We woke up bright and early this morning to finish packing, and then kicked off the day with a breakfast surprise—Special K!—Quite a change from our usual fare! Our SECMOL friends, Norsphel, Disket, and Stanvin, will be our trekking guides. With their help, we loaded all of our gear into the bus and headed for the hills, stopping only once for tea and a quick visit to a Sikh temple. We are continuously impressed by the prevalence and diversity of religion here.

An enormous golden Buddha statue presides over the Likir Monastery, which marks the beginning of our trek. The Buddha statue sits at least four or five stories tall, and seems to wish travelers well on their journey. Bidding farewell to the Buddha, we shouldered our packs and headed down the mountain.

We reached Yangthang in the early afternoon and settled into the Nordoo guesthouse, where we will spend the night. While there are rooms for all of us, we have the option of sleeping out on the rooftop! Although our trek today was not long, this kind of exercise and the additional altitude are new to us, so we were all pretty tired. We stretched our weary limbs with some yoga on the roof of our guesthouse, and spent some time exploring the tiny village of Yangthang. Then it was back to the guesthouse for some well-deserved rest and relaxation, and of course, a viewing of the Top 20 Bollywood Hit Songs with our hosts.

Whether nestled inside cozy little Ladakhi rooms or stretched out beneath the stars on the rooftop, we will all certainly sleep well tonight!

-The GA India Team