Blogs from Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India, Asia

Hi everyone, I just wanted to write quickly to say that I am safe and well and enjoying my trekking!!! I have been walking in knee deep snow for 3 days now. So beautiful!!! Happy birthday to Pop on the 16th. I will contact everyone again on the 18th. Love Love Love Internet is only on for 5 mins. Bye Missing you all.... read more

On October 27that 2am I landed in Mumbai, India – my first time in the homeland. Right off the bat, I gotta dispel the first big myth about India, it doesn’t stink at all once you land. You gotta wait 15 minutes after driving away from the airport first, and then the stink hits ya. The airport itself was actually one of the nicest buildings I saw in Mumbai. And I had the fortunate experience of spending 2 extra hours there because I was held in immigration, so I was able to get pretty comfortable in there. No, it wasn’t because they needed time to roll out the red carpet, but because I didn’t write down where I was staying. I figured if I wrote it once to get the VISA, I shouldn’t have to giver ... read more

Got up at 6:30pm took some photographs from the House boat. Had breakfast and at 9am left on a Shikhara ride. We went through Nigen lake, floating gardens, Char Chinar to Nishant garden and the ride was for about 2 hours. The shikara ride was an unique experience which lasted for 2 hours through the floating gardens where we saw vegetables and fruits being grown organically using the fungai from the lake. Later the ride to pristine crystal clear water of Dal lake. As we entered Dal Lake we heart gun shots from the near by hills and the feeling was funny, here we were enjoying a peaceful ride and on the other side there was a gun battle going on, and ofcourse the kind of things going on in my mind was something unexplainable. For ... read more

Got up at 4 am and went to Krishna temple and attended arathi. After aarathi left Udhampur ISKCON at 6:30am enroute to Srinagar. At about 8 am reached Patnikot hill top and sat there and had breakfast which was given to us by ISKCON. After breakfast started riding and within about 30 minutes it started raining and we had to ride with our rain coats on. The entire route was very picturesque with lot of colourful flowers adjacent to the road and in the valleys. The valley along the road was more friendly as compared to the frightening valleys of dharmshala and dalhousie. There were huge rivers in the valleys flowing with water real force and a couple of waterfalls like Anukhee and sharmeele. Though there were a lot of scenic views we couldn’t take much ... read more

"Please cancel the trip, Ju." My best friend, Min, was begging me 8 hours before I flew to India for a 10-day-trip by myself. "What has it got there?!", she kept trying. "I don't know but well, it's too late Min Sorry." I replied. The show must go on! After day 10, I remembered myself crying for about an hour when the plane was taking off from Delhi to Bangkok. "What has it got there?!" ......It has got 'things' that you have to see with your own eyes. ......It has got the 'things' that I could not find from where I was from. ......It has got the 'things' that I cried for because I didn't want to leave them. ...And until now, it has been a month already, I still have dreams almost every night about ... read more

We were joined in Delhi by Benny (real name, honest) which after a trip of over 4 months now with just two if us feels a little strange. India was sure to blow his mind and I'm not sure it was exactly what he was expecting. Still, when your second day in the country involves visiting the Taj Mahal you can't really complain. We all decided to pay up front and have a tour for 9 days that included all our hotels, transport and most of the meals. So we hit the tourist trail of the Indian 'Golden Triangle' - Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. I could type all day about what we've done and in what order and it would get old pretty fast. Instead I think it's more interesting to talk about Kashmir, the destination ... read more

Really been neck-deep in work, but I will emerge alive, insyaAllah. Hard to believe that I was in India last December. And oh yes, friends, I will be in Vietnam end of July till end of August, so yes, fantastic entries are underway! So, the previous entry saw us going through Agra, the place which held one of the greatest symbols of love, the Taj Mahal. It's been an eye-opening experience, just one that I know is simply so amazing that I don't think I can ever forget in this lifetime, or in the next, for that matter. I've also chronicled my journey through Jaipur the Pink City, and guess what friends? We are going through Kashmir today, yay to that! Before I left for India, I was initially very skeptical of the various 'dangers' that ... read more

Waking up with a mild hangover in near volcanic heat was not the best introduction to the day but there was no time to dwell on this as I had to be on my way. It was first back to Saja's office to get my documents for my trip. As with all Indian establishments I had seen, Saja's office seemed to also be a local hang-out for a large group of friends and colleagues of sorts. Today was no different and I was quickly introduced to an enthusiastic and chatty driver who made me my first business proposition and introduced me to what India seems to work on entirely, commission. The brief was simple. He drives me to two shops where I have a good look around for which he gets a little bonus for, regardless ... read more

Der Eintrag kommt nicht so bald! Hab keine Lust mich weiteres mit Kashmir zu beschäftigen. Bin froh erstmal, dass es vorbei ist und möchte es nicht im Kopf, bzw. in Bildern vor Augen, haben.....!... read more