Mulling over the Dalai Lama’s wise words we set off up the Doda valley. With HH teaching for a further 2 days in Padum we rode through deserted Buddhist villages and glorious mountain scenery. Along each side valley we glimpsed snowy, technical peaks and as we climbed to the wonderful Penzi La, the Drang Drung glacier snaked down from the heights, virtually to the road.

This spectacular pass marked the end of Buddhist Zanskar and the transition to the Muslim Suru valley was marked by mosques replacing gompas and ghost villages becoming populated with vociferous villagers. But with the Nun-Kun massif towering 4,000m above the road, the mountains continued to impress.

We’d been warned about stone-throwing kids in this region, but the worst that was thrown our way was an incessant barrage of the ‘begging song’. “One pen, two chiclets, three (chocolates?)…” it ran. At Sanku we veered off the main road in search of a mini bike-hiking adventure, but the singing continued. Was this on the school curriculum?, we wondered.

Please click here for our full Zanskar photo set on Flickr