So to pick up from where I left of. we had just left Pakistan and entered India where before going to Amritsar we hung about the border to witness the bizarre border closing ceremony. This is performed on a daily basis and is attended by devotees from both sides of the border although I must say the Indians threw themselves into this with gusto. Around two or more hours before the ceremony people start arriving in their hubndreds, if not thousands, to get a spot in the grandstand specially built for this event.
The crowd on the Indian side waiting for the border ceremony
Flag Running
The crowd dancing at the border ceremony - looks fun!!
The ceremony itself is pretty strange too with posturing and all sorts taking place before the flags are lowered to last post. Unfortunately as the sun sets in the west picturesd of the actual ceremony were rubbish so I've included the lead up to give you some idea of what happened. After the border was officially closed and I couldn't go back to Pakistan (even had I wanted to) we drove into Amritsar where the Golden Temple beckoned. In addition to this well known Sikh temple we visited a less known Hindu temple of similar ilk. Not much else to say about Amritsar.
From Amritsar we drove to Dharamasala and then onto McLeodGanj which is the hill station where the Tibetan Government in exile is based. This is an interesting place in that its a little bit of Tibet in India. Situated in the foothills of the Himalayas McLeodGanj has over the last 60 years become a symbol for free Tibet and although wew saw Buddists debating there really isn't very much there but it is a popular base for people walking in and around the area.
McLeod Ganj
At this point in my journey I (and Grace) decided to divert from the itinerary - drive to and then three days in Delhi :( and travel north into Kashmir and visit Srinagar and the surrounding area before rejoining the truck in Agra. For those of you who wish to follow my journey and arrange a trip into Kashmir you need to go to McLeodGanj and find Tiffany's the jewellers buy your daughters some jewelery (if you haven't any daughters then this won't work) and speak with Ashiq who will arrange everything with his dad, Mr Shera. After being the Shera's guests for the evening we left for the gruelling 14 hour journey across the stunning Himalayan foothills to the Kashmir Valley and Srinagar.
Mr & Mrs Shera, Ashiq and Grace
The drive to Kashmir is across some prety awesome mountain roads and given the Indian driving technique (blow horn, flash lights and don't blink!) was a drive I won't forget in a hurry. The views across the Himalayan foothils and valleys is fantastic (there's that word again!) but it doesn't prepare you for the view when you pass through the Jahawar Tunnel (2.5Km of German engineering) and there laid out before you is the Kashmir Valley. Unfortunately it was late in the afternoon when we passed through the tunnel so the pictures don't do the scenery justice.
Kashmir Valley after passing through Jahawar Tunnel
Kashmir Valley on the way back from Aru
We finally arrived in Srinigar late in the evening and was taken to our houseboat which would be our home for the next 5 nights. The houseboat is situated on Dal Lake and there are around 1400 of these floating hotels. Mr Shera explained that his father was left the houseboat when its English owner died. Many of the houseboats have been on the lake for over a 150 years as at the time of the Raj foreigners were not allowed to own land in Kashmir, hence the houseboats. Srinigar is a vibrant place and has a number of formal gardens, Mosques and the lake amongst its many attractions and sights. We spent the first day of our visit looking around Srinigar itself.
Houseboat - Bedroom, Lounge and Dining Room
Mr & Mrs Shera with Sahid and family. (oh and Grace!)
Hazratbal Mosque
Houseboats on Dal lake at Sunset(ish)
Mughal Gardens
The second day saw us dreive out to a place called Sonnamarg (pronounced Sonnamarig) where Grace pony trekked and I walked (the pony and I didn't get along - surprise that!) to the ?? glacier. Although it was cloudy the scenery was still stunning.
Sonnamarg
On the walk back to the car I took a bit of a diversion and given I was walking in Mr Shera's old trainers (boots in the truck and crocs definitiely less than ideal) was unsurprised when I slipped and twisted my knee which resulted in my going base over apex for my obligatory fall down a mountain. I used my head and came to a stop to find a couple of nomad children giving me the eye (prizes for best caption).
Nomad kids - I think the look says it all!
The following couple of days saw us travel to Yousamarg and Aru where we saw yet more stunning scenery and ate freshly caught brown trout!.
Aru
Sahid and Mr Shera fishing for our supper (Sahid caught all the fish!)
We left Srinagar and flew into Delhi where because the flight was delayed we organised for a car to drive us to Agra. The climate in Kashmir was ideal, not to hot but sunny in the valleys and cloudy in the mountains what a shock when we got to Delhi (46 and hot hot hot!).
Kashmir from the air
Rajastan from the air (spot the difference!)
Rejoined our travelling companions and waxed lyrical about Kashmir. Saw the Taj Mahal but didn't go in since the Indians pay 20 rupees but foreigners pay 750! Anyway I don't suppose its changed since I was last in Agra with my Bro 19 years ago (I didn't rate it then, preferring the baby Taj).
The Baby Taj
The Taj Mahal
From Agra drove to Varanasi and I have nothing to say about this. From Varanasi we had a huge travel day crossing from India into Nepal where both climate and scenery changed for the better (I really do like Nepal!).
Spent a day in Chitwan chilling (well sweating a bit it was humid!) and then arrived in Pokhara where most people organised some trekking or other activity since at this stage in our journey we have a two week break before moving on into China. I came to Pokhara with my brother Simon in December 1991 and I decided to do the same trek as we did then. Things have changed though. Pokhara has grown since our last visit and is now a major tourist town. Also a road is being built from Pokhara to Jomsom and through the Annapurna region and as a result the route of the trek now seems to follow the road in places. As this is Monsoon season the weather is not the best for seeing the mountains as they seem to be covered in cloud most of the time but still managed to get a couple of clear mornings where Machhapuchhre could be seen.
Machhapuchhre from Pokhara
Annapurna South to the left of Machhapuchhre with a bit of Annapurna III to the right as seen from Pokhara
Pokhara from Sandakot
Left for the trek after a couple if chilling days in Pokhara and unfortunately didn't get very far. They say pride comes before a fall and that proud and foolish people are both cut from the same cloth. After twisting my knee in Kashmir I should have known that I couldn't cope with the rough terrain but as the knee felt fine and I really wanted to do the trek I didn't do the sensible thing and stay behind.
We left Nayarpul and started trekking to our overnight stay in Tikhedhunga. Just after passing through Birethanti we joined a section of what is going to be the new road and came across a landslide which we needed to negotiate and as you guessed twisted my knee! Anyway I didn't think it was too bad and carried on limping a little now until we reached some steps (oh how I hate steps!!) where just to make sure I slipped coming down and twisted the bloody knee again!
Things were looking bad now but I remembered that when we last did the trek some of the locals hired out ponies and so I decided to seek out a pony and continue the trek to Tatopani by pony. My guide, Sal, said that once I got to Tatopani if I still couldn't walk we could hire a taxi and go either to Jomsom or back to Pkhara. I continued on to a place called Rhamghai (just shy of Hile) where I managed to get a pony and arrived at Tikhedhunga by 7pm (taking 7 hours or so to do what shoujld have taken 3.5).
My knee at this stage was thoroughly bolloxed and I couldn't walk even if I wanted to but hey no problem I had my trusty steed Sete to carry me onwards and upwards. At this stage Grace decided she really didn't like trekking and wanted to go back rather than face the 3,300 steps leading up to Uleri, braving the leeches in the Rhodedendron forest and then face the couple of thousand steps down to Tatopani. As a gentleman I couldn't let her go back alone and so I decided to abandon the trek too (Sete was relieved as I'm not sure he was happy about the steps or leeches too!).
Me on Sete
Sete my trusty steed
We arrived back in Pokhara and spent the days before having to return to Kathmandu chilling and taking it easy. I visited the Seeing Hands massage, which is a UK sponsored project to training blind people in massage, three times where they gave my knee a seeing to. There was a little improvement but the head guy said I've damaged the joint and so while they could alleviate the muscle and tendon issues I'd need to see someone when I get home (Guess I knew that as this has been on the cards for some time!).
Should arrive in Kathmandu a few days before we meet up with everyone and resuming our trip moving on to Tibet and China where we spend six weeks. As I use Google I suspect I'll be out of contact for all this time so will be back in touch as soon as I can.
For those who would like to know where we went day by day I then this link is especially for you http://www.mattgivertz.com/trips/big_trip_2010/Cal0001.html There are a few gaps early on but we were in Turkey and I'm sure you can work it out from the blog.
Jomsom Aside
Part of me is relieved that I didn't retrace the ground Simon and I covered in 1991. While waiting for the pony Sal (our guide) and I got talking about the road that is being built and it would seem that the project is in its last stages with much of the Annapurna region now accessible by road. In fact I found out that you can drive fromm Pokhara to Jomsom using a 4x4 in a day and whilst the first part doesn't follow the Jomsom trek route from Tatopani onwards it does which means trekkers are walking on an unmade road but a road never the less.
It also seems that Jomsom, which I remember as a small village with an air strip is now more like Pokhara with ATMs, Hotels rather than tea houses and shops galore selling all sorts of stuff from souvenirs to trekking equipment.
At present the road stops at Muktinath but there are plans to build a section through the Thorung La Pass which will essentially complete the circuit. Also the lower half of the Jomsom trek is being developed and you can currently get by taxi to Birethanti and once the bridge that is being built over the river and the section to Tatopani is complete the trek as I remember it will be all but dead!
I asked Sal how the locals felt about this and it would seem that the majority of locals are in favour of the road despite the fact that it will result in massive upheaval in the small villages on the trekking route. I'm not sure what the impact on Nepal as a trekking paradise will be given that only the Everest region will give you the trekking experience we enjoyed in the past. Also the face of tourism in the Annapurna region will change although I'm not sure for the better. If you want to experience trekking as it was then I'd suggest you do the Poon hill or Annapurna Snacturary treks as at the moment they are as they were and will only remain unspoilt for the next few years.
Truck News
Jake and one of the Chris' have completed their trip to Kathmandu and have now left the truck leaving us two seats which will be taken up by our Chinese guides so no improvement in the comfort stakes there then :(.
Young John has decided to leave the trip in Kathmandu too as he has a problem with flying and it seems he can't leave in Beijing as we are all on a group visa so he would need to wait some time (not sure how long) before he could re-enter China and come home via the Trans-Siberian railway. He has investigated getting himself sedated and flying back from Singapore but it seems this isn't an option for safety reasons (think about it!)
Jake, Nancy, Christine, Chris and Meg have all had birthdays and are now all a year older though not necessarily wiser!
Inspirational Update
As you will remember Norrie has inspired me to collect photos of bins which I have been doing as and when. I now have a collection of 26 bins from Hungary to Nepal. I struggled to find a bin in Nepal and from my observations I can definitively say that;
Upto, and including, Iran most countries have a selection of bins which are for the most part used and as a result most places were reasonably rubbish free. Pakistan is filthy as they have no bins and just seem to chuck rubbish out wherever. India has bins they just don't seem to use them so it too is filthy although Kashmiris do use the bins and as a result Kashmir (unlike the rest of India) is mostly clear of rubbish. Nepal, on the other hand, doesn't seem to need bins as the place (or what I have seen so far) is spotless and so there is little need for bins as somehow no one seems to chuck rubboish around and if they do it seems to disappear as if by magic as I haven't seen anyone going around tidying up.
I am still unsure what this means but I will continue to collect bin photos and updating you on my thoughts regarding rubbish and how it relates to the country and what we see. Will need to give this some deep thought as clearly there is more to bins that initially meets the eye.
For those really really really sad people you can see the bins collected thus far by following this link http://www.mattgivertz.com/trips/big_trip_2010/bins
