I left Chicago on July 3rd and headed east to Zurich and then on to Delhi. The trip this year seemed easier. Certainly traveling in business class had something to do with it, but in general I think I am getting used to the long plane rides. The layover in Zurich was short and when I arrived in Delhi I had about a six hours before my trip to Leh, in northern India. I found a “nap suite” in the airport with probably the best shower I will experience until we arrive back at home!
I am so glad that the flight to Leh was in daylight. It is a short trip from Delhi, about an hour, and about halfway through the flight we started seeing the Himalayan mountain range. Oh my, is it beautiful! It seemed to stretch forever and there was a patchwork of clouds hanging around it. It was interesting to see the variation in the height of the mountains that were relatively close together. Some well below the clouds and others reaching up and through them.
Things got interesting as we descended into Leh which is nestled in a mountain valley at about 12,000 feet. Yes, the valley is at 12,000! The airplane had to pick a path through the mountains in order to reach Leh. That meant that we took a number of fairly sharp turns as we made our approach! During the approach there were large brown mountains on either side of us, and then in the small valleys between the mountains, there was a 
vein of gloriously green cultivated fields. Could not really tell what was being grown but the contrast was stark. The drop down onto the landing field actually felt pretty gradual but once all of the wheels were on the ground the pilot was in full reverse as we decelerated to a stop just at the end of the runway. I thanked the pilot as we were leaving the plane for a job well done!
The airport is small and crowded but I finally pushed through to pick up my luggage on the conveyor and found my driver outside. I am staying in the Hotel Lasermo in Leh and 
it is actually very nice. It has a great courtyard with umbrellas and chairs where I am sitting now as I write this. When I arrived at the hotel, they took my name and set my luggage down to the side and whisked me off to the dining room for breakfast. I had not eaten breakfast in Delhi as I
was running a bit short on time for check-in (perhaps I napped a little too long!) so it was nice welcome. After breakfast they took me up to my room and I settled in.
Although tired, I knew I didn’t want to go to sleep. And, having just arrived and not really gotten into relax mode I needed to do something! So I put on some walking shoes and went into town. The main market is full of shops selling souvenirs, trekking services, trekking gear, food etc. But the most interesting thing I noticed was all of the 
prayer flags stretching back and forth across the main street of the market. There was a mosque and a temple (buddhist) along the main street and there is a strong presence of Tibetan people in the area.
I ended up walking to the market three times Friday. Once to look around and find the location of my outfitter, Overland Escape. A second to meet the Overland owner and get the final details on the trip. And a third for lunch. When I got back from lunch I was feeling pretty tired and 
thought I would lay down for a nap, I didn’t want to sleep too long because I know it is better in terms of getting on the time zone to just push through the first day. The next thing I new it was 9:00pm! I woke up for a bit then decided rather than staying up, it would be better to just take some melatonin and sleep until morning. I woke up a couple of times through the night but really had no problems sleeping and woke up for good about 5:30. I guess the travel, plus the altitude was just a little harder on the body than I thought. I felt amazingly well after 15 hours of sleep!
The trek begins on Monday and will return the following Monday. I will be out of touch from the internet during the trek. When I arrived, I learned that the group had been reduced from 7 hikers to 2! Evidently, there was group of 5 that cancelled. There will be more horses than people on the trip!