A Week in Kashmir

We booked a trip to Kashmir at the last minute without really realizing the controversy that has been going on there. Turns out that it's been a hotbed of political unrest for the past 50 years or so. We found this out later that evening and began to question our decision to visit the region.

But we went. The airport was a full on military zone and we had to go through several security checks and fill out several forms to gain entry. Well Sean had to fill out several forms, I was just his +1. Turns out that women don't count for much there so I didn't have to fill out anything and none of the men would talk to me or really acknowledge my presence while Sean was around. If I was alone they would talk to me only grudgingly.

We went from the airport to a beautiful houseboat where we were to stay. The guy who ran the boat immediately tried to gouge us on tour prices (treks, boat rides, etc) so we said that we'd think about it. Turns out that it didn't matter though because we both immediately got sick and couldn't leave the boat. We think it was probably that nasty street in Delhi. Anyway, I got better and after a course of antibiotics, Sean got better too. It was a nice place to be sick too, clean, beautiful and we had an endless supply of tea. Unfortunately, we made a terrible discovery after all that flushing... it was going straight into the lake!

Our final day in Kashmir, we were well enough to ride around the lake on a boat and buy a Kashmir rug. The next morning we boarded a plane back to Delhi.

One thing--we met a guy from New Zealand who was also staying on our houseboat. He went on a four day three night trek in the Himalayas. On the last night one of his group's pony-horses was killed and eaten by a Snow Leopard!!!