the slug gets adventurous.....

---

DEAR ALL

It has begun.......
So, a quick round up on where we are so far.
Arrived in Mumbai in 30deg heat, with rucksacks and...the slug, as we have named our oversized, annoyingly heavy snowboard bag. it is big enough to fit a dead body in, trying to explain to people in mumbair what it contained, was a bit of a loosing battle. anyway, managed, after half an hour in the midday sun, with lots of smiles and eyelash batting, to convince a taxi driver to stick our friend the slug, on the roof. hurrah! we left the airport. stayed in hare krishna hotel with loud speaker outside chanting what sounded like "Alan......check-it....Alan....you stink". an interesting first night in Injah.

Up at 3am to get a plane north to Srinagar, again, slug on top of taxi to airport, this time, not even tied down, although driver would hang out of window every time we went over a pothole (which was quite often) to check it was still there...so that was safe.

Arrive in srinagar airport - never seen so many army chaps, all in their kahki with lovely shiny AK47's, makes you feel real safe. lots of having to register where you are going, where you are from etc, they try and keep track of you as much as possible, although, no doubt all the paperwork just gets lost into the indian bureacratic system. however,i think it makes everyone feel better if forms are filled out...gives some semblance of order at least...

After much discussion with taxi drivers, as we wanted to share a jeep with a couple of Russian girls up to Gulmarg, it was decided, that because they had prebooked for 2, it was UNACCEPTABLE to increase the amount of passengers. as you do. so we got a jeep on our own. enjoyed the drive up, encountered many horse and carts, along with maff-off army carriers, and a couple of car smashes, all with lovely backdrop of mountain scenery.

At the village below Gulmarg we had to stop, register again (same form), and have snow chains put on the jeep. you would think that chains on each tyre would be the norm, however, it seems that only one is necessary....better than nothing. but the chain our driver had didn't work, so we had to hop in with the Russian girls. their singular chain seemed fine (although only held on with bits of twine) so off we went. unfortunately all was not fine, as the chain bashed the axel of the car on every turn of the wheel, so off it came, and we slid our way up the hill. apparently chains are only necessary because otherwise the army makes trouble for them (nothing to do with the snow on the road, of course).

Gulmarg = completely covered in 4ft of snow. lovely job.

hotel we had booked over the phone, very friendly, with wood burners in rooms, but bed sheets were SO DIRTY, and no running water in bathroom, even toilet didn't flush. therefore, champagne travellers that we are, we decided that we shgould move.
We are now in a hotel, slightly further from the gondola, but with HOT SHOWERS, and slightly cleaner sheets. downside is the gas fire that nearly poisons us, and the fact that we sleep in, get this,
thermal trousers
ski socks
t-shirt
thermal top
hoodie
hat
t-shirt around neck as a scarf

and 5 blankets - toasty.

snow here is amazing, has made us realise what complete amateurs we are. snowboarding on powder is quite different to on piste. first day, we fell at every turn, 2nd day was a little better, so improvement is happening, slowly but surely. i would possibly say that we are the crappest here, which is something we've come to terms with. i am quite happy not to be using the cringeworthy snowboarding terminology, such as 'sick', 'gnarly' and 'pumped' - i'm waay to posh for that.
there is a very real threat of avalanche here, only one run from the top of the gondola is patrolled and has any kind of avalanche control. there are avalanche awareness courses that are run and everyone is encouraged to ski in groups etc, we're sticking to the patrolled areas at least until we feel a little more confident.
lovely food, lots of interesting people, lots of snow. more forecast over the weekend, which should be fun.
love to you all.....will try and put up rad photos next time.
xxx

---

Comments

[Lawz]

yay!
Yay your first post! I loved it. Glad you're having a good time out there. Well even if you're not, i'm having fun reading about it! Those dirty sheets don't sound like a barrel of laughs but at least you have good snow. I tried to call you on the evening before you left but just got your voicemail, was v sad! Missing you lots! Post again soon xxx

[anonymous]

Sarah you are NOT too posh for such words, and I expect you to use them reguary. Eek, just realised i'm gonna be late to get my hair cut. Just a trim like. Well be in touch soon otherwise I'll think the worst. Loads of love like. Spoonhead.xxxxx

[Pappy John]

hi there
Great to hear you're having a good time and that the cumbrous snowboard is doing its stuff. Lucy gave me the blog address - do keep writing so that I can know what you're up to. Much love, Dad / John and Kelly

[anonymous]

4/10