More thoughts about Ladakh

- they have a food called "tsampa", which is just flour of this particular grain. You put a spoonful of flour in your mouth and then, before you choke, quickly drink some butter tea. It's not unpleasant.

- you know how to make a trip through Ladakh even more moonlike? Do it at night, under a full moon. Really neat.

- as a whole, going from Leh to Srinagar is less excruciating than going from Manali to Leh, though it is still no picnic. Keep your bladder relatively empty. And yeah, the all-nightness of it is kind of lame. But I think the trip from 4pm to 8am is about all you can do, unless you book your own car or figure out some sharing thing well in advance. I met some great friendly Kashmiris named Javaid and... something else... who refused to let me pay for my tea.

- need a place to stay? I heartily recommend the Gangs-Shun Homestay, run by Dr. Morup and his family. He's a super friendly host, welcoming in a bunch of travelers and giving honest advice about Leh and Ladakh. And the rooms are very clean. He charged me 500 rupees/night in September (off-peak). Email morup_lee at india yahoo (that's yahoo.co.in), phone at 094192-69525 or 098580-60706 or 01982-252603.

- if that doesn't work, there are a bunch of places that look nice on the way to the Gangs-Shun on Upper Tukcha Road. Changspa Road also seems nice. It's peaceful to get out of the city center a bit.