Thiksay - Morning Prayer

Heavy clouds were hanging over the broad valley and an ice cold wind blew into my face. It was before sunrise and the rocky path up to the prayer hall of the Thiksay monastery was steep. I followed the monks through the labyrinth of the monastery until we reached a wooden door with a very low ceiling. The monks squeezed themselves into the prayer hall and took their designated seats on the floor. My seat was close to the door and the cold was creeping already after some minutes below my jacket. May is still bitterly cold in Ladakh, although the midday sun was slowly melting the snow. The monastery is situated on a high rock cliff on an altitude of 3600 meter and was built by the Getup sect of Tibetan monks in the 15th century. Not a lot has changed here since then. Novice monks were gliding on the polished wooden floor with big pots of butter tea to serve the elder prayers. The monks were chanting gentle rhythms and in spite of the cold I started to feel warm and comfortable. The peace and quietness here in this remote corner of the world made me very happy. Another wonderful dawn in Ladakh.