http://www.steveislost.com A year in the life of me, for you (www.steveislost.com) Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:39:16 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en BEFORE AFTER See the difference. No its not the shirt. Well, I had planned to do my usual once a year haircut back in October on my birthday, but I was so pissed off at those flyaway hairs that are not long enough to fit in the back pony tail and ... http://www.steveislost.com/blog/once-in-a-lifetime-or-make-that-second-time-but-first-wasnt-optional.html I spent about five days in the resort town of Manali. The area was beautiful and would have been an incredible place to hang out as it was in the 2500M range which was temperature perfect, the area is covered in Pine trees and raging rivers, and the high ... http://www.steveislost.com/blog/manali-to-nepal.html Curvy, windey, fun. The road to Taglang La (second highest motorable road 5328m.) A bit of a challenge. Better than the rivers though. Success again. Tent city, Pang. The river crossing where I got stuck. On the far side you can see where the water looks like it is forking off into ... http://www.steveislost.com/blog/photos-ley-to-manali.html After conquering the Khardung La, I stayed for two more nights in Ley, partially to rest a bit, but also to prepare for the upcoming ride to Manali. Basically, the road is 460 kilometers with about 270 kilometers of it a barren wasteland of high snow passes, crap ... http://www.steveislost.com/blog/ley-to-manali-not-so-smart.html Michael and Edith's bike. Nissan and Roni's ride. The bikes at the top. Home of the world's highest gift shop as well. I made it. The snow was deep at the top. Props to the Indian Army for keeping the passes open. The Nubra Valley. Schwinn versus Lorry. Camel chasing. Prayer rocks. Artistic shot. Bactrian camels left ... http://www.steveislost.com/blog/photos-ley-to-nubra-valley-via-the-khardung-la.html The welcome gate during a Free Tibet march. The friends i met at the temple. More contemplation. Scrubs or Counter-Strike? Prayer flags over the Fort ruins. These are of the Shanti Stupa built by Japanese Monks to promote world peace. It had the best views of the valley. My guest ... http://www.steveislost.com/blog/photos-ley.html We'll start back up at the top of the Zoji La pass which was the only available road into Ladakh and my second time over. This was just before the urination started. Kargil is the halfway point and the usual transit stop. I had a lovely day to take in the rest ... http://www.steveislost.com/blog/photos-srinigar-to-ley.html One of the claims to fame that Ley has is that it is the gateway to the Nubra Valley and at the base of the mammoth drivable pass of Khardung La (5602M or 18,380ft). Since it was Schwinn affiliated, and I am not one to pass up a ... http://www.steveislost.com/blog/ley-to-nubra-valley-via-the-highest-motorable-road-in-the-world.html After the usual top three traveler to traveler questions (1) Where are you from? 2) Where have you been? 3) How long have you been traveling?), which is quickly followed by a questionable look after I tell them how long I have been on the road, and then I usually ... http://www.steveislost.com/blog/cravings-of-a-long-term-traveler.html I hope you had a great Mom's Day. These are some kids that I met while checking out this old Temple (oldest in Ladakh). They took me through all these secret passage ways and showed me some hidden artifacts (little peace offerings left by pilgrims.) They were ... http://www.steveislost.com/blog/happy-mothers-day.html