*** so if you are just joining in.... please read the two entries made before this one before you read the one below...******
We finally made it to Azak*... it is an high altitude desert. The word desert should not impart upon you the impression of warmth or cacti but of a barren land that would turn frigid each morning and evening, causing even the most hard-core-est or smelliest of girls to bypass the horrendous idea of removing a single layer of clothing.... even to take a shower...
Here are some of the local ladies at the bus stand sporting the latest fashions of the valley.
Hal, some new friends, and I were strolling through the market area just exploring when we passed this interesting fellow.... i was holding my camera when he looked at me and said "photo, yes?" then he stepped back and posed for me.... who would have said no to this one-of-a-kind photographic opportunity? that's what i thought.
The first day we were there, we rented a taxi to see the sights... Below is Lock* Gompa - the largest monastery in the Valley. It is said that the current incarnation of the "Great Translator" resides here along with many lamas (Buddhist priests). During June or late July on the new moon, Lock*Gompa hosts a large festival celebrating the "burning of the demon" when
chaam dances are followed by a procession to the ritual grounds below the monastery where a large sculpture made of butter is set on fire....
the prayer wheels when you enter...
Now for something special....
you are about to see photos from an altitude of 13,796 feet:
the HIGHEST VILLAGE In THE WORLD!!**
(and by highest village in the world i mean the highest village in the world that has a motorable road and electricity... they sometimes forget to tell you that part)
Isn't he cute?? he's smiling for the camera (and for Haley) 
some local boys who smiled and giggled until picture time... go figure.
This is a French couple I met... i got to pet their newly bought donkey.... how else do you trek across the Himalayas if you don't have a donkey to carry your load??
Another honor we had was a visit by the princess. She was really great and spoke excellent English - which was a bonus.
(look! even Hal looks a bit giant-esque)
and this is one of our little friends we would see at the hotel - apparently he had never seen anyone do a fish face, so of course i had to teach him - he is a quick learner...
Sadly we had to leave. I truly loved it there with its incredible views and amazing community. It would be quite difficult to live there during the winter when it was covered by snow... we were told that the water pumps would freeze over so they would have to boil water then carry it out to dump on the handles. the whole process would take 2 people about 30 minutes to finally get some water.
We finally left Azak* by bus and made it back in Pooh without any problems... other than passing a large Tata truck that had most recently fallen off the mountain to areas below... When we arrived in Pooh
we met a friend in Old Pooh then climbed
up up up up the mountain all the while gasping for air... pesky thin oxygen. We finally reached our cottage, but only to find it occupied. Our friends went to find the owner, only to realize that our reservation had been moved to another cottage. So we hiked up some more before reaching it... and found the state of the room less than exciting - but tolerable enough for one night. But the owner showed up and became quite agitated to find his tenants were foreigners.... so he doubled his price and therefore we left. (we were partly glad of this) So we were in a lot of pooh being without arrangements for sleeping so we hiked another half hour or so from Old Pooh to New Pooh. We finally came across another hotel whose rooms were half the price of the other and twice as clean. We were quite relieved about that. It had a stunning view of the valley. Tibet lies on the other side of the mountain on the right side of the picture (shown below).
The next day we spent some time in town and made new friends before heading off to Oep* again. Getting to Oep* was quite an interesting adventure. we ran into a few "roadblocks" but finally arrived in Oep* after riding in 2 different cars and a tata truck....
The next morning we were leaving our hotel to catch the 6 am bus but only to find the "door" to the hotel padlocked and therefore we were locked in. So by the time they opened the door, it was too late for us to catch the bus. So we walked down to the local bus drop and waited for a regular bus. One soon arrived where a man was yelling "sim*sim*sim*" and so i asked him in Hindi if that was where this bus was going, he said it was. So we hopped on. Only 3 kms down the mountain later, we find out from the ticket collector guy that this bus was headed to Pooh, not sim*! the direct opposite way we needed to go! agh!!so i told him we needed off, so he blew his whistle and the driver stopped so we could hop off and walk the 3 kms back UP the mountain where we went back to the hotel and asked for a taxi. It showed up in half an hour so we were finally off!!
And after some important part on our taxi falling off, 45 min stuck at the mechanic shop, 2 random indian men riding along, a punctured tire, and the last hour keeping our driver awake.... the two weary travelers dumped themselves out into the care of J&J who took pity on the 2 poor stinky, ghetto hippy looking girls and let them into their home where they could take showers with hot water and soap, eat hot food, tell them about their adventures, and let them pass out in comfy heaven of a bed...
and their posse of rebel reformation day rabel.... watch out, parots attack!
J* made us her famous "witches brew with bisque" 
Do not let his costume fool you! 
