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Improving my photography is one of the main goals that inspired me to go "onwalkabout". Spending the time to focus on this hobby is something I'd most likely not normally take the time to do. However, setting out on the road, with hundreds of new sights to capture, I'm setting off to find inspiration, and improve my skills both behind the lens and with photography software.
These galleries are a chronicle of this time I've taken, what I've seen on the road and my attempts to capture the beauty of what I've seen. If you want to take a shortcut, here are my favorite photos from the trip.
| 30. Srinagar, Kashmir 2003-08-01 | |
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(80 photos) - Tradition says that one must stay on a houseboat when visiting Kashmir. These are the photos from two-weeks of peace on Nageen Lake and around Srinagar. The reputation Kashmir has for beauty and comfort is certainly well deserved and it was so easy to forget the cares of the word looking out on the lakes. . Related Journal Entries: |
| 29. Zanskar Valley 2003-07-19 | |
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(72 photos) - Known as the last Shangri-La, I ride into the Zanskar Valley, one of the most remote places in the Himalayas. The road has only been open since the 1980's and even at that, it was the hardest road I've ever been down with 160+km of loose dirt, gravel, sand and water. However, the views were simply stunning and it was one of the most rewarding rides of this trip. Related Journal Entries: |
| 28. Lamaruyu Monastery Festival 2003-07-17 | |
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(32 photos) - Not
as well known as the Hemis festival, a smaller monastery set high
in the desert landscape 100km from Leh, the Lamaruyu festival was
much more vibrant and pleasing then the overly commercial one of
Hemis. The view had a feeling of much more energy and interest from
the dancers and more involvement with the locals. It was a ceremony
with a feeling of being much more real then the more touristy Hemis.
Over two days from sunrise to sunset the dancers whirled around
the courtyards of the monastery and enacted the drama of good and
evil from a Buddhist point of view.
Related Journal Entries: 2003-07-17 - Lamaruyu - Bosco (Day 93) Quiet hour of meditation in a monastery below a 2000 year old carving. 2003-07-16 - Alchi - Lamaruyu (Day 92) Dances at Lamaruyu festival, lost in the dark. |
| 27. Tiksey Monastery Puja 2003-07-15 | |
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(11 photos) - I
take an early morning ride to Tiksey monastery, 12km from Leh, where
I get a chance to watch morning puja (prayers) in the prayer room
and join with the monks in breaking bread and taking breakfast.
The ceremony was a moving as the butter-tea and bread was filling.
Related Journal Entries: 2003-07-15 - Leh - Tiksey - Leh - Alchi (Day 91) Greeting the sunrise with sacred conch shells, morning puja, leaving Leh and the ride to Alchi. |
| 26. Khardung La (Khardung Pass) 2003-07-14 | |
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(11 photos) - I
take a short one day ride up from Leh on the highest road in the
world, over Khardung La (Khardung Pass) and down into the Nubra
Valley, and then back again.
Related Journal Entries: 2003-07-14 - Leh - Khardung La - Khalsar - Khardung La - Leh (Day 90) Up and down and up and down over the highest motorable road in the world. |
| 25. Hemis Monastery Festival 2003-07-09 | |
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(41 photos) - "In
the Hemis festival, which is dedicated to Padmasambhava, what the
visitor can observe is a series of scenes in which the lamas, robed
in gowns of rich, brightly colored brocade and sporting masks sometimes
benign and sometimes bizarrely hideous, parade in solemn dance round
the huge flag-pole in the center of the courtyard, to the plaintive
melody of the shawm, the moan of the eleven-foot horns, the boom
of drums and the clash of cymbals. The solemnity is varied by comic
interludes in which the dancers in the guise of skeletons bound
into the arena, performing grotesquely agile gymnastics." –
Ladakh-Crossroads of High Asia by Janet Rizvi pg 232-233. Related Journal Entries: 2003-07-09 / 07-10 - Leh - Hemis - Leh (Day 85-86) The most famous of the Leh area festivals at Hemis Monastery. |
| 24. Alchi & Monasteries Near Leh 2003-07-08 | |
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(16 photos) - Leh
is surrounded by monasteries and places of interest perfect for
day trips. One trip I venture out to the west down the Indus valley
to the monasteries of Phiyang, Basgo, Alchi and Liker with a couple
of American law students. We made it in time to witnesses the morning
prayers of Phiyang which was one of the more moving experiences
I've yet had in India. Related Journal Entries: 2003-07-08 Leh - Phiyang - Basgo - Alchi - Likir - Leh (Day 84) A visit with a couple of aspiring lawyers to four of the monasteries near Leh |
| 23. Leh, Ladakh 2003-07-05 | |
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(43 photos) - This
gallery is scenes from the town of Leh and visits to the surrounding
Gompas (monasteries). The town is small and quaint but in the beautiful
setting of the Indus valley with snowcapped Himalayan peaks in every
direction. The air is thin and a walk will leave me breathless but
that leads to an incredibly blue sky and stars at night that are
unbelievable. Related Journal Entries: 2003-07-11 / 07-13 - Leh (Day 87-89) Getting ready to set on the road again. 2003-07-06 / 07-07 - Leh (Day 82-83) I've lost the sense of "wonder" at India. 2003-07-05 - Leh (Day 81) Website dies with the antics of my U.S. provider and other geek frustrations. 2003-07-02 / 07-04 - Leh (Day 78-80) The Dalai Lama (twice) and Hemis Monastery. 2003-06-27 / 07/01 Leh (Day 73-77) Hanging out window shopping in Leh, the President drives by and Tiksey Monastery |
| 22. Manali to Leh Road 2003-06-25 | |
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(58 photos) - The
475km journey from Manali to Leh proves to be the toughest riding
I've ever done with almost everything I hate in one road –
bike eating potholes, lose gravel roads, broken pavement, inches
deep dust, two conveys of 50+ army vehicles, snow, hail, ice, and
the worst – several river crossings. However, it was also
a ride offering incomparable scenery that defines the reason to
travel. Here are some of the views from the road to Leh. Related Journal Entries: 2003-06-26 - Road to Leh (Day 6) - Rumtse - Leh (Day 72) A last day of riding in the sunshine to Leh. 2003-06-25 - Road to Leh (Day 5) - Pang - Rumtse (Day 71) Up over the Morey plain and the second highest pass in the world. 2003-06-24 - Road to Leh (Day 4) - Sarchu - Pang (Day 70) Out of the tents into the bull dust and river. 2003-06-23 - Road to Leh (Day 3) - Jispa - Sarchu (Day 69) The ride from hell, into the rivers and into the mud. 2003-06-22 - Road to Leh (Day 2) - Keylong - Jispa (Day 68) A short ride to the last hotel for 200km. 2003-06-21 - Road to Leh (Day 1) - Manali -Keylong (Day 67) Over the first of four passes Rohtang to the little village of Keylong. |
| 21. Rohtang Pass 2003-06-13 | |
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(17 photos) - I
join in the chase jeep protecting a VIP traveling up to Rohtang
Pass, the gateway to the high Himalayas. The pass at 3978 meters
is also the gateway to the highest motorable road in the world.
The jeep filled with India's elite commando group and their submachine
guns provides a surrealistic way to get to the top of this stunning
pass. Related Journal Entries: 2003-06-13 - Katrain - Rohtang Pass - Katrain - (Day 59) Machine guns on my lap I join the elite Black Cat commandos up to Rohtang |