Holy lake of Sani, Zanskar valley, India

Holy lake of Sani, Zanskar valley, India, a photo by SandeepaChetan - http://sandeepachetan.com/ on Flickr.

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We had an enforced stay in Sani, a small village in Zanskar, around 6km before its headquarters, Padum. Communal tensions had brought Padum to a shutdown.

Which meant we had to put up in Sani, a village with no real hotels (or guest houses) and no drainage system (read toilets or bathrooms!). Next to this holy lake was a big camping ground, which was of no use to us, since we weren’t carrying any tents.

But who needs any commercial set ups when the locals are so warm and friendly?

A lone shopkeeper in Sani agreed to host us for the two days of the Sani festival. He charged us a pittance for a cozy room, unlimited supply of fresh, local food, impromptu cookery lessons and loads of entertaining conversations!