The palace and the fort
We had a leisurely breakfast at one of the several lovely garden cafes in our corner of town. The plan was go visit Leh Palace (which resembles the Potala in Lhasa) and also the ruins of Tsemo Fort. It would be a hike to the former and another to the latter. As we walked past the taxi stand, we were propositioned with a ride. As Kim wasn’t feeling too great, it appeared like a great idea to take a taxi to the Fort (being the higher) and for us to walk down to the Palace then back down to town.
The Fort had a few shrines and plenty of prayer flags. It also offered a good view of the Leh area including some snowy peaks. The Palace is just an empty shell with a few rooms of photographic exhibits.
Visiting the doctor
After lunch and some rest, Kim decided that he could feel better getting some assurance from a doctor. He had been getting really bad headaches over the last 10 days and it had gotten worse here.
We turned up at the local polyclinic-cum-pharmacy and saw Dr Altaf Hussain who was also a skin specialist. After listening to Kim’s description of his symptoms, he took his blood pressure and blood oxygenation level. The former was a tad high and the latter was low at 84. He concluded that apart from Kim’s ongoing neck muscle issues, he had altitude sickness. This was a surprise as Kim coped really well in Tibet whereas I didn’t.
The doctor’s blood oxygenation level was 91 and mine was 81. He thought I should be feeling unwell too. He prescribed Diamox for Kim; I had my own supply from climbing Kinabalu but I hadn’t taken them as I didn’t feel unwell.
The consultation was about NZD2 and the four drugs came to NZD4. In contrast, a pedicure costs about NZD24. Tourism really does ruin a place by distorting the local economy, eg. waiters in Cuba earn more than surgeons.
I get unwell too
During an evening walk, I started coming down with a headache and a neckache. Very much like Kim’s altitude sickness symptoms. This was despite taking the Diamox on a precautionary basis which he recommended.I felt like vomiting and couldn’t face eating dinner. After some sugary lemon tea, I felt better enough to eat dinner and was back to normal afterwards.
I think the altitude must be finally having an effect on me despite taking the Diamox. I will continue with it tomorrow.
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- Looking up at the fort.
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- Leh’s fort in the background.
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- With the prayer flags at the fort.
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- Prayer flags at the fort.
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- Looking down through the prayer flags at the fort.
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- At the fort with Leh in the background.
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- Looking down from the fort.
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- The palace at Leh.
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- Kim in front of very bright doors.
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- Buddha inside Leh Palace.
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- Looking down from the fot.
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- The palace at Leh.
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- Temple, mosque and temple all in one shot.
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- Leh is touristy as evidenced from the availability of all the things that people sell.
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- Mosque and Buddhist palace in the background.
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- Leh is touristy as evidenced from the availability of all the things that people sell.
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- Leh is touristy as evidenced from the availability of all the things that people sell.
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- Tea garden in Leh.
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- Market on the main street.
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- Market on the main street.
