Ladakh Excursion: Mountains, Lakes, and Group Bonding

Hey guys! So I've spent the last week in Ladakh nestled between the two highest mountain ranges in the world the Himalayan and the Korakam at about 12,000 ft elevation. The air is clean and it feels like one of the perfect Wisconsin fall days when you step outside - there are lots of little willows and tall poplar trees and it is incredibly dry and dusty. But my allergies are way better and the scenery is unbelievable I keep trying to capture the mountains but I'm pretty sure its all in vain. So far this has been the best part of the semester and I'm thinking about trying to come back for my ISP. I have so many great stories to tell - but the internet is a little pricey so I'm gonna try and keep it short. Basically, we flew in and stayed at a really nice hotel for the first two days to acclimate although the altitude really didn't bother me at all so I went exploring in the city and climbed up to the palace on the hill twice for the sunset. Then on the third day we got on a bus (we've been spending far too much time on buses cause we've been travelling around like nomads but the scenery always makes up for the long bumpy rides) and we drove to SECMOL a school for kids who fail their tenth grade exams that is totally run by solar power. We spent the day there and then the next morning I woke up early with three other people (5 AM) and climbed the mountain behind the facility - it was fantastic!!!! Then we all got back on the bus to go to Tia the village where we did a short two night homestay which was really fun but too short to actually integrate ourselves but we dId a lot of walking and hiking around and the stars were absolutely unbelievable. On the last night a few of us climbed up to a high flat sandy saddle and did some really awesome stargazing. Then we all got back on the bus and drove to Ayu Sabu to the guest house where we spent the next 3days - it is right outside of Leh (the capital of Ladakh) only about a fifteen minute bus ride and they say an hour and a half walk. During our stay there we went into Leh a couple times for lectures and a little bit of research for our Ladakh assignment. Then we spent all of yesterday driving through the mountains and over the third highest pass in the world to get to Pangong Lake - this huge high altitude mountain lake that is absolutely awesome! It took pretty much all day to get there and we got there just as the sun was setting behind the mountains. We all stayed in two houses in a tiny village. Laura, Jon and I went for a run/walk before dinner (rice and dal) and then Julian joined us on a short walk to go star gazing. There are so many stars here and the milky way is incredibly clear it's unbelievable. Then we woke up early this morning to walk down to the lake and watch the sun rise over Tibet (2/3rds of the lake is in Tibet) Then we spend pretty much all day driving back to Leh - although we did stop to play with the marmots on the side of the road.