September 10, 2008.

Flew Kingfisher airlines from Delhi to Leh, surely one of the planet's more spectacular flights. Rahil slept most of the way, probably because we took off at 5:50 a.m., which meant we had to leave the house at 4:30 a.m. It was Rahil's first trip to Ladakh. The airport, at the bottom of the valley, is 3505 meters (11,500 ft.) above sea level.

Rahil spent the day drinking lots of water and resting. He encountered a cow, the first of many. It would be fair to say he sought them out.

As usual, we stayed at the now-iconic Oriental Guest House ( http://www.orientalguesthouse.com ).