We packed and left around 9.30, heading towards our first stop of Laloong. The road along the Spiti valley was spectacular but there was a road block along the way so we had to take a diversion up the Lingte river valley into Laloong. We stopped at the monastery and one of the monks from yesterday let us in eventually. These monasteries were begun by Rinchen Zangeo - a Tibetan translater who went through the valley around the 10 century choosing places for 108 monasteries. At Laloong he asked for guidance and stuck his staff into the ground saying, 'if this grows build a monastery here' when he returned the staff had grown so they built the monastery here. The tree outside the monastery is that tree.
The guardian monk, who was one of the musicians yesterday, was eventually persuaded to open up for us and we went in. The walls are covered in tapestries and paintings, some hundreds of years old. There are also statues of gods and guardians, prayer flags and wall hangings. Photos aren't permitted inside unfortunately.
Outside there was a Goldfinch pecking around the remains of part of the monastery and sparrows chirped all round us.
We drove round to Laloong village where were expected for lunch by Tashi, one of the Spiti valley project team. The cars were parked in a parking area and we walked don and across the stream before walking up into the village.We sat around the room on mats on the floor with low wooden tables in front of us and had sweet biscuit strips with chai. The food was brought in with rice, dall and various vegetable dishes. Curd and salad was also served.
After lunch we walked back down into the village, stopping at the water pipe to wash the hair of the village children with anti nit shampoo. They then had their hair towel dried and combed through before receiving one of the knitted jumpers, pencil and balloon. The older children wash and dry themselves. While waiting I saw a butterfly that looked like one of the tortoiseshells, a Rosefinch in the valley and 2 Tibetan snow finches flew in to the stream for a drink.
We then drove on again to Mane village, another high mountain village where you have to park up and walk in. We collected our hand luggage and followed Joan through the maze of pathways to Jeet's homestay. This is his very new house built with the mud brick machine and designed to cut down the use of wood. It is sill a work in progress but will be beautiful when finished. You enter up steps on the first floor and there are bedrooms along the right hand side. These will all be en-suite eventually, but presumably, still eco-drop, manure filled holes in the ground and bucket washrooms. On the left is an eco-drop toilet, which is the only one working at the moment. Further along there are steps down to the cooking area, washroom and present dining room, with satellite TV. There is another bedroom on the left and various storage rooms. There is a flight upstairs to the next level with more bedrooms and access to the roof garden.
The cooking is done on bottled gas and they have a selection of woks, pots and pressure cookers.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The guardian monk, who was one of the musicians yesterday, was eventually persuaded to open up for us and we went in. The walls are covered in tapestries and paintings, some hundreds of years old. There are also statues of gods and guardians, prayer flags and wall hangings. Photos aren't permitted inside unfortunately.
Outside there was a Goldfinch pecking around the remains of part of the monastery and sparrows chirped all round us.
We drove round to Laloong village where were expected for lunch by Tashi, one of the Spiti valley project team. The cars were parked in a parking area and we walked don and across the stream before walking up into the village.We sat around the room on mats on the floor with low wooden tables in front of us and had sweet biscuit strips with chai. The food was brought in with rice, dall and various vegetable dishes. Curd and salad was also served.
After lunch we walked back down into the village, stopping at the water pipe to wash the hair of the village children with anti nit shampoo. They then had their hair towel dried and combed through before receiving one of the knitted jumpers, pencil and balloon. The older children wash and dry themselves. While waiting I saw a butterfly that looked like one of the tortoiseshells, a Rosefinch in the valley and 2 Tibetan snow finches flew in to the stream for a drink.
We then drove on again to Mane village, another high mountain village where you have to park up and walk in. We collected our hand luggage and followed Joan through the maze of pathways to Jeet's homestay. This is his very new house built with the mud brick machine and designed to cut down the use of wood. It is sill a work in progress but will be beautiful when finished. You enter up steps on the first floor and there are bedrooms along the right hand side. These will all be en-suite eventually, but presumably, still eco-drop, manure filled holes in the ground and bucket washrooms. On the left is an eco-drop toilet, which is the only one working at the moment. Further along there are steps down to the cooking area, washroom and present dining room, with satellite TV. There is another bedroom on the left and various storage rooms. There is a flight upstairs to the next level with more bedrooms and access to the roof garden.
The cooking is done on bottled gas and they have a selection of woks, pots and pressure cookers.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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