Jouleh!!!

Jouleh...

This is the local word for hello, goodbye, thank-you, etc here in Ladak which is the province of India where we are in Leh. It has been several days since I have written last. 

Since arriving in Leh we spent three days acclimating to the altitude. In that time we have gone on various sort walks around the town and in the local hills mostly visiting various Buddhist monasteries. There are many Tibetans here, and as a result the Ladaki culture and form of Buddhism is influenced accordingly.  We had the opportunity at one of the monasteries to sit in on a group of monks while they did their daily prayers and were treated to butter tea in the monks kitchen afterwards. Butter tea is a traditional Tibetan  drink made from butter and salt... They also add a barley flour to it called tsampa. It forms a paste like dough and is one of the staples of a monks diet. The butter tea is certainly not the tastiest thing I have ever had but glad to have tried it. In the evenings we strolled through the streets of Leh, poked through the shops, and tried another traditional Tibetan dish momo's. Momo's are a dumpling, essentially the Tibetan equivalent of the Russian perogie, or  the Japanese gyoza. they are delicious! 

After our three days of acclimating we set off on the trek.