After a few days to explore the ancient towns of this region, acclimatize to the altitude of the Tibetan Plateau, as well as have an option to summit a nearby peak from the village of Kibber, we will begin our eight-day trek to the north and west across some of the most beautiful and unspoiled landscapes of the Himalayas. Our trek takes us to Ladakh.

Our first destination will be a beautiful village outside of Leh, the region's capital. There, we will have our second home stay experience, this time in traditional Ladakhi houses which may be several centuries old. We will also begin a group service project. At the conclusion of the service project, we will have time to explore the monasteries of the Leh Valley including nearby towns including Stok, Tikse, and Stakna.

After our stay in Ladakh, we will board a flight to Delhi and take an express train to Agra to see India’s greatest architectural achievement, the Taj Mahal. We return to Delhi that night. The next day we will have free time in small groups in Delhi with optional trips to traditional handicraft centers. That evening we will meet for a farewell banquet and then drive to the international airport for our return flight home.

June 30: Orientation in Delhi. Visit Red Fort, Chadni Chowk, and Jami Masjid. Train to Chandigarh and bus to Dharamsala.

July 1: Arrive in Dharamsala. Check in guest house. Begin orientation.

July 2-July 6: Home stays in Dharamsala. Cultural lecture series, language training introduction, Independent Study Projects, and service work. Excursions to Tibetan Children’s Village, Tibetan Youth Congress, National Library and Archives, Medical and Astrological Institute, audiences with religious leaders, teachings on Buddhism.

July 6: Celebration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s birthday with home stay families. Bus to Manali.

July 8: Drive from Manali to Losar over Rothang Pass and enter the Spiti Valley. Stay in guest house.

July 9: Drive from Losar to Tabo over Kunzam Pass. Stay at Tabo Monastery.

July 10: Visit various monasteries in the area, including Dhankar and Kye Monasteries as well as Kibber village. Stay in guest house.

July 11: Rest day at Kibber. Optional trip to summit nearby peak. Trek preparation.

July 12: Begin trek. Walk to Thaltak.

July 13: Walk to base of Parang-la.

July 14: Base of Parang-la to Largyap and over Parang-la.

July 15: Trek to Umna.

July 16: Umna to Rachu Lamo.

July 17: Trek to Norbu Sumdo.

July 18: Trek to Kyangdam for the first view of Tsomoriri Lake.

July 19: Trek to Korzok Village Tsomoriri.

July 20: Drive to Leh.

July 21 – 24: Visit Saboo Village and learn about traditional Ladakhi houses. Home stay and service project in the mornings and visit monastery and cultural sites in Leh Valley.

July 25: Flight from Leh to Delhi. Check in hotel in Delhi.

July 26: Travel to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal.

July 27: Free day in Delhi. Final program banquet. Transfer to international airport.

July 28: Arrive in New York.

Hello Brian, Perrin, Rebecca, Travis, Helena, and Pamela,

As the new guy to your group I will introduce myself first, but I look forward to hearing from each of you in the next few weeks. I am excited to learn what your hopes are for our learning adventure.

One thing I really enjoy is seeing how others perceive the world. I enjoy experiencing other cultures, and I particularly enjoy experiencing them with other people. Some of the most memorable experiences I have had occurred when I took the time to listen. In the last few years I have listened to the early morning drumming during Ramadan to wake people up to eat followed by the call to prayer, before the sun rises and the fast begins. I have listened to stories of tragedy and survival following the Indian Ocean tsunami. I have listened to a monk who changed his schedule to explain the principles of Tibetan Buddhism to me before I left Dharamsala.

As much as I seek new and different perceptions I am frequently and pleasantly surprised by the similarities among people. I’m originally from New York, and although my family moved around a bit after I was born, for the most part I grew up in Connecticut.

Now, my wife and I live in a house we built on an island in the Pacific Northwest almost as big as Staten Island but with fewer than 7000 people. We made the deliberate choice to use solar panels to generate electricity and a woodstove for heat. Although we discussed living without electricity, we like to watch TV and movies too much for that. And, of course, there is the computer.

During the years we built our house it seemed natural to me to work for Outward Bound as part of that experience is learning to live simply. The challenges of living and working together on an Outward Bound course brought me to the field of peacebuilding and studies at the School for International Training. My master’s studies took me to Sri Lanka where my most recent work there was to help reduce violence in the war ravaged East of the country.

I had told the monk in Dharamsala I was going to do peace work in Sri Lanka. He said he had to explain Buddhism to me before I went. Once he did, I understood why. I am glad I listened.

There will be challenges for each of us during our adventure. I look forward to us all meeting those challenges, with compassion. This is an amazing opportunity for all of us, and I feel fortunate to travel with you, while learning with you and from you.

Be in touch,

John Calogero

johnc@global-lab.org

Books
In Exile from the Land of Snows: The Definitive Account of the Dalai Lama and Tibet Since the Chinese Conquest, by John Avedon

A Journey in Ladakh: Encounters with Buddhism, by Andrew Harvey

Films

Kundun and Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion

I just spoke with John Calogero who reports that the ICL group's Finnair flight pushed back from the gate at 6:20pm and is now (7:20pm) still sitting on JFK's tarmac awaiting the passing of thunderstorms before take off. We'll confirm here on the group's blog once they have safely arrived in Delhi, where Peter Sonam and Helena Gak have spent the day visiting some of the city's sites and will be meeting the travelers at Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Stay tuned for updates from India.

John

John Calogero just called to confirm that the group arrived safely in Delhi and are now en route to their hotel.

John

After a full day exploring Delhi, an AC Sleeper train took our group up into the foothills of the Himalayas. We had a brief but intense and fascinating visit to the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar before continuing on to Dharamsala, home of the Tibetan Government in Exile and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Homestays with Tibetan families are beginning.

After the sprint of the first few days we are settling in well, group health is good, and more descriptions with photos of our adventures will follow here on the blog soon so please check back.

John C

We have already done and seen so much it is hard to capture it all in one shot! Right now we are in Dharamsala, which is the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile. The internet has been out for a few days here so we apologize for the lack of blog activity. We thought a good way to fill you in on our adventures would be to include everyone's favorite experiences so far. Fortunately everyone has had many, so here is a sampling:

Brian: Hearing so many philosophical talks and discovering new points of view... also reaching the top of the mountain on our day hike.

Perrin: Visiting the temples. I love art and love seeing all of the beautiful architecture and intricate designs. It is interesting to compare the art I see here and the art I see in New York.

Travis: Everything! India is fascinating. It is so interesting to see how everything is different, like getting food and getting around. Also, the worshiping is more extreme than you see at home - especially at the Golden Temple (in Amritsar).

Rebecca: Going to the Golden Temple. Everyone was so devout and passionate there. Also the Norbulingka Institute and seeing how they do thangka painting and wood carving. And just looking around and observing local life... everyone is so interesting to me.

John: Watching the monks and nuns debate. It is great to see young people so engaged in minute philosophical points. It was surprising to see them playfully slapping and pointing at each other as they argued.

Helena: I really enjoyed hearing the director of the Dharamsala library speak. His message was great: you're alive now so do good now.

Pam: Having Indian tourists ask to take pictures with us at the Dalai Lama's monastery. I always want to take pictures of the people I am meeting here because they are foreign and unfamiliar to me, so it was nice to know that they feel the same curiosity about us.

The long plane, train and car rides have been tough, so staying in Dharamsala for a few days has been a treat. Between all of our visits and talks the students have been staying with some very gracious Tibetan families here in the town. Tomorrow we will celebrate the birthday of the Dalai Lama and then we are off to Manali and Spiti valley. More to come!!!!

Pam

John Calogero

In consultation with Kelsang, we are opting to do the Markha Valley trek, which is a hike well known and well loved by previous Global LAB groups. It has lower altitudes than our originally proposed trek, but we will nonetheless be well prepared with experienced guides, porters, cook, pack animals, Satellite phone, and Gamov Bag--the last is a portable hyperbaric chamber which can physiologically lower one's relative altitude in the unlikely event that anyone in our group struggles with moderate to severe altitude sickness during the trek. You can read more about Gamow Bags and their inventor, Igor Gamow, scientist, classicist, professor, adventurer, here. Gamow is the son of the famed physicist George Gamow, a co-author of the Big Bang Theory and the first to propose the genetic code.

As for our somewhat spotty blog entries--we have faced various ongoing challenges with Internet outages, but we'll do our best to phone or email in updates as possible. Rest assured that all is well and the adventure continues, even if the blog has not been as active as we'd hoped thanks to forces beyond our control. Plenty of pictures have been taken, and they will find their way here at some point, when time and connectivity permit.

Peace,

John

Hi everyone,

We just got back today from our 8-day trek in the Himalayas on a trail south-east of Leh. We walked with our guide, 14 horses, a cook, his two assistants, two horsemen and a partridge in a pear tree. There were lots of other trekkers out there to keep us company and Ladakhis happy to greet us with a friendly "Julley!" (Translating to "hello," "goodbye," "thank you," or general good wishes.) Most days we walked about 6 hours over all different kinds of terrain... mostly on rocky paths along the Markha river. Along the way, aside from amazing mountain views, we saw monasteries perched on cliffs, stupas (Buddhist shrines), prayer walls (walls made up of stones individually carved with prayers commissioned by faithful Ladakhis),

prayer flags (as the wind blows the prayers are sent to the heavens), tea houses made from parachutes, blue sheep, goats, marmots, yaks and Himalayan roses. Our highest climb was to a pass at 17,000 feet. It was mostly quite warm during the days and chilly at night... one morning we woke up to a light coating of snow on our tents. The food was amazing. Our cook, Marco, worked wonders on his two gas-powered stoves and served us delicious multi-course meals every evening.

Despite some blisters and upset stomachs along the way everyone did a great job rising to the challenges of our long and strenuous trek. We all have some incredible pictures and memories to share with you when we return!

*Some student reflections on what they learned on the trek:

Travis - To be patient (like when we had to walk over 9 hours), and that eventually you will get what you want (getting to camp!).

Rebecca - To stop paying attention to time and to be OK with just walking. I also realized I really like to be clean!

Brian - How not to get sunburned. I also realized I'm OK with being dirty.

Perrin - I had some medical challenges but I am very proud that I was able to be patient with myself and push through.

Over the next few days students will be staying with local Ladakhi families and building composting toilets for their community. We will also have some time to visit nearby monasteries and learn more about Leh's quickly changing culture. We will be in touch and are all thinking of you back at home!

Pam

Greetings from Leh, again,

We have just returned from our trek and as we did not have the opportunity to lay it out for you before hand, here was our itinerary.

We departed Leh the morning of the 12th and drove just 40 minutes to the southwest to Spituk. There is a monestery there on a small mount and a common starting point for the Markha Valley 8 day trek. We got down from the Toyota Quallis and gave our heavy gear to load on the horses. Then we set off on foot on a prayer flag decorated suspension bridge across the Indus River, yes the same one that eventually flows through Pakistan! On the south side of the river it was a fairly flat walk through desert before turning up into the mountains away from the Indus Valley. We ate our box lunches, delivered by horse, while hiding from the sun under the tall bushes alongside the stream.

Our first camp was at Zingchen, a broad spot on the streambed. There were many groups of trekkers there. Camping sites are a business of a local farming family, their irrigation ditches were above, through, and below our sites. We had the first of our wonderful meals prepared by Marco, our cook for the trek. The stars dazzled us for a few moments before we bedded down in our Marmot tents.

Day 2: Up at 6 AM. "Ju-ley, Good Morning, tea?" A basin of warm water to wash up and then to breakfast. Breakfasts varied from or included chipati or parata flat bread, oatmeal, dry cereal and milk, boiled eggs, or thick crepes. That day we said goodbye to Helena as she was not feeling well enough for what was ahead of us and went back to Leh. Then with our box lunches in our daypacks it was up and more up, past Rombuck "The Snow Leopard Capital of the World" or so it said on the parachute roofed tea house. On past Uriche, a large house overlooking some fields perched on the mountainsides, where we had a conversation with some young women who spoke much better English than our Ladakhi. They were intrigued with Travis's braces. They had no need for them. On up to a camp at the base of Kanda La, which is the pass we were to climb over on day 3.

Day 3: "Ju-ley, Good Morning, tea?" The hearty breakfast was indeed needed as we inched our way up the switchbacks towards Kanda La. It was quite humbling to see our support team and those of other trekkers singing and whistling and herding their loaded horses, mules, or donkeys past us while we searched for the ever farther apart oxygen molecules. Yet, by 1130 we reached Kanda La, 4890m/16,137ft. What an accomplishment! Piles of rocks, many with prayers carved into them, and prayer flags fluttering. We did not stay long as we had a long though gentle walk down the other side toward the Markha Valley. We walked through infinite shades of earth tones, through ages or rock. We stopped at one trekking camp for tea or what ever. These parachute cafes are well stocked with tea, ramen noodle soup, bottled water, Coca-Cola, gum, chocolate, and knitted hats, gloves, and socks. They are a venture or a women's group. But this was not our camp, so out of the plastic chairs and on downward through the canyon to what seemed the bottom of the earth to Skyu and the Markha valley and our camp up along the Markha river. There we met some different trekking groups that would be with us for a few days, Belgians, French, British, Americans.

Day 4: "Ju-ley, Good Morning, tea?" It was a long day along the Markha River. Most of it was pretty flat, especially compared to Kanda La. We went past the Markha monestery but it was closed for renovation. There are many, many chorten or stupas, buddhist shrines, often in threes. We passed small and larger mani walls, rectangular collections of stones carved with prayers. Farms of barley and peas, and their irrigation ditches carved into the mountainsides sometimes running kilometers from where they diverted from the river. The farmhouses of mud blocks sometimes with ornate windows, sometimes not. Corrals of seabuckthorn branches on stone walls, sometimes of barbed wire, sometimes all of the above. We stopped at Markha, the campsite overlooked by a large ornate house. Another stunning night of stars. The British/US group told us after the trek we were all doing they were continuing on to climb Stok Kangri, the tallest mountain one can see from Leh, 6130m/20,229ft. Not for us, this time. The bells on the horses sound like wind chimes.

...More tomorrow

John C

Day 5: “Ju-ley, Good Morning, tea?” From Markha onward, past Tacha monastery perhaps 200m up on a ridge with well cared for chorten and mani walls below. We had some river crossings but the water was not very high, below the knee. We stopped in Umling and Hankar at the parachute tea houses for breaks. Then it was up past the dramatic hanging ruins of the Hankar monastery, vertical walls of stone, and up to Thachungtse. This was naturally terraced meadow area with plenty of room for all of the groups and a very appealing stream for bathing, laundry, and just relaxing in the sun.

Day 6: “Ju-ley, Good Morning, tea?” This was a day to gain altitude, again. We hiked, slowly up to three small lakes. This was a difficult climb. The rest at the lakes was aesthetic and appreciated. Kelsang and Travis practiced the art of balancing rocks on other rocks. From there it was less difficult traversing a high valley to our camp at Nimaling. There were many Dzos (yak/cow crosses), and sheep in the valley belonging to the couple of families there, at 4800m! This was definitely a summer grazing area. Above us to the south stood the dramatic Khangyatse, a glacier and snow covered peak of 6400m.

Day 7: “Ju-ley, Good Morning, tea?” The big ascent up to Kongmoru La. It was slow going. But we all made it up to the pass at 5200m or just over 17,000 ft.

Kelsang and Travis were amusing the French with their rock balancing. They were less successful in the wind in which prayer flags fluttered. Some ambitious members of other groups climbed up the peak to the southeast. We headed down the long descent through the red rock valley. We had lunch 150m below a group of sunbathing blue sheep. That is until some folks from another group scared them off trying to get closer photos. Down, down, down through ribs of alternating green and red rock. Sometimes we walked along the gravel stream bed. Other times we climbed up on ancient masonry paths watching the stream plunging over smooth stone into inviting pools. Down, down to our last camp at Chuskurmo. Like many of the others there was a tea tent and a farmhouse, sufficient for a name on a trekking map. This spot had a nice view into the lower and drier mountains to the east. The French camped on the terrace below us. We could only eat perhaps a quarter of what Marco offered us. The camp staff and horsemen ate after us, and what remained went to the horses.

Our trekking mates doing the heavy work

Day 8 0540: “Ju-ley, Good Morning, tea?” Yes, earlier than usual, but then the east exposure meant that the sun was about the bake us in our tents. From Chuskurmo it was more descent but at a gentler angle. The stream bed widened. One could tell that in the Spring runoff more of the width would be taken up with water. Often we walked on this riverbed, again sometimes we climbed up on the old trading paths. These sometimes followed ancient irrigation ditches. At last we arrived at Shang Sumdo, a couple of houses and a parachute tea tent. This was a confluence of two rivers, and where we met three vehicles, two for us and our gear and one for the trekking staff and gear. The horsemen and horses were left to make there way back as they had the entire way, by foot. The ‘road’ down to the main road in the Indus valley followed along the river in a similar way to our trek, sometimes in the riverbed, sometimes above it. Once in the Indus valley we moved faster toward Leh, past army camps, monasteries, enclaves, and some expensive development. We were happy for showers but began to miss the mountains already.

Today, the 20th the students begin homestays with Ladakhi families in upper Leh. Tomorrow they begin a service project helping to finish a Ladakhi composting toilet. We will all fly to Delhi on the morning of the 25th.

John C

All's well and folks are in high spirits here.

John Calogero