Tabo monastery

As there are 12+ of us sharing one eco drop toilet and one washroom we didn't have breakfast until 9.00 aiming to leave at 10.15 for Tabo Monastery.
As we trekked to the car a swallowtail butterfly flitted onto the pool but there was no time for a pic. After Jeet had to go back for something we set off for Tabo monastery. We drove back to the river bridge and then turned right towards Tabo along the Spiti river valley.


The road is cut out from the side of the valley and in places the shale and mud slides over the road and the track is compressed by cars until it's passable. It's also cut out of the rock in places so it overhangs. There was a warning of falling rocks so we didn't stop until we got to the other side.



We went through a busy little village called Poh, where the water is brought down from the hills and so just crosses the road in a water splash, before bubbling away down the hill.

There were a couple of interesting plants along the way, one was possibly buckthorn, spiky branches covered in red berries and the other was a sprawling vine with white flowers, green pods which ripens and splits into 4 with a red fruit? It tasted quite sweet with a Papaya flavour.

We entered into Tabo through a fresh looking archway and parked up, then walked up the street past a small shopping group and a restaurant before entering the monastery, first walking clockwise round a stupa and then ringing the bell.

There are three temples at Tabo and we went into all three with the monk in the first having very good English and the other two explaining to Rinco who translated, as well as giving his own explanations of the statues and paintings. It was very interesting and some of the paintings are still in very good condition, considering their age. The colours were made from natural pigments and are still bright and vibrant although quite a few have deteriorated or been spoiled by rain leaks. Work is being done but some of it is not very professional.
The drive back along the river valley was just as interesting as the drive up. The scenery is very spectacular, with side valleys, waterfalls and high rocks and cliffs. In places there are footbridges across the river, but otherwise there are long stretches from one crossing point to another.

After a late lunch we rested for a bit and caught up on the blog and pictures before going out for a short walk around the fields.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A Day in Mane

Looking out of the window this morning, the day looked fine and the white butterflies were flitting around the radish flowers. A Rosefinch was foraging in the field for a while and then flew off to the other side of the village.

A leisurely breakfast, which was a lovely traditional Spiti breakfast of chickpeas and dall, curds and puris, which we westernised by adding jam all topped off with tea, delicious. We then went for a gentle walk down to the hillside to the school that Joan, with the Spiti valley trust, had built several years ago. On the way we saw the present spring, which was the village water supply before a pump was installed  and we saw the lowere spring where all the water for the villagers of Upper Mane, plus their animals has to come from in the winter.

The charity is in the process of providing a pump that will lift the water into a supply that is much closer for them. The school was built for 120 pupils, primary and secondary, but now only has about 90. As the parents in the villages prosper, they look for private education for their children so quite a few go to the fee paying school in Kaza. It was a shame the children were on holiday as this is THE major pea-picking season and that is their main cash crop. The peas are picked by gangs of migrant workers from other villages or the ones by our homestay were from Bihar. They pick from around 8.00 in the morning until evening, getting around 300 Rs a day. They get breakfast and lunch as well as water and Chai provided. The peas are picked into a can, bucket or basket and then they are tipped into a sack which is around 40kgs before being sewn up, loaded onto their backs and taken up the hill to the waiting lorry to be sent to Delhi.

We walked back up from the school and then went for a stroll around the pea-fields greeting the pickers and I spent a bit of time looking at some of the flowers and trying to see a Rosefinch that was singing in a tree.

Returning to Jeet's place we rested up before a lovely Pasta lunch cooked up by Rinco with a little help from one or two of the ladies.
As it was raining we stayed in and I caught up on pictures and the blog.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Drive to Mane Homestay

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

A Most Auspicious Blue Moon Day

This morning was the opening of the community centre in Kaza so we had breakfast and drove in around 9.30. The vans parked at the hospital and we walked slowly down to the centre where a transformation had taken place. Gone were all painters, ladders and paraphernalia, a beautiful red and yellow awning had been put up over the chairs and carpets had been put down over the floor. We were greeted with prayer scarves, white for us and yellow for the dignitaries.

There was a Puja table by the door with water and various seeds plus three jugs and a red ribbon across the door. There was a moment of excitement when the monks arrived with their instruments.

The minister for tribal affairs in Dehli arrived around 10.45 and the ceremony got under way with a puja at the door. There were prayers said and barley thrown around and then he flicked water and lassi from 3 jugs over the crowd before cutting the ribbon and going inside with an entourage that included an armed guard. We wandered back to our seats and waited for them all to appear from their tour of the building.



There were various speeches and gift giving and then the monks began their Cham dance. This was a special dance to throw out the evil spirits and ensure good luck. It was very stylised and ritualistic but very entertaining.


Following the ceremonies we had lunch in the meeting room before wandering back through town and back to the hotel for a peaceful and restful afternoon. I spent most of it scanning the hillsides from the balcony seeing migrating swifts as well as Black Redstart and lots of feral pigeons.




Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Shopping and a visit to Runrick Village

we drove into Kaza to see if we can help at the Centre but they were happier to finish clearing themselves so we spent the morning bartering the shops. Lunch was back at the hotel where we sat and chatted hoping the threatening storm wasn't going to burst into a downpour, before going out to Runrick village to distribute some of the sweaters that are knitted by the the ladies of Great Britain.

The community centre and Kie Monastery.

A leisurely get up for breakfast, which was a choice of porridge, toast, omelette and/or curds, and we left for Kaza town and a visit to the New Community Centre. It is being built by the Spiti Valley Project, www.spiti.org , and has been designed to demonstrate the use of modern technology, combined with traditional build skills as developed in the area. It has thick, inner, rammed mud bricks with an outer layer of glass windows which heat up the bricks and slowly release that heat into the living spaces. They also have a convection system which circulates the warm air from the small gap between window and wall using openings at the top and bottom. Building in the valley is a long drawn out procedure as it can only take place in the warmer months after the snow has melted so while the building is complete, it will be a while longer before the inside is kitted out with an eye clinic, maybe dental, community room etc. it should be an absolute boon to the community.
We then walked through the old town to the hospital which was built a few years ago. It is a small subsidiary of the main hospital in Manali and carries out births, broken bone setting and other small surgical routines. They are in a transition at the moment as the old doctor has just retired and the new doctor arrives tomorrow so it will be interesting to see how things develop.
After lunch we drove up to Kie monastery where we looked around the Main Prayer Hall, the old prayer wheel and a couple of temples before returning for dinner, which was Chinese based and very nice.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The drive to Kaza

We got up at 5.30 for 6 o'clock breakfast, loaded the cars and off by just after 6.30. The drive up into the mountains began with a metalled road which had various roadworks and safety signs but was very scenic and included a series of zigzags up to the Rhotang Pass at 3,987 mts before going along the tops to the Kunzum Pass and then narrowing and dropping down into the Spiti Valley.

We had to stop at the checkpoint for permission to enter the valley. The number of cars and lorries allowed to enter the valley is limited and you can be stopped if the quota has been reached. While we were waiting we had a look round and found some tots of very pretty Anemone rivularis which grows around the upper meadows.

 We drove ever upwards towards the Rhotang Pass where there is a small temple that we stopped at to ensure safe passage and we had a few other stops to look at the landscape which was quite awe inspiring.

On one or two corners we drove past the remains of  glaciers that still lingered beside the road, in one place it continued on down the valley.

Winding our way along the tracks we stopped at the Kunzum Pass and temple before crossong over into the Spiti Valley. The temple was visible from miles away and aflutter with the pprayyer flage and prayer scarfs. There were a set of prayer wheels made from re-cycled tin cans.

The really interesting part of the drive was once we got over the Kunzum pass and started the drive into the Spiti valley. The road is basically a one car wide, with places you can pass, track gouged out of the hillside with rocks and potholes. It is closed in the winter and has to be checked every spring. In places the streams flowing out of the mountains cross the road, causing the surface to break up and in places you actually drive up part of the river. This causes real problems for non-4 wheel drive vehicles which routinely get stuck on boulders, ledges, and in one place an old metal pipe. That one lost us over 2 hours while the drivers tried to get themselves and everyone else over the pipe. All the drivers that are held up get together to help each other out shifting rocks and building up ramps in front of the problems.

The road is different every time as these streams can change their flow depending on the snow melt. The flowers along the way were stunning, with acres of flower-filled meadows so some of the time was spent looking at them while waiting for the cars to get through and in one place a lovely White-capped Redstart flitted about on the rocks.

Once into the Spiti valley proper, the environment changed to a much drier dustier landscape and the road was better. We eventually arrived at the hotel around 9.30 - a 14 hour drive. A light dinner and I went to bed, out like a light and slept nearly through.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad