After a good rest last night and breakfast, we departed Lamayuru at around 7.30am for Leh. I enjoyed our overnight stay in Lamayuru despite frequent power failure in our hostel and missing our shower last night. Our dinner last night was the most romantic one as we had to rely on candle light to eat our food. After the dinner, Caesar & Don pointed at the night sky and guessed what we saw ? Twinkle twinkle little stars - countless up there and what an amazing sight !
The hostel we put up last night in Lamayuru was on the foot of a cliff - see picture below. Lamayuru Gompa, the oldest in Ladakh (built in the 10th century) is perched on top of the cliff. Due to time constraints, we were not able to make a visit to this famous gompa.
 |
| Lamayuru Gompa |
 |
| Local homes in Lamayuru |
 |
| Houses on hill top & slope |
After a short drive. we stopped at an Indus View site where we were able to see the meeting of two major rivers ie Indus & Zanskar. We took the opportunity to take a group photo standing near the Indus river.
 |
| Merging of the Indus & Zanskar rivers |
 |
| Smiles, ever lasting smiles making our presence felt |
At around 10.30am, we arrived in Leh ( population 28,000, 3,505m high). Our group booked two rooms for the first night ( 5 people ) and each paid Rs150=Rm13.50 for the hostel accommondation. After taking our lunch, we decided to take a walk around the Leh town. At 10,000 ft above sea level, we were told not to over exert ourselves and only do light activity for the next 2-3 days.
For places above 8,000ft, one may get Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) - it usually begins within 4-6 hours after arrival. The weaker ones will get headache, dizziness, light headedness, nausea, weaker palpitation, increased respiratory rate and insomnia .
For high altitude places above 14,500ft, the symptoms are cough, wheeze, breathlessness, chest congestion, confusion, discomfort, bizarre behavior etc. We were told to avoid drinking alcohol (tea & coffee are ok), heavy meals, over exertion, rapid ascent etc.
If in doubt about your health, please see your physicians prior to making the trip especially for people who are old age (like me), suffering from diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, asthma, brochities, sleep disorder, migraine headache, obesity, epilepsy, sickle cell disease and smokers .
Frankly, for this trip, I did not consult any doctor. So I was braced with a great challenge and prayed that my existing physical strength could overcome the high altitude sickness in the next few days in Leh.
 |
| Shops in Leh |
 |
| Garments & clothings on sale in Leh |
" Hostile conditions can take a toll on the weaker ones. Acute mountain sickness, dizziness, short of breadth can strike any time "
No comments:
Post a Comment