On Thursday 9 May, I wanted to go to Lamayuru so we took a shared Leh bound jeep for 1000 Rs (£11) and got the front seat, jumping off in Lamayuru and checking into the Moonland Hotel which also only cost 1000 Rs per night.
On Friday 10 May I had some sad news from my sister that my grandmother, Irene Osborn-King, had passed away in the early hours of the morning aged 96. She had been in the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford having broken her pelvis, the last of many falls over a 15 something year period. I had been kept up to date by my sister but of course being such a long way away there was nothing I could really do. In the back of my mind, I certainly did think she’d pull back from it, as she had done so many times before but it was not to be, and I was told it was very peaceful and she died in her sleep, having had many family members visit her. We had a day of contemplation and the weather wasn’t great, but that was kind of fitting. I went to the monastery and rang some prayer wheels… I did also think Gran may perhaps be chuckling to herself for doing that!
Although there were no funeral plans imminent, complicated by the situation that the funeral would be held in Dorchester Abbey which had a festival on, and the Canon who would lead the funeral was on holiday, I decided to head straight for Leh to book my flights home. I would of course come back to India to finish the trip and would just have to suck up the unexpected flight costs.
On Saturday 11 May, we paid the bill 2500 Rs (£28) for two nights and meals and took a car to Leh for 4000 Rs (£45).