All 4 of the guests of the Young Mona Lisa left this morning, Steve + Paul for Jammu, then Delhi, us for Ladakh. We all 4 had to be at the bus stn early, so Sultan + his family woke us all early + prepared a particularly early breakfast for us. Even so, we were late, or later that we should have been – we looked at the clock after breakfast, + discovered that it was already 7 o’clock, the time we were supposed to report at the bus stn. So we threw the things we were taking into our packs, the stuff that we were leaving into a cupboard, + rushed off. Along with our own things, we were taking with us 2 sleeping bags, a coat, + a heavy jumper, all lent to us by Sultan.
As we’d anticipated, arriving late at the bus stn didn’t matter at all, for the bus didn’t leave till about 8.30. We had been assigned to 2 of the back seats, + as might be expected, that made for a very bumpy ride, so much so that it was difficult even to read. I am reading “Gulliver’s Travels” which is hardly the sort of stuff one wants for a difficult + uncomfortable bus ride. However, soon enough we were climbing up into the mtns, + we were treated to some spectacular views. We took just one photo, just for the record, but the French guys next to us were going mad, + were actually using such expressions as “formidable!” and “superbe!” There was an Indian tourist in the seat in front who managed to annoy me. Just before the bus had pulled out, he had asked the frogs if they would hold the bus for half an hour while he went to buy a cassette player. What a wanker!
In the afternoon, the view became even better, with clumps of trees, changing autumnally to yellow, gold, orange + red, contrasting its blaze of flaming colour with the desert barrenness of the surrounding hills. And wherever there was the smallest human habitation, these splashes of colour could be seen. I have seen the autumn colours in New England + New Zealand, + neither were anything to match this.
We arrived at the stopping place for tonight, the small town of Kargil, rather earlier than expected. We selected one of the hotels there almost at random, ate a simple meal, + went to bed. It was still early, but we had to be back out at the bus for a 4.30 departure, so that was no bad thing. I was awake till late listening to the radio.
As travel days go, this certainly seemed to be one of the more spectacular.
