LEH, LADAKH TRIP

28.08.16 : Annu got up with bad health problem and he wanted to go back home and so we dropped and postponed our trip to Pangong Lake today.  We tried to get flight tickets but being Sunday, we could not manage and hence we booked his ticket to Mumbai for 29th.  We went directly to the Airport to book his ticket.  As soon as ticket was booked, at extra costs of course, he was in good health again.  We went off to the Hall of Fame, where memorials of our different wars from 1947 onwards were displayed.  There was lots of pictures, armaments, guns, tanks and wars mementos displayed.  Here I was not able to see much as one of the visitors (lady) from Pune, fell down the steps and injured her hips and I was nursemaid to her, holding her arms and massaging her left leg, until ambulance arrived and took her away.

From there we went to a Tibetan Restaurant in the city and had a nice lunch of momos, Thupka, sizzlers, we got grilled fish (expensive ofcourse) too. From here we drove up the hill to Shanti Stupa, a beautiful white Domed Stupa  on top of the hill. Shanti Stupa is situated on a hilltop in Chanspa, Leh district, Ladakh, in the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It was built in 1991 by Japanese Buddhist Bhikshu Gyomyo Nakamura .The Shanti Stupa holds the relics of the Buddha at its base, enshrined by the 14th Dalai Lama himself. Shanti stupa has provides beautiful and panoramic view of the surrounding landscape. This has become a primary reason for Shanti Stupa to become a popular tourist attraction, apart from its religious significance.

Rancho School - this school became famous after the Aamir Khan's movie Three Idiots. The name of this school is Druk Padma Karpo School , this is also known as Druk White Lotus school. The clean and eco friendly structures of the school is designed to withstand seismic disturbances. This school was conferred on of the most beautiful schools in the world by BBC London in the year 2016.

On our way back, we visited the Shey Palace.  Shey monastery and palace is located 15 kilometers from Leh town on the Leh - Manali road. Shey palace and the monastery was built in the sixteenth century AD. The monastery enshrines the Du Khang with an almost 10 meter high gilder copper statue of Lord Buddha. The Shey pal0ace was built by the king Deledan Nagmyal and Shey palace boasts of the largest victory stupa in Leh the top of which is made of pure gold. The Shey palace was the abode of the royal family till 1834 AD when they moved to the Stok palace.  The place is in ruin.

We return back to our hotel but onway we visited the local market where we did shopping of local fruits of Apples and Apricots and also dry fruits.  Had a relaxed evening with Annu getting ready to return to Mumbai early morning.