East Of The Sun, South Of The Sky

Last I wrote I was in Leh. Catherine and I waited for Lina to summit her mountain (She was successful. Weew!) and the three of us, and three Japanese from our guest house took a shared taxi to Pangong Lake. An eight hour journey that once again took me up to 5,000 meters. I was so convinced I wouldn't get that high again after Annapurna, but now two buses took me there. So up and down and left and right we wound our way to Tibet. And finally we reached Pangong Lake. I understood why everyone said it was one of the most beautiful places they have been. A serenely silent 145 kilometer glass sheet of lake who shares shores with Tibet and India. We spent the night at the lake and swam in it's high altitude freezing waters. And spent every non-sleeping hour on the shore. On Langtang in Nepal, I tried to put a foot into Tibet and failed. But this time I managed to swim in Tibet. The sunrise, sunset, and day hours at the lake proved to be the most beautiful and calming soft lakes I've ever seen. We returned to Leh the way we'd come, spent one final day on the roofs of the desert city, and moved on towards Kashmir and the border of Pakistan. To break up the journey we stopped for a day in Lamayuru, hearing that it looked like Star Wars I couldn't resist. And again, the hype people gave it lived up. And ancient quiet Buddhist monastery sat on the edge of a cliff of caves like Tatooine. Inside the monastery was the most beautiful gompa I've seen, and maybe the most beautiful room I've entered. Yellow and green and blue and red lamp shades that look as if they were made from ties hung from the sun roof, and all around hidden objects wrapped in orange robes filled the walls. And kind of place that makes you want to sit inside and breath the old woody air all day. Another bus, another bumpy night, an we woke up to find rain, new faces, new language, and Kasmir. Having heared about how dangerous Kashmir is, and how Pakistan and India are fighting over Kashmir, arriving in Srinagar we didn't know what to expect. We checked the travel warnings, an no bombs or guns had gone on, so we were safe and clear to enter. And when we arrived, it seemed a vastly different place that I had in my head. I expected Srinagar to have look like Leh, desert and flat roofed, but instead we found a green forested place with wooden houses and several lakes. The sounds here were of Muslim Mosques projecting their chants, and the language Kashmiri closer to Urdu from Pakistan. And very quickly we discovered how unendingly kind and helpful the Kashmiri people are. It's strange how the most war torn, mistreated, and dangerous (according to news from home) places house the most kind people. Myanmar (Burma), and Kashmir have and overwhelming amount of kind and helpful cheery people, despite their crazy political standing.
There's a few lakes in Shrinagar where you can stay. We had met a couple in Lamayuru who told us that Dal lake was no good, and to stay on Nageen lake, an so like anyone who dislikes Lonely Planet, took their advice against the books, and it proved wonderful. We arrived by Tuk-Tuk and tried go find the house boat recommended to us. In Shrinigar, is a popular thing to sleep on a house boat on one of the lakes, and there's 14,000 house boats in all, whoa. So we found the smallest, neglected little house boat no one wanted and took it, pirate style arriving by Shikara (Kashmiri Canoe). And whoa was it crazy. I really felt like and Imperialist. Having a whole house boat to ourselves with two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, dinning room and all, even though it was only $8, we felt as if it was $1,000,000. And the best part of it was (and maybe the best part of my whole life) was that it came with our own Shikara!!! Wee!! With our own small boat we could paddle around whenever, and where ever we wanted. The most fun you can ever have. So that's how we filled our days. Laying on the deck of the house boat shewing away Shikara born Jewlwery, Safron, and Silk vendors like any snobby imperialist would, and paddling our own pirate Shikara around and around. Nageen lake is considerably smaller than Dal Lake, and theres only one restaurant in the whole area. Mac's place. Situated on a tiny island at one end of the lake, the island restaurant was a crazy exciting mission to go to get food. An having to paddle from home to all the places, it felt like water world, or being a pirate, or both. Our last day we stocked our ship with map, compass, spy glass, and instruments, and set sail for a two hour paddle to Dal Lake to check it out. Through Kashmiri city canals, bridges, sewage and green, we reach the busy full cluster of Dal Lake. With its floating fruit markets, chai boats, and Shikars, it was the perfect place for pirates to plunder. We paddled and explored and ate floating fruit, and began our journey back to Nageen home the round way. And on the way back we literally encountered a real pirate. A single old woman docked her boat to ours, and was saying "Baskshisha! Backshisha!" something we didn't understand, an then grabbed our water melon! But being pirates ourselves I boarded her ship and grabbed her Cucumber to hold for ransom, after some thefts and regular pirating, we won our glorious watermelon back and sailed on leaving the sweet old lady pirate in our wake. It was a mild tragedy to leave Srinagar and Kashmir behind. The short time I spent there was some of the best of my whole trip, but it's a place to return to. Then it was a second sad goodbye to Lina who had to fly back to Europe, and Catherine and I took 23 hours of bus and train to Amritsar, to see the golden temple. I now have a new found fascination with Sikhism. The golden temple is the Sikhs main holy place. A huge complex with no shoes allowed and foot baths at every entrance. Inside the outer walls was a white godly land surrounding a still pool, again surrounding a literally golden temple. Barefoot turbaned (everyone had to cove their heads to enter) Indians walked around the pool. Tabla playing India singers filled the place and gave a dream like ambiance. But for me, beyond the kindness shown there, and the movie-like quality of the atmosphere, the most moving and highlight aspect of the golden temple, was that they feed 80,000(!) people every day. That was really no type-o 80,000 people everyday for free, at no cost. I had breakfast/lunch there and it was the best most fun meal I've had. You file in with 100s of others, and are given a plate, spoon, and cup, and enter a huge hall where 100s of 100s sit on the floor, and around comes men with Dal, Rice, Curry, Chapati and Water, and fills your plate till your done, you get up and take to plate to the washroom, while the next several hundred stomachs enter. I peeked in the kitchen to see the coolest sight. They had pots of rice you could sit 10 men inside, and bowls of Dal for 80,000. This hugest kitchen utilities I've seen. The washroom was just as impressive as the cookroom. 100s of people clanging and washing an ringing dishes gave a clash of rings throughout the place. And again even cooler, is the whole thing is run by volunteers. Seems like Burning Man. :) I wish I could have stayed more then a day in the house of Sikhs. Another sad goodbye as Catherine and I went our separate ways, her to Dharmasala, and me to Delhi. Trying to get to Varanasi from Amritsar proved difficult, and I ended up having to spend an unexpected night and day in Delhi. (Something I had hoped to avoid) But this turned out, like the world always seems to do, perfect. And I ran into ol' David!! My good friend I met on Annapurna in Nepal a few months before. Whoa! So I got to see him again and spend the day eating ice-cream in Delhi, what a nice nice surprise! I then left for Varanasi, phew this has been a lot o places to wrote about. Anyway I decided to take a train to Varanasi just for a day and a half to buy a Harmonium. An Indian instrument similar to an accordion. I had wanted one my whole trip, and even through it's 12 hours to Varanasi from Delhi, it costs $6 for a train, and the price of a harmonium is twice the price as in Delhi as in Varanasi, so it was astronomically cheaper to take the train to buy one. And my crazy train, day for buying instruments proved very successful! Whoa. So now I'm in Delhi again, and will be flying home in the early morning. This is crazy. And sad. And exciting. I feel like writing a proper closure post on the blog to wrap everything up, but this has already been so much to write now, so I'll do it from the plane. It's not goodbye to you quiet yet, but for India, it's farewell for now, and see you soon.
Full closure post coming soon, stay tuned.
Noah