On top of the world

Hello everyone!

Wow, what an amazing week I've had. I've spent it in two very different areas of the Himalayas - Dharamsala, which is like a little piece of Tibet in India, and Kashmir, which feels more like Pakistan or Afghanistan than India.

Ash and I headed up to Dharamsala last week after our few days in Delhi. We had to take an overnight bus there, and were lead to the bus by a man who had to take us on a long walk and on two different trains just to get there! It took us two hours from when we left with the man to when the bus actually started moving. Ash and I were stuck in the back, on seats that didn't recline, for the very long and very bumpy ride.

We arrived in Dharamsala early in the morning to pouring rain - the first rain I've seen since December 3rd in Nairobi! We headed to the guesthouse where two of Ash's friends were staying - Robin and Kristin, both fellow Canadians. After having a quick breakfast with them we spent most of the day sleeping - we were far too tired and it was far too miserable out to do anything else!

Luckily the next morning was sunny and beautiful. Dharamsala is perched on a mountain side, surrounded by Himalayan peaks. It's the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile, so there are burgundy-clad monks and Tibetans everywhere. It felt so different to the rest of India! In the morning we hiked up the mountain side a bit, taking in the fresh air and incredible views of the valley. We came across a little Tibetan school where we hung out with the kids for awhile and Ash played soccer with them. After saying goodbye to Robin, who had to head back to Delhi to get back home, we went to the main Tibetan temple. The Dalai Lama is currently giving a lecture on certain Buddhist mantras, so we sat outside the temple with hundreds of others (mostly Tibetans) listening to his lecture (mostly chanting) and watched as he left the temple and walked to his house. He looks just the same as he does in all the pictures - a beaming, happy man.

It was really interesting being in a place filled with Tibetan refugees- that night there was a candle light vigile because there have recently been several arrests and crackdowns on gatherings in Tibet by the Chinese government. It was sad - China is essentially killing the Tibetan culture, but also hopeful - the Tibetan community in Dharmasala is keeping their culture alive. It was a beautiful, peaceful place to be.

The next day our real adventure started - the journey to Kashmir. We took a long, bumpy bus to Jammu, the winter capital of the Jammu-Kashmir state. The Jammu region is very stable as it's mostly Hindu, but Kashmir has for years been unstable. It's mostly Muslim, very similar to Pakistan in terms of religion and culture. During partition half of the region was given to India, and the other half to Pakistan. Kashmiris speak their own language (Kashmiri) and want their own country, separate from Pakistan and India.

Jammu was pretty boring and we just spent the night before grabbing another 12 hour bus to Srinagar, the summer capital of the region. The bus ride was long but beautiful, winding through the Himalayas. We were stopped a few times at checkpoints and once for about half an hour because the road was blocked due to landslides, but otherwise it was pretty uneventful. We arrived in the dark, and were accosted by touts before the bus even stopped - apparently people at the last rest stop saw us on the bus (we were the only foreigners) and called ahead to their friends in Srinagar so they would know we were coming. We had made friends with a lovely woman on the bus and she told us to go with one of them since he was trustworthy. We walked through the dark, past many soldiers with massive guns and lots of barbed wire, to a cute little houseboat owned by a lovely Muslim family. Mohammed, a sweet old man who was insistent on making us very comfortable, his wife Ranu, and their son Yousef were so welcoming and kind. The houseboat normally costs 10 times what we paid, but since it's low season and Kashmir hasn't had many tourists lately, we got an amazing price. Yousef, who is around my age, is one of the happiest people I've ever met and was lovely to hang out with and chat (he also loved to play our music really loud and dance to it!) Ranu cooked us amazing food and Mohammed made us really feel at home. It was cold, but each morning and night he stocked the wood stove in our room and put a fire under the hot water tank so we could have hot showers!

Srinagar is absolutely beautiful. It's a valley, based around Dal Lake, surrounded by snow-capped Himalayas. You really feel like you're right at the top of the world, and you pretty much are - the mountains surrounding the city are among the tallest in the world. We spent our first day being guided around by Rafiq, our jolly rickshaw driver. We saw many many gardens and quite a few mosques. Kristin and I had to wear head scarves at times, and we got lots of stares as some of the only foreign tourists around, but people were very friendly. We met two men from Jammu at a restaurant at lunch, and ended up having dinner with them that night!

It's also a sad city - the buildings are very run down, some damaged from gun fights, others from the earthquake that hit the region in 2005. The poverty here is different than the rest of India - there, there's a feeling of resilience, of the sheer will to survive, but in Kashmir everything feels run down, as if after 60 years of fighting the people are resigned to an unstable life. There is a massive army presence and we saw more guns than I think I've ever seen in my life, and there are piles of barbed wire and check points throughout the city.

The next day we hung out by Dal Lake, the main lake of the city. We took a shikara ride, which is like a small gondola, around the lake, seeing the floating gardens and markets. We watched the sun set on the lake and had dinner with more Kashmiri friends we had made during the day.

Yesterday we got up bright and early and took a share-jeep to Gulmarg, Kashmir's main ski resort. It's a crazy little place - it looks and feels like any ski resort, but is quintessentially Indian - all day we were followed by people wanting to rent us skis, sleds, or get us into their restaurants! We took a gondola up the mountain and had an amazing cup of chai looking down on the ski resort and out to the massive peaks.

This morning, after saying goodbye to Mohammed and his family, we headed to the airport. I've never seen such security! Our rickshaw had to drop us off at the gate, 3 km from the airport entrance. We had our bags scanned and were patted down, and then had to take a bus to the airport entrance. Once again our bags were scanned and we were patted down. After checking our bags we were put through the security process once again (although the ladies patting me down were lovely - one of them pinched my cheek and told me I was beautiful!) My carry-on bag was completely emptied, and then we had to go outside to claim our checked baggage before it would be put on the flight. After having our bags scanned once again, we were finally able to board. I've never felt so safe getting on a plane - there's no way anyone could sneak anything through that security!

Tonight, after getting settled in Delhi, we headed to the Muslim area of the city to check out a Sufi music performance - basically Islamic gospel music. It was crazy just getting there - after a rickshaw ride to the area, we had to walk down a tangle of narrow alleyways packed with people, don our head scarves and remove our shoes. The performance was incredible, and Kristin and I got to meet a wonderful Afghani woman who works in Holland for a Canadian NGO! Very cool.

Tomorrow I was going to head to Agra to check out the Taj Mahal, but instead I've decided to go with Ash and Kristin to Ash's uncle's farm in Punjab. I've decided that the Taj isn't going anywhere, but I want to spend my last days in India with people I love!!

Can't believe it's almost all over...what an amazing 9 months it's been.

Pictures to come once I'm back in Delhi on Saturday
xxx
love meg