Why I stopped everything and headed the most secluded Buddhist monastery in the Himalayas

It was a summer day. Hot, hot summer here in Madrid. I woke up and everything was fine. I was having fun in the day to day summer life in Madrid. Working on past photos, relaxing, hanging out with friends. Nothing wrong.

So what was happening? What was I missing? What was that itch? Everything was fine, but… Was it because, somehow I was getting into a repetitive loop of doing mostly the same things day by day? Was it because I haven´t done a pure experiential travel for the sake of travel in quite some time? Was it because I was working more on the computer than on the field, on reality? Was it because I was too comfortable?

Probably a little mix of everything. A pinch of this a pinch of that. The words “time for travel” where unconsciously popping on my head. But I already had a trip coming up like in 1 month: Panama with my best friends. Couldn’t I just wait a bit? Enjoy a bit more Madrid’s summertime? It was being fun after all. Work a bit more on older photos? Well, yes, let’s do that. It’s only one month to Panama. I can wait after all. And what trip Im going to do anyway in such a short notice? And with that little time for preparation? Panama is in only month. Well, let’s forget it. Let’s keep having fun in Madrid.

But… wait. Panama with friends is very nice. But you know that’s a different kind of trip. It’s going to be a lot of fun. Some photos here and there too. But what about the inner call of going on a full on photojournalistic/documentary trip by myself? Facing the unexpected alone. Forcing myself to interact more with the local people, find and seek a big adventure. One of those you don’t plan, one of those you don’t know how it’s going to end, how it’s going to start? Getting back to those kind of photos again. It has been a while after all. Many business trips, short trips. But what about those life changing big adventures? Was it time for one of those to break the easy and comfortable “routine”?

Man… You have a trip to Panama in just 1 month. How are you going to get even started…? And after all what you have like 4 or 5 days to leave if you want to do at least a 15 day trip? and, and…? Stop. Just chill and enjoy the summer here.

Uhmmm but it sounds like you’re making excuses…? It’s easier not to do it right? Less planification, less rush, less things to do or think… Mmmmh, excuses. That’s not good and you know it.

Now I think of it, I’ve been for a long time very interested in discovering and knowing more about the Buddhist culture. Specifically, the life of those monasteries and temples high up in the mountains. The Himalayas. Wouldn’t it be crazy to meet and talk to those monks with such a different style of life? What would their mentality be, their view on life?

Well, let’s do a very harmless and quick search in Google just for other time or whatever. Mmmmh… maybe “most impressive buddhist monasteries in the world”? (I know quite lame…haha)

Aha, there you go. Found one of those Top 10 more incredible monasteries in the world list. Let’s check them up haha. Scrolling through them: Japan, Thailand, ok cool. And then one photo. Wait what?? Where is this one?? This is freaking unbelievable! A monastery in the middle of nowhere, in the vastness of some crazy mountains. It’s like taken out of a Lord of the Rings movie. Let’s check where is this. Oh, in India. Kee Monastery in Himachal Pradesh in the Himalayas near Tibet Border. Apparently a place called Spiti Valley. Uhmmm interesting.

Let’s check and research a bit about this valley. A place secluded and isolated from the world because of the snow for almost 7 months a year. Interesting. Very friendly and warm-hearted locals, impressive scenery. Wow, sounds appealing. I digged into it deeper.

So apparently barely no tourists go there. Very unknown and off-grid location. I was even having trouble to find details or specific information about traveling around the place. From what I was finding: very difficult to reach there with treacherous, unpaved and crazy dangerous roads with lots of chances of roads getting shut down by landslides, floods. Uhmm ok interesting. Barely no mobile phone range in the whole valley and only with one carrier that tourists can’t get. So no mobile phone range, ok. Basically no internet connection in the valley. Most of the places and villages without even hotels. Need to find and sleep in homestays with local people. The whole valley is mostly above 4000 meters altitude with it’s high altitude sickness risk. Monasteries, remote mountain villages, nomadic tribes…

Ummm ok. It’s sounding like quite the adventure indeed. The sole idea of thinking on going there was making my heart pounding. What a place I just randomly discovered! But it definitely looks like a place and trip that needs some serious preparation. Many variables to think of and very little time. But wow…it sounds like what I was looking for. This is definitely “The Adventure”. What if…?

Ok let’s see just by curiosity if this is even possible to pull out with the time I have. First thing: the visa. From previous times I went to India I remembered the Visa being quite a hassle to get and needed to go to the embassy like many days in advance to start the process and all that… So this could be pulled out in a week? Or was it the straight goodbye to this crazy idea? Haha. I went to handy Google to check it out.

So apparently they just released like some months ago a new Electronic Visa that could be applied through internet without the need of going to the embassy. And it’s much faster. It could be done like only 4-5 days in advance!? Oh wow…hahaha. First hurdle cleared.

Ok let’s check the flight to India. With such a short notice they are going to be crazy expensive…it’s gonna be difficult. And… voilá. There you go: a direct flight to Delhi from Madrid (that even existed before??) and at a really affordable price? Universe? Are you trying to tell me something? Hahaha. Ok at this moment is when I started to get nervous. The “it would be great but it’s not gonna happen” idea that I had in mind turned into “it’s indeed actually possible…” Damn hahaha. Visa and flight which are mostly the biggest uncontrollable hurdles on such a short notice were indeed actually possible.

Oh no…what about the passport! I just remembered in India and many other places they require a minimum 6 months validity. Ok, great, mine expires in 3 months. Checked it online, and yes: minimum 6 months validity required. Oh no. Another hurdle. I was hearing since weeks ago that all the police offices and appointments for passport renewals were saturated giving dates like for after 1-2 months. Ok so I started calling police offices and checking online and yes…bummer. All the appointments were like for 1 month, 3 weeks the best. Bummer. It was too good and exciting to be true.

Meanwhile I kept searching about this Spiti Valley on the Internet. And damn…it looked really amazing. Such a pity. Would be nice to go. Arggg if only there was an appointment. I kept looking to see if there were any other far away police offices with appointments like in 3-5 days? Hahaha. Not much luck. But later in the afternoon I don’t know why but I did the search again. And suddenly, out of the blue. A free appointment due to a cancellation in 2 days! Quite near actually. Pfffff: heart pounding again. The viability of the plan was on again. Dammit universe. Now the ball is in my court again. Ok let’s take the appointment. I need to renew the passport for Panama later on anyway.

Ok so now I was a bit nervous. Everything was “technically” possible…? Anyway, the idea of getting to such a remote area, with so many difficulties and preparation associated with only 1 month left before leaving to Panama (with the whole travel itself in between) was kind of crazy anyway. I was doing calculations of days needed to actually get there and come back. Minimum like 3 days to get there and another 3 to come back only of transportation, and that in the best possible circumstances with no margin for delays, etc. So what that meant? If I wanted to be there at least like 10-12 real days to have time of moving around, exploring and I don’t know what I was even going to do there anyway haha. That meant what? That I have to leave like in 4-5 days from now? It’s just crazy (stupid) by the only idea of thinking it. I don’t have proper clothes. What do I need there anyway? It certainly felt too crammed and rushed…

But… if I don’t go now then I would have to wait until mid next year to even think of going there due to the snow. And now my mind was all filled with that place, monasteries, Himalaya! I went into a loop of being so attracted by that place. Oh what to do? hahaha. Now I had looked hours and hours and that place looks like THE ADVENTURE. Yes, but there’s so little time… And the most rushing and restlessness comes from the fact that whatever it is I have to make a decision like…today or tomorrow! If I waited more I was definitely going to miss the opportunity and little time of arranging everything to leave. So I had literally like 1 day to make a decision.

Ok so I went online and started researching more and more. Now from a different perspective. Very nervous, excited and many more things. The perspective of what if I decide to leave in a few days. What do I really need. What do I really need to know. So there I was researching the exact locations and way to get there. Transportations, roads, equipment needed, itinerary. Another level of what I was looking a few hours ago just for fun. Oh man this was becoming something more real. I was excited, anxious, a bit afraid. Why do I need to be doing this hahaha? I was so chilled and calm enjoying Madrid summertime with no plans like 1 day ago haha.

But now there was this fact of knowing that going to an incredible place in the little time I had was actually possible. Living something incredible was viable. It became somehow a challenge and my mind couldn’t back out of such thing. It was in my mind all the time. And, anyway, what incredibly different thing would I do in Madrid until Panama that I wasn’t already doing for the last couple months?

Ok so I went on this deep online research to get more info in the case I decided to actually go. Go!?? Oh my… hahaha. This escalated quickly.

So when researching I started to find out not so many good news. Apparently in August was the monsoon time and there was a lot of rain. This makes the already inaccesible places even more inaccessible. I started reading that there were some mountain passes that with rain are probably shut down and many risks of landslides. I was reading information that it wasn’t exactly the best month to visit. Also rain for photos is not the best. Dammit!

Also started to see that I didn’t quite find exactly the info on how to get there from the last “accessible” town. Not sure if there was public transportation or not. There was lots of contradictory info. Also started reading that once you get past the first mountain pass you are the whole time at an average altitude of 4000 meters the whole time. So if you get altitude sickness later on, to get back you may have 1, 2 or 3 days of way back until you reach lower altitude (only way of feeling better) I had bad altitude sickness once in Peru and was quite horrible experience. No phone, no internet. I even called through Skype to a tourist office in India “near” the valley to try ask a few questions and see if these concerns were real or not. Couldn’t understand a word and not much English was spoken on that phone call.

Ok so there I was, with a complete mess on my head and with the pressure of deciding something quick. One day before I had no idea of this place. And now I was debating on my head and struggling to decide in just 1 day if starting all the process to go to some of the most remote valleys in the Himalayas…

So were all this drawbacks real drawbacks? Or was I making excuses and trying to find reasons not to go? Was it too difficult, uncomfortable to pull something like this out? It was definitely easier and less trouble not to do it. Just keep doing what I was doing the day before without worrying about all this uncertainties, rushed plans and tasks I knew I had to do in order to go.

When I found out about all this new difficulties of going to Spiti Valley I remembered there was quite a nice place too I always wanted to go: Ladakh in India. Somehow a similar version but more accesible. I could fly there and save some time and maybe do the same things? It was perhaps easier right? But, picking the “easy option”? Doesn’t feel right somehow.

I wasn’t sure. At some point, thinking of getting to Spiti Valley and this remote Monastery in the internet photo was a mixture of “wow! I should get there, this is the place I need to go”. But on the other hand I was legitimately afraid and scared. I wasn’t even sure if I could make it there with such little time, if the roads were going to be closed or actually very/too dangerous. If I could get stuck and miss my Panama trip. I was feeling a bit nervous, scared and uncomfortable about the idea of getting there. But at the same time that was the place that felt right. The one I found, that somehow came to me, the one that’s a challenge, the one that’s “scaring” me but at the same time the one that makes me feel thrilled, pumped and excited of the sole idea of being there.

The fact I was making so many excuses in my mind not to go (understandably or not) like little time to plan, too complex, uncertainty, rain… was the exact reason that I knew I had to go. I had to do it. I had to break the routine and do something unexpected and crazy like this. Something that wasn’t easy. It was about time to embrace the uncertainty and force me into the uncomfortable. It’s like those times you feel lazy and hesitant about doing something but you know once you’re there, once you’ve done it, you’ll know it was the right thing to do and you’ll thank yourself for finally deciding to do it. Once you feel that call and its something you know you have to do, you have to do it or you’ll regret it. And this is true for many things in life (not only this kind of travels) Be it leaving a job, making that phone call, making some kind of big change. In some way I felt I needed to do it and cut the excuses. I needed to take action and stop the easy comfortable routine daily life I was having. And if that needed to be done in one day, be it in one day. That was the opportunity and I couldn’t let it go or I’ll regret it with “what if’s”

So from that day, after some rushed preparations, passport renewals, visa, etc in just 5 days I was onboard a flight direction to Delhi, India. Flying with no clear plan, not much idea on how to get there or what I was exactly going to do. Not even sure if I could make it or not. Just with one image in my mind: that incredible monastery high up in the Himalayas. Would I be able to reach there, stay? Share some thoughts and learn from the monks that are probably living such a different life of what I’ve known to date in such a breathtaking far-gone location? I knew something for sure. It was going to be different to my easy days in Madrid regardless the outcome.

By the way, if you were wondering: Yes, the photos are photos taken by me during the actual trip. A little preview of what’s to come.