Day 2 in Padam Zanskar

So nice to have a few days just to be here and enjoy the place. Yesterday was a bit overcast and cold so had a bit of a long lie in. After breakfast I got a lift to the monastery across the valley from the restaurant owner. The monastery is the largest monastery in Zanskar called Karsha Gompa. ( link below)  A beautiful place perched on the side of a cliff. The monks were all busy cleaning and reorganizing the main prayer hall as His Holiness will visit in a few days. They are also re-doing all the wall paintings of various Buddha’s which have to be hundreds of years old. Up at these high elevations everything takes more effort and walking up uphill take time, but what a great view.

Today after fighting with the internet for a few hours I had a walk to the rock carvings of the 5 Diyani Buddha’s right by the river. The carvings were amazing and probably a few thousand years old and again very intricate work. Having a sit for a while with my face up to the sun, listening to the river and the birds was a wee bit of heaven.

 Down town Padam is a busy crossroads and it is interesting to see the mix of people. The restaurant workers and some of the laborers come from one of my favorite places in the world Bodhgaya, Bihar and Manali. People arriving from the teaching or for hiking are of all varieties, many westerners from various European countries, Israel, Russia and USA also some people from Ladhak and other mountain regions of India including Spiti, Lahole, Kinnaur and Himachal Pradesh. There are also Indian tourists from Delhi and Mumbai. There s also a mix of Muslim and Buddhist and what is interesting is to see a person who look very Tibetan dressed as a Muslim with a long beard saying “Joolay” which is a Ladhaki greeting. Let’s just say it is a real mix up here but everyone is getting on just fine.

http://kunzum.com/2009/07/24/the-karsha-monastery-near-padum-in-zanskar-in-ladakh/