clear sailing

the waiting is over.  the flags are now flying on a craggy ridge top high over the shanti stupa overlooking the town of leh. it took some work; besides the long, sweaty and breathless hike up the loose gravel gullies to gain the ridge, i had to fashion suitable mounting points for the flags in what proved to be a fairly precarious setting.

predicting the need for some rudimentary rigging materials, i kept a keen eye to the ground as i walked the roads and trails towards the hills.  stuffing small pieces of wire of various gauges into my pockets and pack proved useful.  together with some pieces of telephone cable and frayed string i had found the day before, i felt reasonably confident i would be able to fashion some secure mounts for the flags.  after some serious scree scrambling and once on the ridge top, i climbed up to the highest point.  here, others had hoisted their flags using long sticks that they must have carried from the valley bottom. the sticks were jammed into cracks in the bedrock and buttressed with piles of loose rocks.

the present tangle of others' flags had been hammered hard by the weather, so i was determined to build as durable a mounting system as i could in such conditions.  space was at a premium, and the only viable location was along a teetering series of loose spires that dropped downward as a narrow spine from the high point.  slipping off in any direction would have likely resulted in broken limbs, at least.  i found a couple of weathered sticks that had long since lost their moorings and their flags, so i took a risk that the gods wouldn't mind if i used them.

warily, i worked my way over and around the spires.  for those of you familiar with the loose and grainy quality of some of the rock in joshua tree, you know what i was dealing with.  every hold was dubious...either covered in pea sized gravel, crumbling to pieces under the slightest pressure, or teetering and creaking from its base.  i managed to jam the longer of the two sticks into a suitable crack in the last and lowest spire.  i pulled out my collection of string and wire and lashed the smaller stick to the larger, making a decent flag pole.  slowly, i worked my way back and forth along the spires; each trip involved finding head-sized rocks back on the ridge top and carrying them carefully down to the sticks.  finally, i had built a reasonable cairn around the base of the sticks to provide extra support against the coming winter weather.

the flags are now flying high and carrying my prayers to wind. the blessing of these flags was handled by a collection of monks at the residence of the local ringpoche.  i had been holding out for the ringpoche to do the deed, but he was never around when i visited.

call it coincidence or simply my mind's own wanting, but i do feel much lighter now that the oracle's instruction to me has been fulfilled.  for the past week, i have been feeling restless...partly homesickness and partly confusion as to whether to stay longer in ladakh.  the homesickness i knew would come, and the comings and goings of other travellers has added to this sense.  this feeling has abated...for now.

whether to stay longer in ladakh (versus travel to other parts of india) is a question that comes up most days.  there is so much to india and the options are nearly endless, yet the thought of packing up and moving around does not appeal to me right now.  i enjoy the friendly ladakhis with whom i share my daily bread and there is so much more to learn and do here.  the tourist season has pretty much ended, so it is wonderful to experience the area without the presence of so many other foreigners.  tripping off to dharamsala or goa or varanasi or any other location on the ticklist just feels like...i don't know...so predictable!  who knows, i may yet pull up stakes and shuffle off to the coast of karnataka and find somewhere a little less...consumed.  for now, i will continue to hang my toque in ladakh.

leh away

it's finally over; all the sitting and waiting and sitting some more. i could really care less if i were to never sit in an airplane again, however, the days of cramped quarters and upright positioning were well worth it to arrive here, in ladakh.

ladakh...the name alone has held me spellbound for years. you'd never know it is one of the more remote inhabited places on this planet, what with daily jets from delhi, helicopters flying overhead, belching diesel trucks, buses, rattling scooters and motorcyles. this is india, after all...complete with sacred cows, packs of ratty dogs, battered donkeys and more.

and, yet, a short walk out of the main market and into the rural farming areas and the peace and spriritual energy is abundant. the buddhist influence is everywhere...stupas, gompas, prayer wheels, monks and nuns strolling the streets.



i have been here a few days now, slowly acclimatizing to the thin air at 3,500 metres, the thick fumes in the market place, and the constant, happy greeting of "julay." i am staying in a guest house away from the sights and sounds of the busy centre. so far, my daily routine has been as follows: after a breakfast of banana pancakes, ladakhi bread with butter and apricot jam, and a thermos full of chai, i walk through the narrow streets to the main village. finding a bakery is essential; getting a piece of lemon cake or a chocolate croissant to go with the requisite chai top up is part of the daily plan. dinner is usually with the other guests back in my current home, then an early sleep to get enough rest to do it again the next day.

i could fill in the gaps of all the little details and moments of splendour, yet i am unable to express these small miracles in words at the moment. i do want to share one story...today, i visited an oracle. she told me that i have had good karma due to my past lives, that i will continue to be happy, that my path is to maintain having faith in the spiritual aspects of my life, and that travel is very good for me! i was instructed to purchase a prayer flag, visit with a local monk who will say a prayer in my name, then take this flag to a mountain top. i am excited to follow through with these instructions!

i plan on renting a royal enfield (500 c.c single cylinder motorcyle) for a day or two to visit the other villages and gompas in the area. stay tuned, dear friends.

jet scream

i can hardly keep my eyes open. if i lay down somewhere, i'm afraid my lights will go out and i'll miss my connecting flight. i have been awake for nearly 24 hours and more than half of those hours have been spent sitting still in a flying sardine can. i'm numb; my brain is fried. i am already thinking about coming home in a different style...maybe break up the flights with stop-overs and relaxation.

the place is hong kong international airport, but it may as well be the moon. as a matter of fact, it looks a lot like a futuristic lunar transfer station. it is absolutely massive, and the best part is the internet is free!


i'm eye-balling some chaise lounge-type chairs across the way. there are only a few, so i'll be lucky to get one. otherwise, i will slump into a rock hard chair somewhere nearby and drift...drift into that dazed half sleep that cannot satisfy. i am very much looking forward to landing in leh sometime tomorrow. sleeping for days is first on my agenda. and then, all travel will be trains! enough sardine cans for a while.

winding up and winding down...

the last few days before departure and i am winding up and winding down.  i suppose i might have expected both. i did see it coming. actually, now that i think of it i predicted it...so it just had to happen boths ways.

last night, a "going away" gathering of friends and family brought a heightened awareness of impending departure while this afternoon brought the feeling of having already arrived as the sun set on a lazy day at wreck beach.




i am happy. the days unfold with ease. being away from squamish, i am already traveling without leaving the country; vancouver has its own chaos. taking baby steps, i practice for my adventures in the chaos that is india!
a few more days of last minute organizing and quiet moments with friends...i feel blessed.

leaving squamish

as sri aurobindo said, "to discover the new country within us, we have to leave the old one behind."

this morning, i have been packing and stashing the last of my belongings. i feel...unusual, a little squeamish. taking apart, tearing down, boxing up...these actions create questions. what am i doing? why am i dismantling my life as i know it? ego wants to know!

i leave my home behind in a few minutes and make the hour long drive to vancouver...a baby step on the journey. during the next six days, i will be fine tuning the list of goods that i will take, socializing with friends and family, and making those last minute decisions.

my goal is to travel light, in as many senses of that statement as i can muster. thus, the desire to use only cabin baggage...no waiting at the carousel, no lost luggage. of course, this places limits on what i take and what i use to carry it. yes, even my camera lays balanced on the scale.

once upon a time...

it will be a long week, dragging its heels one day to the next...or it will be gone in a flash, slipping between the unseen cracks in the calendar. regardless, in seven days i will be boarding an airplane bound for india.

for many years i have considered this adventure, and each year my considerations have suffered relegation. this year, however, india pushed and shoved her way to the fore and i must go. excited, scared, and blessed to begin this sojourn (some say i may linger on indefinitely), i am sorting, sifting and weighing many things in preparation. i have pared down my belongings, sold off treasures and shut down operations. now, with a lighter load and brighter eyes i look east.