Day 18 Thursday 19 July. Leh

We had breakfast at our Tiara Guest House in the garden and washed our clothes. We also went into town and checked our emails again. Alan has been trying to contact Habib from the houseboat in Srinagar who promised to send his bike bag (for transporting his bike on the plane) to Delhi. Well now he is flying out from Leh he needs his bike bag here. Nothing is straight forward. Every decision has other implications.

We also went to the post office and sent some post cards home to Keryn, Rob at work and Paul. I enquired about the cost of sending a parcel back to Sydney. Leh is the obvious place to send gifts from and also lighten my load a little at the same time. The Post Master opened the PO at 10am and we were waiting at the gate. He asked for a ride of my bike so I trustingly let him ride around the block. He was thrilled and I managed to get served first at the PO counter as a result of my generosity. Later in town I was able to have the images I had taken so far downloaded onto a CD and a thumb drive. Alan and I purchased a few gifts for our families from the Tibetan markets. Our appetites are huge after the strenuous riding regime so we went for another big lunch in a touristy café. In the afternoon we rode around the outer ring-road of Leh to look at some of the stupas hoping to see traditional Ladakhi's. However we became separated in the back lanes. I had the camera and Alan had the bike lock. Hot and tired we met back at the guest house each wondering how we managed to bypass each other. Afternoon naps are becoming part of our lifestyle in Leh. Town stays open till 10pm but most people rise late. Our routine of getting up and onto the road at daybreak then sleeping at sunset is difficult to break.