantage point to see more of the city. This day was the Ladakhi New Year, so at night we were able to see all the lanterns and lights up in celebration. Day 5 we drove to Lamayuru. It was a very beautiful drive. There were also a lot of military bases along the way (due to the proximity to Pakistan). We stopped at the Alchi Monastery, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, on the way to Lamayouro. It was founded 1000 AD. A lot of the buildings were 11th-13th Century. Once we got to Lamayouro (a pretty small town), we visited the monastery (11th Century). In the evening, we had a home-cooked meal at our guesthouse. 8pm was the typical dinner time.
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Stephanie JeanIndia 2015 ArchivesCategories |