Jon jumping off the dunes

I believe I can fly

Yes, we are back in rainy Manali after a month in sunny Ladakh. The internet connection was so slow in Leh that we didn't bother with anymore blogging there but now we are back !!

We had a great time in Leh, although we didn't really do a great deal, saw the sights (Leh Palace, numerous gompas, the Shanti Stupa...) and did a bit of exploring around the local area on a scooter we hired (note: must remember to always add oil to a 2-stroke engine) and generally did quite a bit of relaxing. Nik attended a 2-day course on Buddhist Meditation but my guts prevented me from attending although the Amchi (traditional Tibetan doctor) sorted me out with a five day course of rabbit shit looking pellets.

Whilst we were in Leh on the day after Dad Walton's 60th birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY Dad !!!) we had some great news off Lucy and Luke, yes a text to inform us of the birth of our new nephew Rory George Humphries !!! He arrived on 17th July, a bonny 7lb 8oz.
So a HUUUUUUGE congratulations to all, spoke to Lucy last night and everyone is doing great (maybe a bit more sleep needed.......)

We had what seemed a never ending mission to get to the Nubra Valley, but after 20 nights at the Oriental guesthouse and numerous trips to Leh bus station (one BIG toilet) we finally made it to Hunder, effectively the end of the line in India with Tibet (not China) the next stop. The Nubra Valley is an absolutely stunning place, there's nowt to do there, just reading in hammocks and walking and walking and walking and taking it all in. We saw wild Bactrian camels whilst having fun jumping off the Sahara-like sand dunes. On the way back from Hunder the jeep driver stopped at Khardung La, the world's highest road at 5,602m.

So we had a few more days in Leh on our return in the biggest room in the world (ever)then took a minibus for a 17 hour journey back to Manali. The driver must have been some retired minibus rally driver or something because he certainly wasn't hanging around. I mean it took over 30 hours to get there in the bus but he caned it back in only 17 ! It was a bit hair-raising at times (Kev, you know what we mean) but you've just gotta trust the man behind the wheel...

So here we are again and it's lashing down outside as it did most of yesterday, I guess that's the monsoon for you, as we're sure you all know about - the rain in England even made the front page of the Times of India. We're not going to stay too long here again this time as there's so much more of India (and Nepal) we want to see. Our next stop will be Dharamsala, home of HH The Dalai Lama.

Hope you are all well and enjoying yourselves,

Adios amigos,

Jon & Nik

written by  jonnik on August 3, 2007 from Manali, India
from the travel blog: Jon & Kenty's Grrrrrand Tour
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Leh Palace & Gompa

Nik & Prayer Flags

Big blue skies, Manali to Leh highway

After a cold night under canvas in Sarchu, 4400m

Well we have finally arrived in the desert city of Leh, and what a time we had getting here !! Day 1: the bus had 2 punctures on the way, so we spent 17 hrs on bumpy roads with sore arses and then spent the night in a tent at 4200m - very cold !! The next day wasn't as long fortunately, but all the way the scenery was spectacular, changing from one valley to the next. We went over Taglang La, at 5328m, the second highest road in the world....the whole journey it was amazing !!

There is quite a contrast between the lushness of Manali and the dry, desert of Leh. We're gonna relax for a few days and get used to life at the new dizzy heights.

The internet connection here is notoriously slow so we will endeavour to post some more photos soon.

Hope you are all well,

Love,

Jon & Nik.

written by  jonnik on July 5, 2007 from Leh, India
from the travel blog: Jon & Kenty's Grrrrrand Tour
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Waterfall at Vashist

More Manali beauty

KATA GHADI GHEN

TETE KETE TAKU TAKU

Well we hired the tabla, but haven't got round to playing them a great deal. Yes, sorry Kev, we know we're crap. They will go back to the hire shop tomorrow as we are gonna head north to Leh in the next few days.

Had a nice day today over the valley in Vashist where we walked through the forest to a very pretty waterfall.

Oh, and we've moved again. We needed a room with a bathroom (we'll spare you the details) so we're next door rocking it up in the Rockway Cottage. It's a bit more upmarket with a wood burning stove in the room, not that we need it, it's pretty warm here. The mattresses and pillows are crazy though! It's like they're made out of rock or something, very hard....

If anyone needs to call us (maybe Lucy or Luke over the next couple of weeks) then Nik has got an Indian SIM card. The number is 9816576522 - you may need a code in front of that, we'll leave you to work that one out.

We spoke to Iain, our house sitter, earlier and he spoke of torrential rain and biblical floods in the UK. Maybe the monsoon has arrived early there too........

Take care folks and have fun,

Love,

Jon & Nik

written by  jonnik on June 27, 2007 from Manali, India
from the travel blog: Jon & Kenty's Grrrrrand Tour
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As you can see, we have at last got round to posting some photos. Things take a while here and it's been a slightly labourious process.

Anyway, still in Manali and we've been spending the last few days having tabla lessons. It's been pretty hard but good fun and the guy gave us loads of his time for free, even if it did mean sitting cross-legged for 4 hours ! We have now hired a set for a week which was also a task in itself !

We are staying at the Himalaya Cottage, it's just us and the crrrrrrazy guy Sharman who works there, which can make for some pretty interesting times ! Every conversation with him is insane but the views are the best in town and he does make us nice chai and toast in the morning.

Nik had a great birthday, with lot's of nice presents, birthday cake, Indian Head massage followed by trip to the salon, and lots more general madness.

Hope everyone is well, speak soon....

Love,

Jon & Nik xxxx

Nik with chocolate birthday cake

Chilling on the balcony on Nik's birthday afternoon

Sunny morning Manali

Our new friend

Jon by the river

I've been popping around and about town today as it is Miss Kent's birthday on monday, so there is need for shopping, shopping...So far so good, but don't tell her, it's all a surprise.

Just been for some fantastic Indian food and are whiling away some time as the rain pours down outside. It has cleared the air though after the recent heatwave and we can now see the snow-capped peaks around us. In fact, the weather is all very English (well, Indian actually) with Nik wearing as jumper and sporting socks AND sandals next to me.

We've met a very friendly Israeli couple, Boaz and Adi, who have a month in India celebrating their honeymoon.

Namaste and much love,

Jon and Nik xxx

written by  jonnik on June 16, 2007 from Manali, India
from the travel blog: Jon & Kenty's Grrrrrand Tour
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It certainly is a pretty place, a bit of a scene with probably more Westerners then locals, but heh, birds of a feather flock together and all that.

Gonna spend a good few weeks here. I mean, why not, the world is our oyster and I don't even eat seafood.

So there you have it, a (very) brief synopsis of things to date. We'll explore Manali over the next few days and post some more notes soon.

written by  jonnik on June 14, 2007 from Manali, India
from the travel blog: Jon & Kenty's Grrrrrand Tour
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Sunset on our first night in Shimla

Christ Church, Shimla

So, we're now in the Himalayan foothill town of Shimla. At around 2200m it's much more bearable than the 44 degrees we left in Delhi (yes, for you shivering Stokies, that is centigrade !)

We had just 2 days in Delhi, but that was plenty - we'll do the sights there on our way back down south. So we've been in Shimla since saturday evening - it's nice, but there ain't a great deal to do. It's a major holiday destination for Indian familes so there's plenty of watching them watching us watching them kinda flava going on.

Spent alot of time sleeping since our arrival and have finally managed to get round to arranging our exit stategy - we leave for the chilled out village of Manali tomorrow morn at 8. It's a 10 hr bus ride - what fun !!

Anyway, that'll do for now....

Adios amigos

written by  jonnik on June 12, 2007 from Shimla, India
from the travel blog: Jon & Kenty's Grrrrrand Tour
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