Upon our arrival in Kashmir we were, first of all, pleasently surprised by the nice weather- 30 degrees, moderate humidity and a cool breeze compared to 45 degrees, high humidity and no air at all in Delhi! The second pleasent surprise was the houseboat which was really very lovely.
We spent our fist day there relaxing and eating great indian food. On the second day we explored some of the city of Srinagar which wasn't very exciting, since everything was closed, due to a strike (I have never seen so much military presence anywhere else!). Then we went for a boat ride on and a swim in the lake. On day three we took a jeep to Pahalgam National Park in order to do some trekking there. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking and our campground next to a river a perfect spot! After putting up the tents we explored the surrounding area and visited the houses of some gypsie people living there. In the evening it got quite cold and I was very glad that I hadn't thrown away my jeans yet! We looked at the beautiful starry sky and went to sleep to the sound of the river flowing past our tent.
The next day we went on an eight hour hike through mountains, forests and over rivers. Again, we just couldn't believe the beauty around us and had a great time walking. When we got a bit tired on the way back we rode on the horses that came with us, which was also very nice (I think nicer for me than for Ede, though!!). Day two of our trekking was supposed to take us high up to a mountain lake, but I was very tired from the first day of walking and also felt a bit sick- probably caught a cold because of the 40 degree temperature change between Delhi and Pahalgam! So we only walked uphill for about an hour. There we reached a beautiful river bed and I decided to just stay there, while Ede went for another three hours of hiking and climbing. Then we had some lunch and then slowly made our way back to our campsite, passing more gypsie houses, horses, sheep and cows on the way. We took a bath in the ice-cold river and then passed the time with a couple of games of chess before going to sleep for the last time in this lovely place. The following day was basically just spent with packing up things and returning to Srinagar, where we met J.A. who had really kept his promise and came to see us! We had a fun evening on the boat, talking until 4 in the morning and looking at the stars from the rooftop. The next day, Ede and I had another shot at exploring Srinagar, this time more successful than the last! In the evening, we again met up with J.A. and his friends and went to a pretty fancy hotel, where we sat in the garden, having a couple of drinks and some great dinner. J.A. invited us on a fishing trip for the next to days and we happily accepted. So the next morning we packed our things together and again took off, this time in the other direction. At noon we reached a small village next to a river, and the guys did some fishing while I had some rum instead! We spent the night all together on matresses in a room of a gypsie familys home- the people there were so nice and the whole atmosphere so peaceful, that none of us really wanted to leave the next day, but J.A.'s friend had to go back, so we left after the guys had done some more fishing.
We spent our -finally- last day in Srinagar organizing some things and taking some more pictures of the people and the town and then went to the home of J.A.'s family for dinner. It was a wonderful evening with great food and lovely people, and we felt very privileged to be able to take part in something genuine like this, which is probably not possible for all tourists who come to Kashmir. And as one can see (again), everything happens for a reason, and most of the time, things that seem bad in the beginning turn out good in the end- you just have to let them happen and "go with the flow of life". By now I am very happy to have met J.A., although you can't exactely say that we had a good start together!
Now Ede and I are in Leh, Ladakh, a buddhist town in the middle of the mountains at 3500 m altitude. So far I can say, that this is one of the most peaceful and vibrant places I have ever been to, but details will follow in the next post!
So much for now, take care, and always try to see the good behind the bad... life is beautiful.
We spent our fist day there relaxing and eating great indian food. On the second day we explored some of the city of Srinagar which wasn't very exciting, since everything was closed, due to a strike (I have never seen so much military presence anywhere else!). Then we went for a boat ride on and a swim in the lake. On day three we took a jeep to Pahalgam National Park in order to do some trekking there. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking and our campground next to a river a perfect spot! After putting up the tents we explored the surrounding area and visited the houses of some gypsie people living there. In the evening it got quite cold and I was very glad that I hadn't thrown away my jeans yet! We looked at the beautiful starry sky and went to sleep to the sound of the river flowing past our tent.
The next day we went on an eight hour hike through mountains, forests and over rivers. Again, we just couldn't believe the beauty around us and had a great time walking. When we got a bit tired on the way back we rode on the horses that came with us, which was also very nice (I think nicer for me than for Ede, though!!). Day two of our trekking was supposed to take us high up to a mountain lake, but I was very tired from the first day of walking and also felt a bit sick- probably caught a cold because of the 40 degree temperature change between Delhi and Pahalgam! So we only walked uphill for about an hour. There we reached a beautiful river bed and I decided to just stay there, while Ede went for another three hours of hiking and climbing. Then we had some lunch and then slowly made our way back to our campsite, passing more gypsie houses, horses, sheep and cows on the way. We took a bath in the ice-cold river and then passed the time with a couple of games of chess before going to sleep for the last time in this lovely place. The following day was basically just spent with packing up things and returning to Srinagar, where we met J.A. who had really kept his promise and came to see us! We had a fun evening on the boat, talking until 4 in the morning and looking at the stars from the rooftop. The next day, Ede and I had another shot at exploring Srinagar, this time more successful than the last! In the evening, we again met up with J.A. and his friends and went to a pretty fancy hotel, where we sat in the garden, having a couple of drinks and some great dinner. J.A. invited us on a fishing trip for the next to days and we happily accepted. So the next morning we packed our things together and again took off, this time in the other direction. At noon we reached a small village next to a river, and the guys did some fishing while I had some rum instead! We spent the night all together on matresses in a room of a gypsie familys home- the people there were so nice and the whole atmosphere so peaceful, that none of us really wanted to leave the next day, but J.A.'s friend had to go back, so we left after the guys had done some more fishing.
We spent our -finally- last day in Srinagar organizing some things and taking some more pictures of the people and the town and then went to the home of J.A.'s family for dinner. It was a wonderful evening with great food and lovely people, and we felt very privileged to be able to take part in something genuine like this, which is probably not possible for all tourists who come to Kashmir. And as one can see (again), everything happens for a reason, and most of the time, things that seem bad in the beginning turn out good in the end- you just have to let them happen and "go with the flow of life". By now I am very happy to have met J.A., although you can't exactely say that we had a good start together!
Now Ede and I are in Leh, Ladakh, a buddhist town in the middle of the mountains at 3500 m altitude. So far I can say, that this is one of the most peaceful and vibrant places I have ever been to, but details will follow in the next post!
So much for now, take care, and always try to see the good behind the bad... life is beautiful.
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