the first pass, Zoji La 3.529m

In Sonamarg I try to find out, and I thought it’s the last place before the pass, what to prepare….. From the village it’s not far to a beautiful glacier. I took just some fotos, because the way is my challenge enough. And if no-one brings me by kind service to one of the sightseeing places, I have to do enough with the way….. Lots of shops offer some useful snacks, dried fruits or nuts, also bananas for the way….. I met Maqsood and we have at least an hour conversation in the mosque garden. Without effort I tell from my journey, he is a good questioner but can wait for the complete answer, about religions, and the way of the heart…… At the end he said: This is the best day of my life, until today….. In big happiness we went our ways. At the next bridge I enjoyed the turquoise colour of the glacier water…..  continued my way to the ‚last‘ Kashmir village named ‚Sarbal‘. Sarbal is on the other side of the river and I had to cross this crazy ‚unstable?‘ ‚unsafe?‘ ‚without handrail‘ ‚holes between the it look likes improvised wooden pieces‘ ‚in 8m above the water’….. But I had to go there. Only this about 30 houses in the area….. to find a place for the night. So I took all my braveness, all my heart together. My nerves went crazy, especially at the second part of this ordinary bridge….. and I reached the other side.

Sheikh Sulfikar, the only English speaking guy in the village, is responsible for this kind of visiters, who show up from time to time. His father’s house, directly behind the mosque, has a wonderful guest room with nearly all around view. During the early evening a heavy rain shower, after a wonderful rainbow towards ‚the gate of‘ Ladakh. The next morning Sulfikar wants to make some selfies on!!! the bridge. After some hesitation I was surprised. It did not cost so many nerves. A good hug and on the way to the pass. Thanks my dear host, thanks to all my dear host. So grateful.

It’s 35 km to walk to come to the next village. Even though, the highest pass will be 5350m after Leh, and this one is nearly 2000m lower, I have respect. As usual, lots of military on the road. They always have something to exercise or just being busy, and they have quite a population in the area. The street is organized in ‚morning east traffic‘ and ‚afternoon and evening west traffic‘ and I think because of the narrow roads, but in fact nobody takes care and there is also no need, because at a long periods there are even 2 roads, leading east or west, but also no-one takes care. ???

In the middle of the ‚way up‘ I meet three soldiers. A shrine memoring a deadly accident years before. They have the duty to renovate the shrine, make some fresh colour. The shore has a Christian part and a Hindu part.  So I ask them, where is the Muslim part? I expect an answer, maybe I don’t expect, but something like ‚the Muslims don’t like this so much…. but they say: we don’t like the Muslims in this area. We like Muslims in India but in Kashmir there are crazy…. I am really astonished by this answer and respond: don’t you have the duty to build bridges to avoid another conflict? Do you think the Muslims disappear here?  They are making a lot of babies and I don’t think they go away. So you have to begin building bridges, at least try to come together and find solutions…. I do not say that’s always easy, but to do not so let’s the conflict arise more and never solve a problem‘. They where obviously touched and shocked by my words and couldn’t say anything in the moment. But a selfie with the peace walker was still possible. Hello and good bye. 

The pass was not so far away anymore. Some stands even with some coffee or maggi to offer. Water or lays chips. All the rubbish in the dry river bed. Mother earth will take care later.. .. ??? A snow field at the pass what creates drop by drop two little creek in both directions..

And soooo many workers. The day before I witnessed some of them on the power poles in airy hights erecting element by element by pure hand work. At least I see here and there safety belts from the distance. There are so many workers from the south here to make this service to the Kashmiries and Ladakhies, besides earning also some little money. In the nights people stay close to there working places in tents. There is also no other solution for hundreds and thousands of this men. They have simple conditions, easy cooking gear, washing themselves in the river….. its kind of weared to have so many people walking and working at a pass….. and along the roads. This men nearly all have the same statue, maybe 1,60m high, dark skin, nearly everyone young, and always gathering a little bit shy in a group. First I thought they are from Bangladesh, Myanmar or so, because I could not communicate with them, (in Greece people with the same behaviour arrived as refugees and I had to welcome them, there where from Bangladesh and Myanmar) but later I found out, how to bring a smile on there faces. Lots of these workers also working in repairing or road construction. Once I met a group of Kashmiries (what is rare), they told me, they earn 500 Rupies a day/7€.

Then the next surprise. Two cyclers from Germany stopped by, Lukas and Katharina. We had such a long conversation, that I was not sure if I would reach the next village before dark.

Matayen I reached kind of caughfing, also my nose was running. The cold I still cultivated since Srinagar. After a comment that no-one has a possibility to host me, they gave me a room with such a big wonderful window and mountain view. This would also be a good stay for a break day….. I thought by myself…… They have two mosques in the village, looking nearly the same, 100m away from each other, one for Sunni, one for Shiia moslems. And the very big surprise came in the early morning. Moslems pray, before the dawn is to see in any way and I heard the call of the Imam in the middle of the night. But after the regular prayer they started singing. The Sunni Moslems, close to my place where singing and dancing a sikr. A Sikr is a dance where the group member maybe hold themself at the hand and standing in a circle. After a while movement joins in. The people moving around the center of there heard, bowing downwards to the earth, to the sky and in a heart half moon from left to right and right to left, depends on the prayer. Sometimes the Sikr gets really organic and quicker and prayers can come into trance, or the whole group. On all the journey I never heard Muslims doing this ritual, because it’s more known in the Sufi circle. This was such a gift in this morning. It was done with lots of sensitivity and it streamed softly from the mosque also to my room and directly into my heart. Maybe they sang 1h and I enjoyed every moment, being half awake. And it resonated in my heart so many many more hours. What a beautiful gift to arrive to Ladakh.