My trip to Leh was spur of the moment as I had finished my design work early. It was mid winter in India and Mumbai was still a balmy 33c with 80 percent humidity. Just a two hour flight from Mumbai on arriving in Leh I instantly felt the change to minus 23 degrees celsius. Travel to Ladakh in winter is unusual and I was advised by locals in Mumbai not to go, however I realised that the scenery at this time would make the trip well worthwhile. A client of mine had contacts in the area and organised for a very good hotel to open purely for my visit as most would close for this period.