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We left Leh on the afternoon of Sunday, after visiting the Palace of the Ladakhi Royal Family, which was under heavy reconstruction and comprised of little more than dark, empty room and precarious ladders leading to balconies which afforded good views of the city and its surroundings. Our first stop was Lamayuru, the site of a Buddhist monastery and a very beautiful village perched on a hill next to a dramatic dried lake-bed. We went for a short walk in the evening after our arrival and David went to the top of a small peak overlooking the village early on Monday morning before our breakfast and departure towards Kashmir.Our second stop on the Leh - Srinagar road was Drass, which lies close to the line of control between India and Pakistan. We were forced to halt in Drass as the Zoji La pass, which marks the end of the arid desert of Western Kashmir and the start of Kashmir's lush alpine scenery is a one way road. Heading West it is necessary to clear the check-post at the top at 5am, forcing us into a 2am start from Drass. Unfortunately, India being as it is, we left at 2, but nevertheless had to wait for an hour for the road to open for traffic going in our direction, later on we would have been grateful for an extra hour in bed!The Zoji La pass was treacherous, but owing to our poor headlight much of the danger was not perceived. The precipitous drops however, could be sensed. We cleared the top as the sun began to rise and decided to head on to Srinagar, where we stopped for breakfast at around 8:30.Feeling renewed from our mediocre feast we again set off in a southerly direction towards the town of Jammu, described in our guidebook as having 'no compelling reason to visit'. We halted around 100km north of Jammu at around 5pm after a 15 hour day, at a quaint hotel in the Himalayan foothills. Dave's left leg was almost completely immobile and muchos beer was consumed.Yesterday (Wednesday) we departed our hotel after breakfast in bed, in the direction of Amritsar (by-passing Jammu via a very poorly maintained road). After 2 punctures, a broken headlight (both of which attracted large audiences and enthusiastic, but largely useless helpers) and 12 hours on the bike we finally arrived in Amritsar, from where we are writing this.We are still undecided on how to use the rest of our time in the sub-continent. Our options are Pakistan or Nepal, we are still assessing the security situation in Pakistan and much depends upon this. We'll let you know what we decide as soon as possible.
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