Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Location: Amritsar, Delhi and Agra. Date July 1 - 7

Amritsar – 1-4th July 2010

We arrived in Amritsar thinking it was going to just be a quick stopover as we still had plenty to see in our next 12 days until it was time to leave India. Although the heat was not as noticeable as we expected, the change back to days in the high 30s mixed with a need to recover from the illnesses we had collected in Kashmir meant we decided to stay 3 nights here to get as fit as we could for the long days of travel we knew we had coming. We arrived late, after a 17 hour day of travel out of Kashmir, so ended up with quite an expensive hotel but changed to a much cheaper similar quality one for the next 2 days. All with a/c, that we found ourselves using less and less.

We relaxed the first two days then were off to see the two big highlights. First the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh temple and the place where the Sikh parliament and Sikh’s original copy of their holy book is kept. It is a place of great interest for both Sikh and standard Indian tourists a like. But as busy as it was it was still a place of great peace, beauty and tranquillity and we enjoyed the couple of hours spent there.

That afternoon we went to the border crossing ceremony, where there is a theatrical closing of the main gates with neighbouring Pakistan. The army men dressed in their finest military style and funny hats, do crazy marching up and down the street before the flag is pulled down and gates slammed shut, with the Pakistani side imitating every manoeuvre and a handshake in the middle before the gates close. This was a crazy patriotic event, with a full grandstand the India side and heaps on the other side too each shouting and cheering the entire time. On our Indian side the most popular chant was “Hindustan” “Zinza Bad” meaning long live India, or something similar. A real crazy show of patriotism that was a little unexpected and cool to see, although, we did nearly melt sitting in the concrete balcony with the full 40 degree afternoon sun bearing down on us.


New Delhi – 4-7th July 2010

After a full days train ride from Amritsar we quickly reversed our previous decision not to again stay in the backpacker Paharganj area. Upon arrival the main street seemed far nicer with the dust storm gone and recent rain,

it meant the under construction Main Bazaar road was smooth and even. After finding a room the pre-monsoon rains hit hard, and next time we went out the road appeared as a full scale mud bath. Lucky we had recent practice with Javed walking through crazy mud areas so we were quite adept at getting around the treacherous road.

Again we ended up staying longer than planned, after finding the main two attractions we wanted to see were both closed on Mondays, and that was the day we were gonna see them. We did however manage to book all our further train journey at the wonderful New Delhi train station tourist counter. You feel a little bad when it so easy for us westerners to get the trains we want when the Indians have to book so far in advance, wait in massive queues and fill out numerous forms. But it was so great to have everything confirmed, although two 12 hour plus overnight sleepers (without AC) were looking a little daunting.

So after a quiet Monday, on Tuesday we were able to head off and see the Lotus Temple and the Red Fort. It was cool to see the temple, and think that Tessa’s parents had spent much time there, as well as experiencing the relaxing beauty of the place. We were in time to hear the 10 minute noon prayers and got a few good photos, despite those pre-monsoon rains turning a bit more monsoonal. The Red Fort was a show of Mughal superiority and would have been a magnificent place in its day.

Some of the marble structures that remain are pretty impressive, but it a little sad to think it not as great as it was in its day, especially after being ransacked by the British. We had a crazy walk back from there where we got a little lost but walked down skinny mud streets in the heart of Old Delhi, with busy shops selling everything from kites to locks to fruit, all grouped in their certain categories, and all crazy busy.

Agra - 7th July 2010

With the need to keep moving and what we had heard about Agra being expensive we decided we would do it all in one day. So after leaving Delhi at 6am and arriving about 8.30am on the fast train, and with a train booked for 11.30pm that evening we were quick to take up our rickshaw driver’s offer of a full day tour.

We started off across the river from to Taj Mahal to see some great views of the famous building. From there it was on to the Baby Taj, which is where the architectural design for the Taj Mahal came from, and we checked out a couple of other similar ancient and overtly artistic mausoleums. Then it was on to the Agra Fort, home of the Mughal Empire for the majority of its reign. This had a similar look to the Red Fort in Delhi, but was far more impressive. It was like a maze of marble and red brick sculptures all pieced together over its few hundred years with a lot still in great condition and each room with a different story to tell.

After an overly expensive lunch and the obligatory trip to the drivers favourite tourist shops, the final stop on the list of Agra’s sites was the great Taj Mahal. Although it rained when we first went in we still got a great look at the impressive building, noting that you could only really appreciate the magnitude of the beauty in its panelling and its immense size from close up. We were able to relax in the grounds for a couple of hours taking in the most recognizable building in the world from a number of angles.

Agra was rather expensive, with the all the sites costing and the big daddy Taj the most expensive at 750rp ($25nz). But it was well worth it and good to see everything. Like everywhere it would have been good to stay a while, but it was off to the rather smelly train station to wait for the 11.30pm 19 hour train to Varanassi.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Location: Mcleod Ganj to Bogund


This is a rundown of our Kashmir tour with Jared, Tessa, Canadian Kristy and Kasmiri guide Javed. We had been updating slowly so hopefully it is not too confusing to read. The first part is a general rundown of what we got up to by Jared and the seond is some thoughts of Tessas

21 June 2010 - We set out from Mcleod Ganj at 8am happy to get an early start for what was to be a long day of travel. After a quick taxi down the hill to the Dharamshala bus station we ended up with an hour wait for the 9.30 bus to Jammu. Because we headed down in altitude for the 6 hour bus journey it got hotter and hotter until we arrive in 40 degree heat. On arrival in Jammu Javed quickly done a deal with a share jeep with a couple of Israelis and an American, still without lunch and with 295km to Shrinigar (Kashmir), we were keen though to keep moving, and move we did, with the driver promptly overtaking everything in sight as we powered out of the city, the two Israelis in the backseat complaining that the speed was making them sick. The driver did settle down but it was some pretty crazy driving compared to Narpat (HP Tour). After stopping for what was the highlight for the drive - our first meat, Kashmiri lamb curry, our driver started to become slower and visibly tired. This was even more crazy than his early driving and we decided to stop about 60km short of Shrinigar to stay at Javeds family house. This was a relief and as we calmed down and drifted to sleep at about 1am, we hoped the Israeli who had commandeered the driving responsibilities got the jeep safely to it's final destination.

22 June 2010 - After being awoken by school children heading to school right next door to Javeds we had a nice breakfast of fresh fruit and Kashmiri bread. Javed then took us on a wonderful walk through his village, along paths through freshly planted rice paddies, of which some are Javeds families. Then it was onto the family orchard where there are 440 apple trees of which 110 are Javeds. It is a beautiful place with lush fresh undergrowth everywhere. Walking through the village streets there was a lot of staring, but it seemed alot more friendly and curious than in other parts of India. We learned that there was a strike "bandha" in the province after tensions in Shrinagar following a couple of police shootings. This meant the city was closed and we were felling quite lucky that we hadn't just rocked up there at 2am the previous night. Instead we reversed the trip and headed to Pahalgam. There was plenty on military presence on the road but we were expecting that anyway in Kashmir, and some shops were closed, but everything was pretty calm on the 50km drive there. Pahalgam is the starting point on a popular Hindu pilgrimage so we passed numerous full truckloads on their way from other Indian states to start their trek. It is an interesting concept considering I think the majority of the Kashmir population are Muslim.
Our room in Pahalgam is right next to a river, which seems quite common in this lush green state.
In the afternoon we went for a 3 hour walk through the town and up a hill overlooking the Kashmir valley and a new golf course they are building (another sign of how good the grass and everything else grows in the valley). The view was a little obscured by clouds but still a wall of 3500m high snowcapped mountains on either side. Kashmir so far seems a similar climate to NZ in Spring but when you consider that 6 - 8 months of the year it snows, it is a little different. Still easy to see why it is called Paradise on Earth, especially compared to the rest of hot dry India.

23 June 2010 - After a quick fruit salad breakfast in Pahalgam, we stocked up on snacks and headed for a 5 hour walk to the Betab Valley. The park part where the Indian tourist reached by driving was a nice open expanse, by the gentler part of the river. For us though the fun came on the walk there. We traversed through a combination open to pine-covered farmland, some covered in rocks remienscent of a Lord of the Rings scene. On the way we were followed by a herd of sheep and goats and their gypsy shepherds. It was very rustic having them roaming past us as we meandered along. We walked as far as a big rock overlooking the flowing river and valley, where we had 360 degrees views of mountains surrounding us.
One the way back we were met by Javeds friend Majid who had been requested to bring supplys which included a bottle of whiskey he had gotten from a town much nearer to Jammu, as Kashmir is almost completely dry due to its Islamic beliefs, as well as its other political issues.
One other thing with the walk was hearing the ladies singing as they worked in the fields, kinda like American slaves, but all "very happy" Javed ensured.
Ourluck with keeping dry for a lot of our recent walks ended with a bit of rain on our return. Lucky we had the whiskey to keep us warm, and once we finished that the man from the hotel was able to get us a bottle of rum in this completely dry town? through the black market, supposedly brought in by the army.
We also had our second chicken curry for dinner and lamb curry for lunch. Four times eating meat so far in Kashmir and no worries. Touch wood. Javed says it is all clean becaused it is killed Halal style. I think the cool air and abundance of livestock also helps.

24 June 2010 - Another not too steep 5 hour hike after Jared cooked omlettes for breakfast. A meandering climb through pine trees until we were met by parades of horse trekkers. It is a popular industry with Indian tourists, who are not keen at all on walking. It fits in well with the history of Pahalgam, as it has always been a horsey town, with the villagers using them to go to the higher country to tend to their stock and there are still many to be seen cruising the main streets today. Tess even commented "I think I will always remember Pahalgam for the smell of horses and horseshit".
At the top of the walk, where all the horse trekkers were going, was a big open expanse of relatively flat grassland among the pine trees and surrounded by mountains. There were quite a few tourists here, but even more people either with sheep trying to get money for a photo or trying to sell shawls.
The walk back was a steeper downhill one where we got to see more of the horse trekkers, some not enjoying the experience so much with young girls crying and ladies with looks of sheer terror on their faces. All quite amusing considering the horses seem tiny compared to the ones back home and they seem to go pretty slow with a dude leading them.


25 June 2010 - After finding out the previous night that there was meant to be another bandha today we were up at 7am as requested by Javed. As it was raining Javed himself did not appear to 7.30 as he though we would want to sleep in due to the rain..I guess we arent quite on Indian time yet.
When we did leave we found Javed's driver had pulled out and we would have to get shared jeeps. This proved easier than expected, even with the strike. There was a big military/police presence during the 2 and 1/2 hours of driving, but no sign of any anger that we were on the road during the bandha amd there were more shops open than earlier in the week when we travelled to Pahalgam. It took us 2 jeeps, a bus, a rickshaw and a boat to get us to our new abode. We are staying on a houseboat on Dal Lake in Srinagar , which is Kashmir's biggest city. The houseboats are a huge attraction and the lakeside are lined with them. They are a bit different to the ones in Allepey as these ones are stationery. It was originally the English who built them in the area, as it was their way around not being allowed to buy land here. Although there are none of the English ones left, there are many that look rather opulent. Ours is a homely number called the Blue Dolphin. It has many ornaments and nic-nacs, so has a feel like going to someones house. There is a sitting room and a dining and a couple of double bedrooms and an outside area. The lake itself is very shallow, so there are lots of grasses and reeds growing up everywhere which hides the true size of it. After a relaxing day of rest, we rand one of the local boat vendors to bring us some whiskey. He was here in 10 minutes, and although a little expensive we were happy to pay for the service.

26 June 2010 - After one of the most constant supplies of electricity and hot water we have had in a while, we were well refreshed and ready to go for our boat ride around the lake. We went in Shikara, a long skinny canoe like boat with cushioned seats and a roof in the middle and paddled by a personal driver. Once out in the open area we could see how big Dal Lake is. Still quite shallow though, with water lilies everywhere and a forest of underwater plants just below the surface of the 6-10 foot deep water. There were people all around living on the lake, with patches of reclaimed land for gardening, people fishing off riverbanks and boats, and people going from place to place on their roadway of water. On the way back we went through the old Srinagar area. The water here was a lot dirtier, with the houses coming right to the edge of the narrow canals. In this area there were many big old houses, all looking quite rundown. This was a previous Hindu area, but they left during the troubles the region has had over the past 20 years.
Upon return to the houseboat it was more meat for dinner. For both lunch and dinner we had variations on lamb rissoles, with lunch a ball called a 'rista" and for dinner it was cooked on a stick, kibab style.

27 June 2010 - Our last full day in Srinagar was spent checking out the Mughal Gardens. We seen 2 of the 4 that there are. The gardens were built by the Mughal kings in the 15-1600s and at the time would have been sheer opulence in the gardening world. There are fountains and waterfalls, with precise lines of huge maple trees and numerous flower beds. But these days in a gardening sense they are probably not as big or as grand as many botanical gardens in many western cities. The striking thing though is that in place with such a dramatic recent history as Kashmir, there is still these oasis's among the heavily armed police and military presence. There is even razor wire on the fence outside the gardens.
On the way back we stopped at one of the many Kashmiri arts emporiums that sell a range of crafts, with carpets and shawls being there specialty. We got a good lesson on the art of making Persian rugs, but as always we had decline the offer to buy, as we have heard many times you get anything much cheaper in the big cities.
Back home on the houseboat, another oasis, the peacefullness is only broken by the regular sound of the Muslim prayer calls, quite a good fit with the quiet feel of the lake.

28 June 2010 - We were up for another early start as transport was again expected to be a problem with the bandha still in place. Again the military precense was significant (maybe it always is) but we travelled the 100km by boat, rickshaw and 2 shared jeeps to be in Javed's village, Bogund, by 9.30am. We just chilled for the morning, checking out more of Javed's rice fields while the wedding preperations went on at his house. In the afternoon more people started to arrive, this first day of the wedding being the time for Javed's family to celebrate with his sister who s the bride to be. Jared and Javed went for a drive with Mushtaq, one of Javed's mates, to go and invite people and pick up Majid from his village.
The evening itself was a bit of a blur as we moved from room to room in the house, some very full with people, especially the ones with the girls hanging out with Angeli (the bride). At times we felt rather awkward as their is little English spoken and even less opportunity to meet foreigners, so most people were quite amazed by us and just sat in bring groups and stared. Usually the children were best, as they spoke some english and were fun to play with. Sometimes there were some weird situations with the male/female divide there is in Islam religion, but Javed keeps assuring us it is all OK because we are foreigners. But there are definitely yimes certain girls will leave the room when Jared comes in and times different men will come and everyone will rush to put on their head scarves. Eating is also a little confusing, because Javed wants us to eat together like we would at home, and we usually do, but there are some disdaining looks from some men and some confused looks from others. Overall maybe Javed is trying to shield us a bit, maybe best for us and his family, but also maybe he is keen to push the boundaries a little to try and show people the way they do things in their village is not the only way.
Sadly in the evening we feeling to tired to stay the distance and missed a fair bit of the party that went late into the early hours. We were shipped off to one of the neighbours as this was to be a more peaceful place to stay, despite all the stares we awoke to.

29 June 2010 - The second day of the marriage is when the husband comes to take the bride back to his village, so the majority of this day is spent with this in the backs of everyones minds. As proud as the parents are that their daughter is marrying, it is in a way a big loss to the family, as it means one less pair of hands working in the fields, cooking and generally keeping the house. With Javed's parents getting older, especially his father,it leaves only one sister (from 4) to help in that capacity. His brother also lives at the house but has his own young family to look after. For Angeli herself it is a massive day of change. She has lived in this village all her 27? years and from what we can tell has never had a boyfriend. She will now move with this man who she has only met a couple of times, to live with his family and work at his house.
As the day got later the mood was a strange mix of sombre and celebration. We only saw parts of it as Javed took us on a few walks around the village and found us quiet rooms to relax in.
As the evening got later we found that there had been yet more problems on the roads in Kashmir and this was proving a problem for the grooms arrival, despite his father supposedly being high in the police. They eventually arrive a bit after 11pm, instead of the scheduled 6-8pm, a party of 50 or so men and a couple of women from the village (sisters maybe?). The groom sat on a thronelike chair and was given gifts by Javeds family, before being ushed in the big tent for dinner. Jared ended up in there for dinner also, even though it was mainly only the grooms side. There were 18 dishes served in total, with everyone eating with hands in groups of four to a plate. All the men were putting most of their meat into bags, so Jared followed thnking it was custom, only to be told later it was because they were taking it home to feed their families. In the end more rice was eaten than meat, but it was still an epic feed. During the hole ceremony, the ladies from Javeds side maintained a song outside, with which they finally lead Angeli to the awaiting car for the groom the jump in and the entire party speed away. Javed and other members of his family will go to visit in the next few days, but now it will only be for special such cicumstances they will see their sister/daughter again.

30 June 2010 - Instead of what we were expecting to be a day of relaxing with the family after the wedding stuff was all over, Jared and Tess spent the majority of the day in bed sick. Although we had eaten seperately, something had upset our bellies, althouh tess's ailment was more cold and flu related, Jared was throwing up a bit. It was quite a pity as we had quite looked forward to spending a bit more quiet time with the family.

01 July 2010 - Another early start with road blocks expected so we were in the jeep at 5am to leave Kashmir for Jammu. There were a couple of blocks with razor wire over the road as we first left, but once we were on the main road it was smooth sailing. Just plenty of army patrols seraching the side of the road, for bombs and mines we guessed. Probably a routine mornig exercise but still pretty crazy to see. When we hit Jammu it was straight on a bus out of there, and after a day of 17 hours travel we made it to Amritsar, so a bit poorly, but generally happy with a successful Kashmiri excursion.

Tessa says:
I entered Kashmir with high expectations, as a few travellers that we had met had highly recommended it as a place of natural beauty. Unfortunately my first experience was the hair-raising by our doped up young Kashmiri driver, whose mood swung between bursts of loud singing and then falling asleep at the wheel.
In the following days at Pahalgam we did many treks that did take us into areas of natural beauty, thus cementing the slogan "Paradise on Earth", however I am more inclined towards the slogan "Jammu and Kashmir: The crowning Jewel of India". In the areas we visited I felt most people lived a simple life, tending rice fields, herding goats and growing veges. In my mind this did not gel with the reality of the state beseiged by political agendas. Prodding Javed for information on his thoughts on Kashmir he said: "in the start it was to do with religion, with Kashmir mainly Muslim and India mainly Hindu, however as time has gone on it is that Kashmiris are generally treated by India. 70% of people just want peace and do not care, where 15% want to be part of India and 15% want to be part of Pakistan. It is these minorities that are the outlaws and the terrorists." Whether or not this is an accurate reflection of the current situation I cannot verify, however, it is indicative of how little even Kashmiri people know about whats going on. On strike days people mill the streets unsure whether or not they can go to work or school. Recently in the Hindustan Times they wrote about a 13 year old boy who had pelted stones at police on over 50 occaisions but did not know why he did it. The lack of accurate information and education, mixed with escalating tensions is a very volatile mix.
Staying in Srinagar on the houseboat was like entering the twilight zone. Away from the intimidating gaze of the military and with transport problems behind us for the time being we could kickback and relax. It almost felt absurd that in other parts of the city potential for dangerous riots was imminent and happening in other parts of the state.
At Javeds village I was hoping to observe general village life as well as the wedding ceremony. Unfortunately our weird "western" appearances meant they were more keen on observing us. Often I sat in a room with a group of 20 children staring at me in wide-eyed awe. After the initial shock of seeing a westerner some of them did warm to me The part of the wedding we attended was a farewell party for the bride Angeli, and then the groom arriving and whisking his bride away. The wedding would then continue in his village. At this stage I was coming down with a rotton cold so only partook minimally in the festivities.and I learnt to speak a few Kashmiri words which delighted them.

As much as Kashmir is a beautiful place we were looking forward to getting out of the state, with more reports of riots, curfews and strikes pouring in we didnt want to get stuck there. Javed arranged a jeep for 5am and we rushed out of Kashmir.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

This has been our soundtrack -

This has been our soundtrack to India recently (please note as our internet is too slow we can't tell if it is PG rated or not so only play the song if not easily offended). Our driver 60 year old Narpat cranked it and our Kasmiri shikara (boat) driver played it too.

Will be update properly again in a few more days.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Map of travel from Trivandrum To New Delhi

By the wonders of Google Maps this is the little trail we have followed (however some places are placed near to due to Google Maps not finding the place).


View Larger Map

Location: Himachal Pradesh Tour. Date: 6th June - 19th June 2010

06/06/10

The toy train up to Shimla was a long and slow six hours, but the higher we got the views became more and more spectacular, as the landscape change to forests of native Himalayan pines and Oaks. Typically we had arrived again on a weekend and the place was buzzing with Indian tourists at the local summer festival. We took the first friendly tout to offer us a room and march half an hour up hill with him through all the people to find the place. The room was a little pricey at 1100 rupees, but it was huge and had awesome views of Shimla and the surrounding hills. The towns is nestled on the ridge and has small market streets down one side. The roads are mainly banned for cars, so even with all the people it is still a pleasurble place to walk around. On the second day we went to the local travel agent that our tout and his friend Javed had suggested. Javed wasnt there but we met with Mushtaq and Nazir and drank Kasmiris tea with them as they showed us a couple of tour options. We were sold on both, but decided to go with one through Himachal Pradesh to see the Himalayas and old monestrys, although Kashmir sounds great and is still in the back of our minds. We found out the next day Javed would likely be our guide, and he took us on a walk around Shimla. We went for a bout 4 hours and he kept a heck of a pace. We went through the quiet Glen area and saw some great hill views. There was also an big old castle/house, built completely from stones bought up the hills by donkeys before there was better transport to the area. Being here a few days it is easy to see why the British made this their summer capital when they ruled India. The climate would be far nicer than Calcutta in summer, and the views are spectacular in every direction.

07/06/10

As we hand wrote most of the following part of the blog it is both a description of what we done and a collection of thoughts at the time. Hopefully most of it makes sense.

Started Himachal Pradesh Tour.

Guide: Javed. Jeep, and driver: Narpat.

Canadians: Adam & Kristy

Drove to Narkanda where we did a 1 hour trek up to 3400m. Drove through Sutlej Valley, trecherous! Stayed the night in Sarahan (2600m) raining and Misty.

Rollercoaster roads, bumping weaving,staying right on the edge. Deep valleys, high peaks, landslides, and we drove along the side of the cliff for a few hours.

People still everywhere, side of the road, middle of a rockslide valley. People waiting for a bus or just cruising? Road workers, fruit pickers, farmers, or just cruisers?

Houses, shops, towns, gardens, all on the edge of cliffs. Some have even slipped off.

Drive up high before walking higher. First breaths of air at altitude almost suffocating.

Wet, cold, but far from miserable.


08/06/10

Started with walk around Sarahan. Drove to Sangla Valley. Did crazy trek to 4250m to see a pond. Returned in dark and rain, quite cold and wet. Stayed in Rakcham.

More rollercoaster roads this time covered in mud, grey thick slippery clay mud, Views more stunning, with snow topped peaks surrounding us. Pity for the clouds blocking their true majesty.

Javed is a mountain goat hiking machine that struggles with the concept of how long one minute actually is. New rule is to at least double times and distances with whatever Javed suggests.

Narpat is super concentration driver, negotiating trumultuous conditions, with some Aqua party hits to help concentrate.


Our hike in the rain: far too wet, a little too dark, and generally crazy...but such a good sense of achievement to hit the 4250m mark.


09/06/10

Spent morning in Rakcham acommo trying to dry out from previous days hike, toasting our shoes in fronting of the fire and hoping our only sweatshirts will hurry up and dry.

Drove to Chitkul (3450m) for two hour walk along river to army outpost that is the last one before the Tibet border, only 37km to Tibet, but over some steep Himalaya mountains. Rain started again on way back.

Simple pleasures: Feet soaking in a bucket of hot water, clothes drying by the heater. How do the locals manage with neither, I guess fire is their best friend. Glacial water sure must be cold, even a hot shower out of a bucket does not keep us warm for long.

Sure we will get closer to Tibet but still hard to imagine we were only 37km away, maybe we could go set the Tibetan people free. "First the guards will stop you, then they will capture you, and then they will shoot you if you try to run" said Javed at the checkpost. Chinas safefor another day. Only commandos in those mountains, patrolling the inner line.

Did we come to India to get cold and wet? Does it matter?


10/06/10


Better views of the mountains when we awoke after the second night in Rakcham. Drove to Reckong Peo to get inner line permits before heading to Kalpa. Balcony room with more spectacular views. Kinner Kalaish and the Shivling stone. Very cute town with Buddhist and Hindu temples that we did a short walk to.

Maybe the clouds and rain are following us, but in fact we are just lucky to have the clouds break to allow us views of such wonderful mountains.

A special place for Hinduism, Shivas winter resting place is in view. But many people are Buddhist? The two religions seem so intertwined in the region that even Javed answers "yes" when asked on seperate occaisions if the people are Hindu, or if they are Buddhist. Most certainly some of the most beautiful displays of both religions. Peaceful and respectful, but still with plenty of colour and pomp and ceremony.

Fields of green, weed growing wild.


Side of the road, in a paddock, next to the shop, in the temple.
Orchard valleys, snow covered peaks, crazy towns and temples. What to look at next?


11/06/10


Awoke in Kalpa to the best views we have had of Kinner Kalaish. A majestic 6200m mountain that includes in its peaks the Shivling stone. This is where the god Shiva came to rest and smoke during the winter and there are shivling stones based on this in temples throughout India. We went for a 2 and half hour walk along valley road, in the sun with tremendous mountain views and deep valleys.

When did science overtake religion as the best way to explin things? Has it even in many minds in many places in the world? Maybe the best story tellers ever have shaped the minds of the world through their "holy" writings, the Koran, the Bible, the Ramayana, etc. But are these writings just collections and adaptions of the same ideas? Most certainly. So how can people still believe in them now we have such good science. It seems quite obvious these were just early attempts to explain things and teach people morals.

I can see that shivling stone smoking. Eeiry grey clouds float around it like big puffs of smoke.

12/06/10

Leaving Kalpa and heading to Nako the roads just keep getting more and more hair-raising. Costantly on the side of cliff faces and rockslides. The view changed from the green pines and vegetation of the Kinnaur valley to the rocky mountainous slopes synonomous with the Spiti vally. Nako is a cute town and we stayed at Lakeview guesthouse, with views overlooking the sacred lake. We walked in jandals up a couple of hundred metres to a number of stupas overlooking the town. Almost 360 degree views of snow capped mountains at that height. With Nako about 3800m this was now our second time over 4000m, higher than mt Cook in NZ. Great Tibetan food in this town and the people are all very Tibetan looking in origin. (no electricity).

These places just get more surreal and more beautiful. "Do we ever have to go home" Tess says.


As we head more into the desert the number of people decrease, no orchards to sustain them here, not even so much work fo rthe road workers with no water to wash the road away. Each small village just has a river valley and a few fields of peas as they grow best in this area.


No electricity doesnt matter for a night but could quickly become annoying for multiple nights. Good old Javed for making a fire to heat the water for us to soak our feet in. This maybe why no electricity was no so bad also.


Tibetan people make the best Tibetan food.



13/06/10

Awoke in Nako with no electricity, but had a quick splash of water thanks to Javed's hot water. Great Tibetan breakfast before hitting the road to Tabo. More crazy and dangerous roads and a look at a 300 year old mummified lady. Tabo is nestled right down at river level in the Spiti valley. There are a lot of old caves where Buddhists came to pray and the centre of the town has a mud walled momestry that is over 1000 years old. Went for walk to caves then back around down the river with Javed.Narpat has such skinny arms for someone who steers our big jeep around such sharp corners with no power steering.

14/06/10

Tess went to Buddhist prayer ceeremony at Tabo monestry at 6.30am. A dim lit room with a row of monks muttering and chanting. Sitting crosslegged, getting pins and needles, the faces of the Buddhas staring out from the dark.


We all visited Tabo monastery to see three prayer rooms with their walls covered in Buddhist murals and statues of various reincarnations of Buddha and other deities.


Drove to Dhankar (3600m) Has a crazy monastery perched on top of a steep hill and the name means palace on the hill.
Went for hike to a lake about 4500m. Just the right amount of work for the lungs. After walk to the lake went to check out monastery on the hill. Another old one, close to 100 years with plenty of crazy murals. Would be great to be allowed to get photos of them.


Long wait (2 hours) as staff were new and first day of new menu. No electricity again.

Maybe Javeds heights are a little off but him and Adam are crazy after doing a fast trek up to touch the snow (500m) and on return Javed said they were like "mountain leopards".

Many of these roads seem very similar. Maybe if there were better roads, and cars, 100 years ago then there wouldn't be so many. Lucky that wasnt the case otherwise we wouldnt have so much cool shit to look at and these awesome little villages may no longer exist.

Living with no electricity hasnt been too hard (Javed has come through with hot water every morning) but jeez I am missing the football world cup.

15/06/10

A quick drive to Kaza (Spiti's biggest town with about 500 people). Then (as the Kunzum La Pass is closed due to snow and we are going to have to back track) we headed up to Kibber. At 4200m this was known as the highest town in the world with a road and electricity. There is now suposedly one higher in India and the highest is over the mountains in Tibet. Lunch here then up a few hundred metres to about 4500m.

On the way back to Kaza we stopped at Ki Monestry. Quite a big one with support from the US. Perched up on top of a hill, it can hold up to 300 monks and had about 150 when we were there. We had a good tour by the temple keeper in his "Michigan" sweatshirt and robes. Many rooms, one with a huge prayer wheel, the place where the Dalai Lama sleeps when he visits. the ahses of the thirs reincarnation of Recham Zango and tea with the Monk.


Dinner in old Kaza market and thena couple of whiskys with Javed back at the hotel without electricity.

16/06/10

A big day of back tracking. Went back two days to Tabo for breakfast. Eventually after over eight hours driving we were back in Kalpa. Tess finds the roads up over the hill past Nako as the most scary and the most exhilarating. As the landscape changes from the rocky desert of the Spiti valley and turns slowly back into the greener Kinnaur district, this is the area most prone for rock and land slides. We encounter one with the bulldozers clearing it, luckily. It only takes about 10mins for them to remove some huge rocks.

Super bumpy roads and Narpat is slightly faster, but still super safe.

A couple of whiskys with dinner and great news to hear NZ's draw in their first world cup game. Hoping tomorrows drive is not so long as we head into some new territory.

The roadworkers in these areas must have the most unrewarding jobs. As quickly as they clear the roads or make new roads, the weather comes and crashes it down. They all have their little patch where they work and most will work on that area of road for their entire lives. men, women and children, all working together. Doing everything from sweeping stones off, to breaking up huge rocks with small hammers, to laying tarseal and operating steam rollers. There are certainly many hard and dirty jobs in India but this is one you have to admire for the fortitude of the people who do it.

Averaging 30kph makes it hard to get anywhere fast.

Narpat is a legend and was happy to have a couple of whiskeysd after his solid concentration stint of driving.


17/06/10.

Another eight hours in the jeep. Some backtracking, heading down below 1000m, then into new territory in the Kullu district. Over the Jeori pass (3250m) and down again to stop in small village of Jibhi. A very green and lush valley, with fruit much riper than in other places and many different types of trees and plants. Watched the locals up a power pole rewiring for an hour or so, then we were super happy a couple of hours later when they finally restored the electricity. Great locally cooked food for dinner.

18/06/10

Went for a 15 minute walk to a beautiful local waterfall. The ferny undergrowth and native tree species reminding us a lot of New Zealand.

Then we hit the road for another full day in the jeep, the official last day of our tour, on our way to Manali. Lots of busiest traffic and head high pot plants lining the roads. Being Friday evening by the time we arrived, Manali was super Indian tourist busy and we were quite pleased Javed new a quiet place by the river. We went out for Pizza and Beer with all six of our tour party, and were more than happy to shout Narpat and Javed a bit of a diiferent sort of a dinner for their Indian Pallettes.


19/06/10

Adam decided to stay in Manalli, but Jared, Tessa and canadian Kristy have decided to go with Javed to see where he calls "paradise on earth", his home state of Kashmir. This meant we left Manali early for our last day with Narpat and the jeep. He drove us the 8 hours to Dharamshala (actually Mcleodgang, just up the hill), which is the home of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan governemnt in exile. Being the weekend the place was super crowded with tourists and luckily we finally got a room. After such a good experience with pizza and beer the previous night we ended up heading out and doing it again, just with the four of us this time, Jared, Tess, Kristy and Javed. We will be spending two nights in Mcleodgang to catch up with laundry and internet, then we will head off with Javed to Kashmir. We will be staying a few nights on houseboat, and doing some treking around. Then what we are looking forward to most is that we have been invited to stay at Javeds village and go to his sisters wedding, which is a huge event. We will hopefully have plenty more photos and updates after this all in about 10days time, as we again are not expecting a lot of internet access for a while.





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