“I don’t think the farmer likes you to stand in his mustard field!” Our guide warns us several times when we (carefully) walk through a field filled with bright yellow flowers. How could we not? With Lamayuru village in the background this makes a perfect picture. As we are getting closer to the Kashmir border we pass through some beautiful mountain villages. My favorite: Alchi, one of the oldest monasteries of Ladakh containing wall paintings from the 11th century. You can easily spend a day on the grounds of this monastery, even though it’s not that big. There’s something different here. Maybe it’s the history that gives this place something magical. Maybe it’s the energy “zooming” in every temple. Or maybe it’s just the colors of the paintings and prayer flags combined with the fresh greens that surround us that make this place different than the high altitude villages we drove through.