"After another night at the bungalow we set off again, this time for Kargil. We soon got a lift with one of the many trucks taking supplies up to Ladakh, and we were on our way, or so we thought 'til after only 4 miles, we pulled into a large truck park where we were told we would have to wait for about 4 hours as the pass was only one way at at time. As luck would have it there was an interesting village nearby where I was able to do a painting and got talking to the local schoolmaster who showed us round his village.
I am glad to say when we reached Kargil around midnight we were able to find a small hotel that was still open, and, although it was very basic, we were about ready to sleep anywhere. We stayed two nights, having an easy day exploring the narrow winding streets and interesting rows of small, one man shops. One other interesting experience was changing some money at the local bank, which involved signing many pieces of paper and took nearly an hour. Just a few miles away at this point, lay the Pakistan border, so it was a bit of a sensitive spot with many troops about, but they did not bother us." -MH