Namaste, friends! Today let’s do monastery hopping in Ladakh and a Leh city tour!
We’ll visit Shey Palace, Hemis Monastery, Thiksey Monastery, 3 Idiots Rancho School, Shanti Stupa, Leh Palace, and Leh market ✨
Whew, it sounds like a lot, right? I was also worried that I had to spend a lot of time writing this blog post, like the last one haha… (there goes my weekend)
But don’t worry, today’s blog post will have more pictures than words because there wasn’t much to share in my Kashmir travel diary 😄
Alright, so I was very lucky that none of my itinerary was disrupted despite being stuck in Sonamarg for one night. I woke up early to get ready, had my breakfast, and went out.
My driver in Leh, Ladakh was Ghulam. He was polite, always on time, and helped me take some photos – my remaining Kashmir solo travel was pleasant 👍 👍 👍
On that day, the sky was very clear, the sun was super bright, and I could feel a cool breeze on my face. It was almost perfect, except for the altitude sickness.
Although I was mostly sitting down, eating, and sleeping yesterday, I still felt dizzy, short of breath, and sluggish.
However, that day, I was determined to move my body as much as possible because it started to feel stiff. I can do it! 😤 😤 😤
Monastery hopping in Ladakh and Leh city tour, here I come!
Kashmir Travel: Visitting Shey Palace and Shey Monastery in Leh, Ladakh
We drove for a while because our destinations today were quite far from my hotel. When we finally reached Shey Palace, the moment I stepped out of the car, I was like…
Should I just skip the monasteries and chill at the hotel? 🥹 🥹 🥹
Because the road to the monasteries was always inclined and there were many stairs… I was already short of breath and dizzy, and the blazing sun didn’t help.
But hey, I’d traveled so far to Kashmir, so I had to do it! 🔥 🔥 🔥
Alright, so this place used to be a palace, but now in ruins. There was a monastery too, with real monks living there.
I explored the place alone and met a few visitors. Shey Palace felt like a maze, there were some crossroads that would lead you to who-knows-where.
In addition, it was almost empty when I was there, so I felt like a character in a video game, exploring a ruined palace 😄
If you plan to visit Leh, Ladakh, for a solo trip, don’t worry!
Shey Palace and other monasteries are safe for you to explore on your own. Sometimes there will be signage, or you can ask the monks for directions.
By the way, the toilets at Shey Palace were super basic. If you can hold it, better relieve yourself elsewhere.
There will be doors, but instead of toilet bowls, you’ll be greeted with just a big hole… and there’s no water. So bring lots of tissues and hand sanitizers!
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Kashmir Travel: Visitting Thiksey Monastery in Leh, Ladakh
OK, next on our list was Thiksey Monastery. It’s a beautiful Buddhist monastery, visitted by the 14th Dalai Lama in 1970.
There’s a daily morning prayer, anyone can join the monks for their morning session. You can also stay in Thiksey Monastery, have some zen time, or learn more about Buddhist culture.
When writing this blog post, I researched this monastery only to realise that I didn’t explore the 15th-century religious site enough.
For example, a TripAdvisor review said there was a giant Buddha at Thiksey Monastery that extended over two floors.
What? Where? I didn’t see it 🥹
And apparently, if you come during the monks’ lunchtime, you could join them for tea or a meal.
I may not have explored Thiksey Monastery thoroughly, but I had a good memory of that place. It was beautiful and rich in Tibetan culture ✨ ✨ ✨
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Kashmir Travel: Visitting Hemis Monastery in Leh, Ladakh
Alright friends, this was my favourite monastery in Leh, Ladakh! Hemis Monastery was huge, beautiful, and very clean.
Oh ya, there was a souvenir shop too! And the toilet was very clean 👍 👍 👍
I met some monks there. Thanks to them, the photos that I took at Hemis Monastery weren’t empty, hehe…
I don’t have many photos to show you, as there were camera and video restrictions there.
But after our third Buddhist monastery in Leh, Ladakh, I guess you already got the picture of what they look like 😊
Kashmir Travel: Visitting 3 Idiots Rancho School in Leh, Ladakh
At first, I thought the famous comedy movie 3 Idiots was the original, Indian version of The Three Stooges (American) movie that I watched in 2012.
I only realised this when I looked more into it while writing this blog post. 3 Idiots and The Three Stooges – they sound similar, right?
There’s a hilarious scene in The Three Stooges movie that I still remember. One day, a driver suddenly threw a big bag in front of a nun.
When she opened the bag, suddenly, a tiny hand poked her eyes and she fell backward 😂 😂 😂
So, The Three Stooges movie was about three friends who tried to save their childhood orphanage from foreclosure.
Meanwhile, the 3 Idiots movie was about the friendship of three engineering Indian students. It received positive reviews and even won the Grand Prize at Japan’s Videoyasan Awards.
I mixed up the orphanage in The Three Stooges as the school where Rancho, one of the main characters in 3 Idiots, went to when he was a kid.
Although it was a misunderstanding and I haven’t watched the movie, it was fun exploring one of the shooting locations of the 3 Idiots Rancho School in Leh, Ladakh 😊 😊 😊
Next, I returned to the hotel for lunch and charged my phone before continuing the Leh city tour.
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Kashmir Travel: Visitting Shanti Stupa and Leh Palace, Ladakh
When I reached the hotel, it was past the lunch hour, hence the cook had gone to rest. Luckily, I could still order simple food, so I had vegetable Maggie (instant noodles).
At that time, I didn’t know that there were many cafes in Leh market. However, it was nice to cool down for a while and charge my low-battery phone.
My next destination on the list was the Leh Palace, a 9-storey palace built in the 17th century by King Senge Namgyal.
But before that, I stopped by Shanti Stupa for a while just to look around, as they were in the same direction.
I was glad that I reached the Leh Palace, Ladakh before sunset, as it would be too dark to explore the place afterward.
From the outside, the Leh Palace looked like a normal palace with simple architecture and small windows. However, at that time, it was considered a magnificent palace.
Little did I know that this ‘simple’ architecture was built by mixing mud, stone, wood, and sand to keep the palace cool during summer and warm during winter.
Oh, I shouldn’t call it ‘simple’. Actually, it was a medieval Tibetan architectural style!
P.S. If you’re allergic to dust, you may want to wear a mask as the Leh Palace was quite dusty and old.
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Kashmir Travel: Strolling Around Leh Market in the Evening
I told Ghulam that I wanted to visit Leh Market and asked him to pick me up at 6pm. In the market, there were many interesting cafes and souvenir shops.
The Leh Market was small. After I got what I was looking for (instant Kashmiri tea for my colleagues), I didn’t know what to do and there was still plenty of time until 6pm.
I watched some Tibetan refugees dancing on the street to promote their souvenir shop. Then, a cafe on the second floor of a nearby building caught my eye.
Ok, let’s get a hot drink and some snacks!
The waitress there spoke fluent English and was friendly. She even helped take some photos for me 😊
The cafe was decorated nicely, and it had many food and drink options.
I ordered hot lemonade without sugar and my favourite Indian snack, honey chilli potato, which tasted more like crispy sweet and sour potato (Chinese style).
Actually, I just wanted to drink. But the waitress was so nice and I was the only customer there, so I ordered the honey chilli potato too. Think of it as helping them, hehe!
Besides, I was also curious about how they cook the honey chilli potato. It was nice, though! 👍
When I was on the way to the meeting point to meet Ghulam, I bumped into the local tourists whom I met at the Leh Palace. What a coincidence!
We chatted for a while and said goodbye. The atmosphere in the Leh Market turned more lively in the evening. It was nice to be able to experience the night view of the Leh Market ❤️
Alright friends, thank you for reading this blog post! Shukran! I hope you enjoyed the monastery hopping in Ladakh and Leh city tour.
Have a wonderful week ahead !🌻 🌻 🌻
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