I have had an amazing 2017 so far in India, and am now trying to re-establish myself temporarily in my country of birth, since becoming extremely attached to a nomadic, Asian lifestyle. I have been back in the UK for 3 weeks, and have not yet slept in the same place for more than three consecutive nights! I spent a fab few days at home in Kent, picking wild blackberries for homemade jam, and finally dusting off my piano and ukulele again to fill my parents' house with noise. I then went to Cornwall for 10 days, filled with carnivals, reggae gigs on the beach, surf lessons (success at last!), and some great country cider and bike rides. I've just moved to London, and unfortunately have before only described it as the city I have in my head that is so full of life, it's kind of lonely. Dubbed, 'The city that never sleeps', but one that is also potentially arrogant, aloof and independent.
I know, I know, how can I be so rude about my home city, don't worry though, I think I've changed my mind! Yes, sitting in my little flat in south London can feel a bit lonely sometimes, but so can these great 'sociable' adventures wandering the streets of Mumbai, or hiking the Himalayas in Nepal on occasion. I guess to live in London and create lasting friendships may be more difficult, but from my experience this past week, people do still say good morning when they go to the park for a run, the newsagent genuinely does want to know how your day has been going, a person really will hold up the bus you're running for, and if you're lost you certainly can stop someone and ask for directions. Maybe I am just noticing these things since my Asian sojourn, but it's making it feel a little more like the eastern homes I've become used to over the last 2 years. I had the idea for this blog post standing at a bus stop at 6am on this temperately warm August morning, on my way to start learning the skills of a Barista. I remember being 21 and fresh out of university, writing blog posts about how offended I was to be belittled as a cleaner by lofty office workers, and how upset that made me - why couldn't they understand that I was working three jobs just to fund my unpaid internship. I thought that was the only path to success, the one we're conditioned to believe is 'correct'. Go to university, get a good degree, work work work, and Bob's your uncle. Now though, I relish the opportunity to relax, enjoy my work, and be intrigued rather than aggrieved by the commuters going about their day. By the lycra-wearing yoga girls and puppy-taming walkers sauntering past for an elevenses coffee. Because I guess what I'm saying here is an insight into what I want to write next, about grabbing each day by the horns, and embracing each moment as it comes. Relish the knowledge you will get from understanding every individual experience, and don't compare your fortunes with anyone else. They are yours, and yours alone. So be friendly, say good morning to the mad joggers at the park at 6am, thank your bus driver for getting you to your destination safely, and smile, smile as much as you possibly can. For as one amazing traveller and volunteer told me when I was in Sri Lanka last year, language is incidental to communication, a smile though, is universal :).
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"If there is heaven on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here!" Agar Firduas I recently travelled to North India, and was fortunate enough to spend two weeks exploring the unexplored; Kashmir. Before I explain my trip, I will say that I had a vague memory of at least the name of the town of Kargil making headlines many years ago, but I must admit I did not know why, or the extent of the state’s struggles, and ongoing danger and uncertainty for Kashmiris now. Well, I can tell you that Kashmir really is a beautiful place and while you definitely must still exercise caution, it absolutely should not be missed on your travels!
Towards the end of my trip I did make it briefly to the ‘Hall of Fame’ military museum in Leh, which provided me much more (although perhaps rather biased) information on the conquering and fall of many empires and countries that have claimed rights over the ‘most beautiful state in India’. I learnt that there have been many attempts at omnipotence by the Chinese, Pakistani and Indian Governments as a multi-bordered state and therefore crucial trade route into India. The most recent war being fought in Kargil, in 1999. Kashmir has the highest military presence in all of India, as was evident from the moment the bus left the confines of the Himachal Pradesh mountain state. Armed Indian soldiers line every pavement corner, grocery shop and busy or deserted road, far outnumbering the stray street dogs and possibly even the cows there! The overwhelming number of visible soldiers throughout the whole state really fascinated me, and certainly divided opinions between my Southern Indian friends and among the local Kashmiris. I have been told that Pakistan’s claim for the state is due to having the largest population of Muslims within India, but there are of course always two sides to a story, and in this case more it seems, depending on whether you agree with the Indian Government encouraging a unity with India, Pakistani militants who are rumoured to be strongly aided by their Government, and even now are managing to evade the military security, or the many Kashmiris fighting for Independence entirely from both countries! Luckily I had been warned before entering Kashmir, but only SIM cards bought on particular Government networks within the state will work, and good luck finding wifi anywhere! I went to a reasonably nice hotel for dinner one evening and they laughed when I enquired about the off-chance of a connection. I chose not to buy a SIM card and it turned out to be a fantastic break from the internet, affording me unlimited opportunity to gaze at the awe-inspiring scenery, and speak to some amazing local people for advice and directions on my way! I absolutely loved the raw and uniqueness of Kashmir, although it is the first place ever that I have felt the need to cover my head with a scarf, to prevent people's jaws breaking when they see blonde hair! The people of Kashmir look totally different from southern Indians, and with their chiseled jaw lines and the men's amazing beards, they are definitely all model contenders! It has taken me a few weeks to assimilate what I saw and learnt while I was in Kashmir, but I will try and at least roughly explain my itinerary. Firstly though I must say that this trip would not have been possible without having travelled with Hindi speaking friends and I am extremely grateful they joined me on this adventure! Day1-3: Manali – Srinagar by bus via Jammu: one 12 hour bus and one squashed shared taxi journey of about 8 hours. The taxi driver took us to his friends houseboat called Beauty Flower, where we stayed for 2 nights, experiencing the summer heat, the blinding sunsets and the monsoon rain, with a very tranquil river and bucket shower for company. For our first evening in Srinagar we visited the Mughal Garden and wandered the city, food stall hopping and trying many unpronounceable delights, including some type of delicious fried potatoes, mutton kebabs (for the meat eaters) and boiled, sweetened milk from an enormous frying pan at least a foot wide. The next day we found autorickshaws, buses and shared taxis and after about 2 hours got ourselves to the ski resort of Gulmarg. We took a pony trek to an abandoned Maharaja palace and ate Kashmiri pulaw (oily fried rice) during the afternoon thunderstorm. The most famous attraction of Gulmarg is the second highest Gondala in the world, reaching 12,300 ft. Unfortunately there was a fatal accident just a few days before we arrived after a tree fell in high winds and snapped the cable so this was closed however. Be aware in Kashmir that you cannot get alcohol at all as it is a dry, Muslim state, and, due to the ongoing dangers there is very little evening entertainment, you need to find somewhere to eat by 8pm and it would certainly be wise to be back in your guesthouse by 9pm each evening. Day 4-8: The most common travel is by shared taxi in a jeep/people carrier and these can be picked up very easily and cheaply from the street. We used this and a bus to reach Pahalgam, and from there travelled to Aru Valley. What we didn't know is that we were arriving at the start of Amarnath Yatra Festival but hadn't arranged passes and were obviously not part of the pilgrimage, so luckily were allowed the skip the mile long security queue to enter the mountain region! From Pahalgam we fancied an adventure, so started hiking the 12km to Aru Valley, however eventually were picked up after 5km when it got dark and a driver got seriously concerned about our stupidity and fate among the black bear population of the mountains (that killed 2 of his sheep the night before)! The following 3 days we completed an incredible 64km hike to Tarsal Lake and back, camping under the stars, washing and drinking from the glacial river, and eating delicious foods prepared by the local shepherds of the valley. It was a challenging but beautiful experience and absolutely incredible to be back hiking in the mountains again! Days 9-11: We hitched a ride back to Srinagar and from there caught various rickshaws and taxis to Sonamarg Valley. This is a small army base and tourist through road with nothing much there but a bed before our next long journey! After much haggling, we eventually got a very good priced ride to Kargil in a Tempo (minibus) which was about 120km and 3 and a half hours. We travelled through Drass, the coldest inhabited place in India and some very remote and deserted villages. In Kargil we had a short lunch stop and time to arrange our next ride. We then got a taxi for the whole aim of our adventure to start with, and after 7 hours across some of the most unusual and barren orange and purple mountains, made it to Leh! Days 12-14: The only thing to do now was of course to rent a Royal Enfield and explore this legendary place. We stumbled upon a strange, local guesthouse to stay pretty cheaply, and found a newsagents who wrote down a list of tourist highlights (remember no internet to google anything!) for us to visit. We saw a modernised and renovated Siravana fort (that looked more like a working defence line than tourist attraction!) Then we visited the Hall of Fame army history museum and war memorial gardens. Next I went to Spituk Gompa, perched on a hilltop overlooking the valley, then onwards back on the curving mountain roads to Magnetic Hill. This place is supposedly one of only two places in the world where the earth repels objects with an opposite magnetic field. Our bikes did not hover as expected, but maybe it's worked for someone else! Then, we rode! For almost 4 hours we sped along unending mountain roads, twisting and turning with the wind. We stopped briefly at The Shey Palace and took the time to meditate with a monk, see a 7 metre high Buddha statue and some amazing wall paintings. We then went on to Cho monastery, where they unveil a special Thanka (artwork) dedicated to Skyoba Giksten Gonbo, once every 15 years (last shown on 2016). The next day, after 2 weeks of bliss, I finally found the foreigners again, and had a lovely afternoon wandering aimlessly among the Tibetan market stalls at the top of Leh town. Day 15: Finally, we took a night Tempo ride back to the hustle of Manali in Himachal Pradesh, but not before crossing the world's second highest motorable point Taglang La, at 17,480 ft, which was lit by a jaw-dropping, fiery sunset in the clouds. It was an unbelievable experience to travel in such authentic cities and beautiful mountains, and I hope more than anything that I can go back in the not too distant future with more cameras and knowledge, to get to know the people better and help document their story. |
About meI enjoy writing and have had experience from my degree and through working on news posts. I hope to use this blog as a summary of extraordinary things I've discovered or witnessed in everyday life. Archives
March 2020
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