Joel, another trekker and myself made the 8 AM meet-up time and walked up to Gesmo's for breakfast. Ah, another bowl of yoghurt and a baked goody. Gesmo's seemed to be one of the few restaurants still open and generally patronized by Western tourists. A few others slept in. M. and I left at 9 to visit a few monasteries. It was very pleasant to have L.C.'s uncle, Aingchuk, with us. He was the most careful driver I think I have ever had the pleasure of riding with in India. Two years ago, he drove the jeep that picked us up from Kharnak and brought us back to Leh. Between Hindi and English we were able to communicate just fine.
We initially traveled over slow back roads across the Indus and little bit east to Martho. Martho is actually a scenic, pleasant-seeming village that hosts a gompa, nestled up against the foothills of the Stok range. Apparently there are some short treks that start from here. We drove to the very summit of the gompa hill, got out and walked into the gompa proper. There was an ambitious expansion going on. A friendly monk showed us around; we were the only visitors, and then handed us off to a more senior person who showed us a few more rooms. The artwork was beautiful and there were a few young students about, but we did not witness any puja. After about an hour we drove to Stakna. This gompa is affiliated with some gompas in Bhutan, and according to Joel this dates back to a historical alliance in which Ladakh and Bhutan joined to counter Tibetan political influence. Stakna sits on an isolated hill closer to the Indus river and is not really associated with a nearby village. A solitary monk was conducting puja when we arrived but took time to host us after he was done. The artwork was over-the-top ornate with lots of Chinese style dragons and other decoration. Lots of rooms filled with identical statues surrounding a megastatue with the same motif.
We were told there were 30 monks and 15 students, but didn't see anyone else. The architecture was a bit more unified and monumental than Martho, but the place seemed more of a museum than anything else.After this we crossed back to the north side of the Indus to Thiksey. This is an impressive city on a hill, and really only the top part is open to tourists. Here for the first time we encountered some other visitors. There is a formalized entry with bathrooms, admission fee, even a restaurant, odd Tibetan/western medical clinic, gift shop, etc. Despite all that, it is an impressive place to tour.
There is a multi-story high gilt Buddha constructed about 30 years ago, and also some very old images and interesting nooks to crawl around. Perhaps the best part for me was visiting the dining hall and being around when a bunch of 6-8 year old monks in training were taking a break. They "close for lunch" at 1 PM so we drove back to Leh for momos. At the old royal palace of Shey, there are some very old stone carvings by the side of the road that are worth a stop.
Our last afternoon was occupied with shopping in the Tibetan markets and just poking around town. I bought a few gifts but nothing special or expensive. The group met again at the Tibetan Kitchen for our last dinner. Anticipating our 5:30 AM departure, lights out early tonight.
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