Advertisement
Ok, we ended up in Kashmir after being blagged by an ‘Adam Sandler’ lookalike (so he told us anyway!) the irony of a Muslim guy comparing himself to an American Jewish movie star was not lost on us…. Anyway something we have learnt is that Kashmiris tend to be persuasive, very, very persuasive and before we knew it we we’re embarking on a 27-hour bus ride to Srinigar.
The bus was a totally equipped, fully air-conditioned sleeper coach, NOT. That is what we were expecting what we got was a rickety, cramped, hot and dusty death trap. The journey would take 23 hours max, yeah right 25 hours later still 2 hours from our destination… We and the other 5 Westerners were relegated to the back seats, which also happened to be the most uncomfortable!
So ok, the bus ride was butt numbing, we were unable to sleep and were both so filthy we shocked ourselves (well Katie was shocked) but at dawn we hit the Himalayan Foothills and it was simply breath taking…
After stopping for a chai in the mountains we were back on the bus and in Srinigar by late afternoon. Oh and the joy and
love with which we were greeted (as promised by Adam back in Delhi!) was so not forth coming. We were paddled across Dal Lake to a sumptuous wooden houseboat, which was to become our minimum-security prison for the next 7 days, only to be allowed out after extreme wallet emptying! It would be easy to dwell on the negative aspects of our Kashmir experience but it’s frankly fucking boring so well tell you the good bits!
Katie met a fellow Crisp Addict in Mel (housed in the honeymoon cell with her husband Ben). It was amazing, they both got to share crisp stories and revel in the true glory of being a crisp junkie. Don’t think the boys were left out, oh no they too shared the horrors of being in love with hopeless fried potato addicts…
Spending an entire day on top of the boat, sunbathing, reading, playing guitar, watching the eagles and relaxing.
We went on a trek into the Himalayas and got on so well with our guide, Farouk, we were invited back to meet his family and share lunch… It was an amazing experience… they shared tea and soup and we shared kit-kats
and digital cameras, much to the enjoyment of all.
Ok we lied. Bear with us as we dwell on one negative aspect of the trip… ‘THE WATER TREK’
The trek started innocuously enough. The gentle splashing of the paddle and the soft twittering of the swallows accompanying our leisurely jaunt across the lake and then the first stop, the first place of ‘INTEREST’.
Tibetan Del boy - Selling GENUINE Tibetan antiques and the most garish jewelry you have ever seen in your whole life. Some of his paintings were admittedly beautiful but not in our budget. Not that this deterred Del-boy from the sales pitch in anyway. Some of his suggestions for raising the cash were:
1. credit card
2. post dated cheque
3. pay half now half later
4. have your parents got any dosh? (WHAT!?!?)
After all this sort of opportunity only comes once in a lifetime. (As we are writing this having left Kashmir we would like to point out that Dharamshala is FULL of these ‘once in a life time” paintings!)
Back on the boat and without any ancient Tibetan artifacts we were looking forward to a lazy paddle round the lake and
then back to the boat for lunch… But our fates were in the hands of Moyen the Serpent Boy and his minion, Goat Paddler (‘tip, tip’ he would bleat). The next 5 hours were spent resisting aggressive sales pitches. What the fuck would we do with a 5 foot papier-mache elephant (you were so right Ben!), a carved walnut love seat (not to worry, they will ship it for us at an extra cost AND they take all credit cards) or a 7 by 4 woven silk carpet?
It was reassuring to learn that our kindly hosts would earn a meagre 10% on top of the cash spent on going on the hideous shopping trek anyway!
AAAAAAAnyway, next stop Dharamshala via Jammu…
Advertisement
Tot: 0.077s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 12; qc: 55; dbt: 0.0397s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Elspeth Compton
non-member comment
Kashmir/Cashmir
I read your post card before I logged on to your Blog. You are certainly on a steep learning curve! I wait to read about Dharamshala with trepidation, but the good bits sound wonderful. Go well, stay well. Love Mom.