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The caretaker of the Monastary at Alchi. He takes his job quite seriously. He was full of information to share with us. For a donation of a few cents, you can light butter candles for the Gods. He was thrilled to get 20 rupees from me, (less than 50 cents). The monastary is over one thousand years old, it lives in it's faded glory. The red and yellow squares behind the man are Tibetian Buddhist religious texts. The pages are long narrow sheets of paper with sanscrit writing, which are lifted and set aside as read. Silk kotas, (scarfs for good luck on a trip), money, bracelets, food treats are left as offerings to the Gods. Alchi village is a pleasant tiny green speck in the forbidding arid mountains of Ladakh. The architecture is the simliar in all respects to Tibetain. Bus loads of busy tours come and go, few people spend a quiet night.