The Monestary itself included a doctor's office, museum, restaurant, elementary school, dining hall and massive areas for prayer - not to mention accomodations built into he hillside which seemed to be able to accommodate hundreds.
On the roof, there were two small rooms. The first of which, a library contained many shelves of wrapped papers.
After a few minutes in the library, the beat of a drum and crash of symbols attracted me to the far Eastern most room. Inside, I ventured into a location clearly marked for Men only, to find a single Monk fully engulfed in an impassioned chant.
Taking a seat on the hardwood floor next to the window, I sat cross legged for a period of about 20 minutes in silence listening to the Monk sing his daily prayers.
Finally, as I re-emerged out onto the rooftop
I again paused to breathe in the moment before descending the ladder and meeting back up with Kate for our trip to Hemis Monestary.
Similar to Thiksay, Hemis was tucked high on a hilltop overlooking a crevasse created by thousands of years of snowmelt tricking through to the valley below. This time on the South side of the valley, looking East, Hemis was further away from town. To get there we traveled over a small bridge draped in prayer flags, up a meandering dirt road and into the lush green area made possible only due to the constant stream of water trickling from the snowcapped mountain tops above.
Hemis was again an incredibly picturesque setting where after exploring the innards of the structure and ascending to the rooftop for a panoramic photo, we retired to a picnic table where we laborously caught our breath (from climbing so many steps) before enjoying a cold Thumbs Up cola with our packed lunch from the Hotel Lasermo.
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| From Leh, India |
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| From Leh, India |
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