Major detour

Hello, friends and family. I apologize for the longer-than-usual silence on the blog front. Not to worry, I am safe and sound and have just been out of internet range for a while. If all had gone as planned, I would be in Thailand right now, but as it happens, there was a last-minute change of plans and an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. Instead of catching my bus to Delhi, I ended up hopping in my friends’ car for a 12-hour road trip to a place that many call “Heaven on Earth,” the land of Kashmir. Before you freak out, Kashmir is nothing like you hear about in the news, at least not where I was anyway. There is definitely a military presence, but it didn’t feel any less safe than anywhere else in India. The stares were just as piercing, but the supply of chai was also just as abundant.

How to summarize a week of adventures? I’ll start by saying that it was absolutely freezing at night there and the most astonishing thing to me is that there is no central heating in any of the homes. This borders on insanity, in my opinion, but also makes Kashmiris a thousand times hardier than Mainers, probably. Folks more or less live in perrins, basically big ponchos, and carry congers, or fire pots, which are small hand-held wicker baskets that are lined and filled with hot embers of some extremely long-lasting wood. I’m not sure what temperature these burn at, but I had the unfortunate experience of knocking one over at my hosts’ house and burning a couple holes in their carpet liner. Other mishaps of the trip included losing one of my hiking shoes on the ride up, leaving me with just my Birkenstock sandals and wool socks. Very hippie, indeed, but thanks to the daytime sun these were sufficient. I also got a 24-hour flu, which nobody seemed to understand… I guess Kashmiris are also immune to the flu. Despite these relatively minor inconveniences, it was well worth the change of plans. I got to experience a Kashmiri wedding, see some beautiful gardens built by the Moghuls, meet so many warm and welcoming members of my friend’s family, eat some delicious food, and drive a car. That was an adventure, driving on the right side of the car on the left side of the road in a country where the rules of the road are fluid at best.

What is next? I’m not exactly sure. Thailand for sure, but I may continue my detour to the south of India, namely Goa, before leaving this country. I’ll try not to be out of touch for quite so long. As much as I enjoy having these adventures, I have to admit that I enjoy blogging about them almost as much. I hope everyone is well. Sending a big hug and kiss from India… still. :)


A group of Kashmiri kids take a break from their cricket game to pose for a picture.


In one of the Moghul gardens.


One of my friend's little cousins, sporting a perrin.