Czech and German explore the world

  "But if you walk Markha, you can actually do homestay trek and then you don't need tent at all," mentions a friend while we are packing for Ladakh. This is the first time I have heard about homestays. Five minutes before departure of our bus to Prague airport I am still deciding if to take the tent or not. There is no time to think anymore and decision is enforced by circumstances. Tent stays at home in the hall. Let's explore what homestay actually means.  As we walk through the Markha valley, we pass wooden plates next to houses with handwritten signs "Homestay Parma", "Tsarik homestay" or "Olthang homestay". By the last one, we open the wooden gate, walk the few stone steps down to the house and ask for the homestay.  The man points us to his wife standing at the door who speaks good enough English to explain us, that we can go in and shows us our room with three mattresses on the ground and a pil e of very warm blankets next to it...

  Ten centimeters of mud in the dining room. Jan vomiting in the corner. Robert wants to pee again and I am still a bit shaking from cold after walking to the Nimaling camp at 4900 m.n.m. one hour in the rain. At least we took the rain jackets and one down jacket with us. Guides say that tomorrow should be whole day rain, not only showers as today. This is the heaven where I wanted so much to go, the high altitude desert with basically no rain in the summer.    I try not to feel desperate too much. We are almost at 5000 m.n.m. My romantic idea that we can anytime rotate and go back was put to pieces after seeing yesterday a horse that was taken by the stream away and 5 people had hard time to rescue it from the river that we were crossing. River, which we were able to cross only with the help of other people holding hands as a chain while water was above our knees. One of the many crossings. I don't know how high might get the water after the today rain, but I don't think...

It ’s 4:00 AM and the sound of the first morning prayer slowly wakes me from the deep sleep. The singing feels calming same as the evening one did. How much difference can the way how you are woken up make (right, Robert?). And then they let you sleep again, until the next prayer comes. Reminding me of Alva Edison who was taking naps with a ball in hand to wake him up by the sound it makes when he falls asleep and the ball slips on the ground, hoping to bring him new ideas. Similar effect should have the morning prayers that keep you half-awake to meditate on your thoughts. I like the taste, smell, and sound of orient. The feeling it brings, drastically pulling me out from my casual predictable life. Srinagar being close to Pakistan has to deal with challenging religious problems leading often to fights and wars.  Right now, it is however calm time and we can in the evening sit on the terrace of the houseboat on the Dhal lake, watch sakiras (wooden boats) slowly moving on the wa...