Thikse Monastery with a "sunburst" coming up over the roof of the complex. Thikse monastery seems to grow out of a large mountain and towers over the village of Thikse below.

I climbed back down, but not before making four videos of me hopping for John, a filmmaker friend. I figured this was the last time to make a video of me hopping while having something that was readily identifiable as Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayas since I was to leave for the mysterious Aryan valley of Dah Hanu tomorrow morning. John has some sort of project where he wants a collection of people hopping on one leg from all over the world. And he wants them to do it in front of iconic or obvious places, such as Himalayan mountains, monks, whatever. I later filmed another one in Kashmir in front of Dal Lake by the houseboats.

I waited at the road for an hour. No bus came. A young guy with good English skills in a tourist car offered me a ride, and although I don't ordinarily hitchhike, I took him up on it, as he seemed studious and trustworthy, and I very clearly was going to be stranded and miss my bus ride to Dah Village the next day if I didn't. His name is Stansrung. He lives in Shay village, is studying Economics in Chandigarh, and sometimes does takes tourists around Leh as a guide.

He also stopped at Shay Monastery so I could take photos of the interesting rock carvings that are just off the road to the left of the monastery.

I am 183 cm/6' 1" ft. tall. So I'm tall.

But not tall enough to tower over the doorway to my hotel room.

It's a miracle that I didn't slam my head against this doorway more than once.

Note the auspicious room number.

Gesmo is not the cheapest place in Leh. But it's my favorite. And it's good. This time, I ate their vegetable sizzler, apparently a Chinese dish with French Fries and vegetable balls and rice and sauteed veggies on a hot plate. It was delicious, well worth 200 rupees. You can see steam rising from the sizzler in the photo. I washed this down with a large, cold bottle of Kashmiri mango juice.

I also met Ajun ("Green Eye"), a motorcyclist and photographer from Delhi, now a Facebook friend as well. We were to meet up in Delhi as well, although that never panned out. He is an enthusiastic photographer, and I hope to meet him again.

By the way, as with just about all their food, the vegetable sizzler was delicious.

They also have their own animist religion called "Bon-Cho", where they worship elemental spirits, mixed with Tibetan Buddhism. Some theorize that the people are descendants of Alexander the Great's invading army, but no one actually seem to know their origins. DNA testing is apparently still inconclusive, although I'm not sure how or why.

And some German women have sought the men for their pure Aryan seed. While some of the men may happily oblige them, it's frowned upon by village elders and the Indian Army (this area requires a permit to enter).

Many of the older women wear "mew-tew-toh", the flowers stitched on the top of their hats, a beautiful contrast to the green fields that they are often seen working in as one walks through the valley. These are apparently traditional, and I saw a couple of the men wearing them too, although theirs are not nearly so flamboyant or Frida Kahloesque. According to Breton's book, a noted Ladakhi historian named Sonam Phuntsog says that the flowers are a sort of offering to the village's protector spirits playing an essential role in Bon-chos, the Aryan's elemental and animistic religion.

Remember, follow the little forward and backward autorickshaws to navigate.

Ken's photos of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as photos of Peru, Burma, India, Morocco, China, Thailand, Ghana, Ecuador, and elsewhere, have appeared in many books, magazines, websites, and galleries.  Visit the Ken Lee Photography Website. Some of Ken's select photos may be purchased through his Imagekind Store.

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