Not sleeping before catching my 6:30am flight from Bangkok, Thailand to New Delhi, India enabled me to accomplish something I rarely do on flights... sleep. Although I slept, I still woke up feeling the effects of a night out dancing... no problem, I would soon be meeting up with my girlfriend, Janet, who was joining me in Delhi for some travel adventures together. Customs was fairly fast in the airport, but I had to wait an interminable amount of time for my bag to make it to the baggage carousel. With money changed and all my belongings accounted for, I exited the international area where Janet was waiting for me. We consulted our guide book (a.k.a. "The Bible") and decided to head for some cheap accommodations in the Paharganj district via taxi... hello India!
Now the traffic in many Southeast Asian cities was, to my mind, chaotic, but the traffic in India is down right psychotic. Pedestrians, cars, scooters, bicycles, rickshaws, cows, horse-drawn carts, and dogs all vied for the use of the same commuter space. Lanes are completely non-existent and people move in whatever direction they want on whatever portion of the road they wish... although technically they have a left-hand driving rule. Janet was more than a little perturbed at the melee of moving people and machines while our driver expertly navigated along with sometimes less than an inch between our car and other commuters. Once we arrived at the hostel we had scoped out, it turned out to be full... at least in the price range we were looking at... so we shouldered our packs and began wandering around the bazaars of Paharganj.
First off we checked out a temple to Hanuman, the monkey-faced god said to be an incarnation of Shiva. The temple itself was a gigantic, multi-coloured likeness of the god himself... a man wıth a monkey`s face. Hanuman is a Hindu deity who is an ardent devotee of Rama, the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu, and a central character in the Indian Epic Ramayan. A general among the vanaras, Hanuman is a disciple of Lord Rama in the war against the demon king Ravan. Known by many other names, Hanuman's exploits are much celebrated in a variety of religious and cultural traditions, particularly in Hinduism, to the extent that he is often the object of worship according to some bhakti traditions, and is the prime deity in many temples known as Hanuman Mandirs.
Next on our whirlwind tour of New Delhi was Ghandi`s memorial. Commonly known as Mahatma Ghandi, he lived from 1869-1948 when he was assassinated in a shooting, presumably for his role in the development of non-violent civil disobedience while protesting England's continued occupation of India. He is credited with the eventual success of India's independence. His memorial was constantly filled with admirers from every nationalıty and walk of life. Next up we got a drive-by of the Red Fort before heading to a local Hindu temple where talks were being given by a local guru.
Our second day in India began with a trip to the local Turkish Embassy so that Janet (who was holding a Chinese passport) could apply for a travel visa to enter Turkey with me in a month. With the application materials in, we continued to see a few more sights around the Delhi area before preparing for the bus journey northward to the Himalayas in the Kashmir region. First off was India Gate... India Gate is a national monument of India originally known as the All India War Memorial. It was built in 1931 and commemorates the 90,000 soldiers of the Indian Army who lost their lives while fighting for the Indian Empire, or more correctly the British Raj, in World War I and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. Next stop for the day was Humayun's Tomb. The massive structure is the final resting place of the Mughal Emperor Humayun. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's wife Hamida Banu Begum in 1562 and completed ın 1572 at which time his remains were moved there. It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian Subcontinent.
Our final stop before calling it a day was the Lotus Temple called so because of it's shape which resembles a Lotus flower. The Lotus Temple is the Bahá'í House of Worship which was completed in 1986 and serves as the Bahá'í Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent. The Bahá'í faith is a monotheistıc religion founded in 19th century Persia and emphasizes the spiritual unity of all humankind. The temple, like all Bahá'í temples, has nine sides reflecting the importance of the number nine to the Bahá'í. A simple nine-pointed star is generally used by Baha’is as a symbol of their Faith. The number nine has special significance in the Baha’i Revelation. The word “Baha” (Arabic for “Glory”) corresponds to the number nine in the Arabic system of numerology, known as the Abjad system. Nine years after the announcement of the Bab in Shiraz, Baha’u’llah received the intimation of His mission in the dungeon in Tehran. Nine, as the highest single-digit number, symbolizes comprehensiveness and culmination. As the Baha’i Faith claims to be the fulfillment of the expectations of all prior religions, this symbol, as used, for example, in nine-sided Baha’i Houses of Worship, reflects that sense of fulfillment and culmination.
One more night in our Delhi hotel and we were itching to get a start on our journey around India. The tour operator told us that we could expect our bus ride from Delhi to Srinagar in the Kashmir region of Northern India to take up to 17 hours. We were still learning about Indian understatement at this point. The average speed of vehicle traffic in most parts of India is about 30 kph. We now know this because the 900 or so kilometres took us about 30 hours to complete. Lucky for us we had a relatively comfy double sleeper booth on the bus. Comfy or not, nothing quite prepares you for laying down having a conversation with someone when you hit a bump in the road and both of you lift about 30cm vertically while still in a horizontal position... it makes for quite the visual.
About 27 hours into the bus journey we approached the regional boundary into Jammu/Kashmir. One of the bus attendants let us know in poor English that as foreigners we would have to disembark the bus and present identification before being permitted into the Kashmir region. No problem thought I... we passed some armed military personnel and entered a tiny mud brick booth where we were asked for our passports and visas. I presented mine and Janet presented the photocopy of her passport we had made when leaving the original with the Turkish embassy in Delhi. Unfortunately, we neglected to photocopy her Indian visa... small problem, as we would not be permitted into the region without the document. With a certain degree of dismay we began trying to negotiate a compromise with the guard. We made a few telephone calls to our agent back in Delhi who had promised to pick up Janet's passport the next day (in fact the day we were now in the middle of). This process took more than a few minutes and the locals on our bus were starting to get a bit antsy. Just as I had accepted the fact that we were going to be hanging out at a remote mountain highway guard post for an unknown period of time, we received a phone call... the fellow meeting us in Srinagar had vouched for us with the local magistrate promising that we would show up at the city offices with legitimate papers just as soon as they arrived... phew!
As it turns out there was a reason for the foreigner paperwork in this region of India. The area has been a disputed territory for centuries between various empires and warlords. In the last 50 years no less than three countries have laid claim to the Kashmir valley including India, Pakistan, and China. Even our guidebook maps depict the current uncertainty of the political divisions in the region with sketchy dotted lines outlining contested boundaries. For the time being it falls under Indian administration, although the predominantly Muslim population continues to possess ideas of Kashmir independence. As recently as June 2010 the city of Srinagar was under marshal law after the shooting of some juvenile stone-throwers. The political tensions mostly keep under the radar with the social controls of the reigning Muslim religious bodies, but one cannot ignore the armed military personnel stationed throughout the area.
As we got off the bus in Srinagar we were delighted to be met promptly by our pick-up who got us onto our houseboat on Dal Lake in no time at all. Staying on a house boat was a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of city life which gave us a chance to unwind a bit from the craziness of New Delhi. To our relief our hosts informed us that Janet's passport would arrive by express mail within a day or two so we could relax. We decided to do a little trekking in the Himalayan foothills. I call them foothills, but at 4,000 - 5,000 metres they are only foothills in comparison to the colossal 8,000+ metre peaks of the Nepali Himalayas. We were assigned a cook and a jeep and headed up one of the valley's going northeast out of Srinagar. After some winding roads through progressively more primitive Muslim villages, we arrived in the winter village of some semi-nomadic Muslim herders. The winter village is called Naranag after the 1,200 - 2,000 year old Hindu temple ruins near the edge of the village.
Since we arrived in the afternoon there was no time to do any trekking right away, so we enjoyed the hospitality of the local family whose place we were staying in. These people most definitely live a tough life by even the poorest standards back in Canada. The houses at over 3,000 metres elevation were not insulated, electricity was something that happened sporadically between the hours of 8pm and 10:30pm, heating happened only in the room with the wood-burning stove or where you were cooking, and hot water was something you made over a fire. Nevertheless, the people were healthy, living in a supportive community, and seemed generally happy tending to their flocks, crops, and crafts. We marveled at the rusticness of life in Naranag while our cook prepared an authentic north Indian dinner for us before we called it an early night and snuggled into several layers of clothing, sleeping bags, and blankets.
In the morning we were permitted to sleep in and have a late breakfast. Around 11am the skies which were blue at 6am had clouded over somewhat, but we were determined to head up the valley as far as our guide would take us that day. We bundled up and put on some local tunics, Janet got a pony to ride on, and we headed out. As we approached the edge of the village we were greeted by the 8th century ruins of the Naranag Hindu temples originally consecrated to the Lord Shiva. After wandering through the first set of ruins and watching some village children play cricket in the second set of ruins, we continued to a forest service station where we took cover from a brief rain shower. Mountain weather can change rapidly and without warning... thank goodness the change we experienced was from showers to sunshine. We then continued up the valley past a few recent snow avalanches that had crossed the entire valley covering a few of the herders' late-spring huts. After a few hours of easy trail walking our guide informed us that at this time of year we could not safely continue any further. So we sat by the river and ate a modest lunch while a troop of mountain monkeys passed us by and checked out what we were up to. By the time we got back to the village the chill of the evening was settling in and we were glad to play cards around the wood-stove for awhile before calling it another early night.
In the morning we were told to take it easy again, so we did, and didn't begin our second hike until the early afternoon. This hike was a little more arduous as it followed a stream up a steep valley to the snow pack at just above 4,000 metres. A good sweat later we were rewarded with a beautiful view of some of the slightly higher reaches of the Himalayas, although a proper Himalaya trip remains in my future and definitely later in the summer season. Back in the village we had a late snack before piling our gear back into the jeep to head back to the houseboat in Srinagar on Dal Lake. Once at the lake we decided to take it easy again and enjoy the hospitality of the family we were staying with. Another early night for us as the next day was scheduled to be jam packed with passport and sight-seeing action.
In the morning we got going as early as the chilly weather (and lazy travelers) permitted. We first made a visit to the Srinagar government offices to sort out our Kashmir entry issues before beginning a brief tour of some of Srinagar's highlights. First off was the Shankaracharya Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and overlooking Srinagar and Dal Lake. This Hindu temple is believed to have been built around 200 B.C.E. although some claim it was built around 2500 B.C.E. It's latest facade is thought to date to about the 9th century C.E. except for the roof which was repaired in the 18th century. The temple is also considered sacred by Buddhists who call it Pas-Pahar.
Our next stop for the day was at the Mughal Garden of Nishat Bagh. Located on the bank of the Dal Lake, with the Zabarwan Mountains as its backdrop, Nishat Bagh is a garden of bliss that commands a magnificent view of the lake beneath the snow capped Pir Panjal mountain range that stands to the west of the valley. The Bagh was designed and built in 1633 by Asif Khan and it is the second largest Mughal garden in the Kashmir Valley. It's name is a Hindustani word, which means "Garden of Joy," "Garden of Gladness" and "Garden of Delight."
The pictures of the garden I've shared with you all here are ripped from the net, as while we were there it was undergoing some maintenance and restoration work. Still a pretty amazing place though. Next up was a brief lunch on Dal Lake where we tried out first Thali meal. "Thall" means "plate" and the meal is typically served on a steel military style tray with various compartments and sections containing a variety of traditional Indian vegetarian foods. Oh yes... did I mention that India contains the largest concentration of vegetarians in the world? Hindus don't eat beef as cows are considered sacred... the reasons are varied and not universally agreed upon. Some locals told us it was because the cow was a form in which the Lord Shiva appeared on earth at one time. Others told us that Hindus have three mothers... the first is their birth mother who grew them in her womb, the second is the cow who nourishes young humans with its milk, and the third are the rivers which nourish the land and enable food to be grown. There are other variations of the three mothers in Hinduism... this is just the one which includes cows. There are many other other interpretations of the sacredness of cows in Hinduism. Muslims don't eat pork (no bacon in India - ARGH!) and many Buddhists and Jains are vegetarian as well.
After our lunch we headed for a rug making co-op where Kashmir carpets were hand made. They gave us a tour of the rug making process and then spent a good deal of time and effort trying to sell us one of their hand made rugs (various sizes ranged in price from $100-$2000 CDN). Some of these rugs take up to 2 months to make as each knot is hand tied. Given the amount of time it takes to make one such rug, the prices seemed fairly reasonable... although I later found out that the average Indian makes about 50,000 rupees a month... or less. That's just under $1,000 CDN. Not much... I know, but average Cambodians make less than $100 US per month and average Thais make less than $500 US in a month. After repeatedly, politely declining the purchase of a rug, we were carted off to a jeweler who mined sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and diamonds in the Himalayas. The prices he was asking for some ridiculously awesome stones were too good to be true for us to venture some money without knowing something about judging gem stones. Although, if I ever learn how to assess gem stones, I will definitely come back to Kashmir to make a stunning profit if what they were showing us was real. Once again we talked our way out of the place... Indians are VERY persistent when it comes to selling just about anything and bargaining must be done ALL THE TIME FOR EVERYTHING. Typically, Indians will ask 5-10 times the actual value of something to any foreigner. This got a tad bit tedious and annoying after a month. Anyhow, we headed back to the house boat and packed our bags so we could be ready for our early morning group-jeep back south to Jammu.
As we learned... well... experienced on the way to Srinagar... we didn't quite learn until after this second road journey... Indian travel time predictions by road are unimaginably understated. We were told that it would take us about 5 hours to get from Srinagar to Jammu. Try 10 hours. Sheesh. Once in Jammu we were frothing for some meat... western style. So I found a pizza place in our guidebook... it even had a map of the city with the restaurant on it. We hopped into a tuk-tuk... showed him the map and began drooling for the expectation of meat. Now... based on the guidebook the place we were trying to get to was about 2 kms from where we were... how hard could it be to get there? Well... I had experienced map reading skills in other countries and I guess I'm just an optimist because for some reason I still thought more people were map-savvy... I was WRONG. The tuk-tuk driver drove us around for a few minutes before stopping at a hotel and asking one of the employees for directions. Back on the road for another 2 minutes before we stop AGAIN for the guy to ask more directions. The whole time he was grabbing our map and showing it to whoever would look at it. The first time I was like, OK so he's a Hindu that doesn't know where a pizza place is... not too surprising... by the FIFTH time he stopped to ask for directions I was losing my patience... I mean come on... he's a tuk-tuk driver... it's his JOB to know where places are. That and I was beginning to experience the 3rd or 4th stage of being hangry (this means hungry-angry... when I get hungry... I mean REALLY hungry... I get agitated easily). So I look over at Janet who, at this point, is just shaking her head in dismay, and basically throw our bags out of the tuk-tuk and walk away. We didn't pay the poor fellow for his troubles... but hey, he didn't get us to where we wanted to pay to go. Business is business. So we wandered around random streets in Jammu until we found a place that served pizza... vegetarian pizza... grrrrrrr. On our tuk-tuk ride to the train station later we actually passed the place we were originally trying to go... it was like around the corner from where we ditched the first tuk-tuk and we had actually driven around it. Once at the train station it was my turn for a shock as this was the first Indian train station I had ever been in. More chaos... time for a nap on the train to Amritsar.
On the train to Amritsar we met a really nice Indian guy who wanted to share the entire contents of his travel snacks with us. This included some curried chicken, veggies, and... very surreptitiously... whiskey. Although alcohol is not illegal in India it is extremely hard to find in most places, and locals drink it out of the sight of other locals. We arrived in Amritsar in somewhat better spirits at like 2am and thank goodness our pick-up was waiting for us outside the train station. We got to our hotel and praised the fact that we had hot water and a proper stand up shower.
In the morning we had our breakfast and hailed a tuk-tuk to take us to the Golden Temple. Amritsar is the home of Sikhism and Sikhs' most important and holy temple... the Golden Temple. I had read that the temple had a kitchen which served up to 60,000 free meals a day, so we timed our visit to correspond with lunch. The Harmandir Sahi also referred to as the Golden Temple, is a prominent Sikh gurdwara. Construction of the gurdwara was begun by Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh Guru, and completed by his successor, Guru Arjan Dev. In 1604, Guru Arjan Dev completed the Adi Grant, the holy scripture of Sikhism, and installed it in the gurdwara. In 1634, Guru Hargobind left Amritsar for the Shivalik Hills and for the remainder of the seventeenth century the city and gurdwara was in the hands of forces hostile to the Sikh Gurus. During the eighteenth century, the Harmandir Sahib was the site of frequent fighting between the Sikhs on one side and either Mughal or Afghan forces on the other side and the gurdwara occasionally suffered damage. In the early nineteenth century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh secured the Punjab region from outside attack and covered the upper floors of the gurdwara with gold, which gives it its distinctive appearance and English name of "Golden Temple". The present day Golden Temple was rebuilt in 1764 by Maharaja Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (1718–1783) with the help of other Misl Sikh chieftains. Between 1802–1830 Ranjit Singh did thesewa of adding gold plating and marble to the gurdwara, while the interior was decorated with fresco work and glittering gemstones.
Lunch in the Golden Temple cafeteria was beyond chaotic. As we entered the area there must have been a few hundred people almost falling over one another to snag a Thali tray and elbow their way into the main dining hall. Once inside we had to literally climb over people (as everyone was sitting on the ground to eat) in order to find a place to settle down and await one of the many people wandering around with big pots of various Indian foods. They were more than happy to serve up as much food as you could eat and it was all very tasty... although, all vegetarian. After our meal we wandered around the temple area for awhile before heading off to rest for a bit and get some internet done. To get to the internet cafe we hailed a cycle-rickshaw who convinced us to let him show us a bit more of Amritsar once we done our online time.
Our last sight to see before calling it an early night in preparation for our next train journey was the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama. This famous Sikh emperor is known for his successes in capturing and uniting the Punjab, Kashmir, and Jammu regions of India, repelling the Afghans, and ending more than a thousand years of Muslim rule. His empire was governed as a secular one and he promoted tolerance for all beliefs and religions. The Panorama is a homage to his life containing dioramas of some key points as well as a massive 360 degree room showing the biggest highlights of his rule. With tired legs, sweaty bodies, and hunger pains gnawing at our insides, we opted to splurge on a meat dinner before packing our bags and calling it a night. Our next stop... the yoga and meditation town of Rishikesh just north of the holy city of Haridwar.
India has some of the richest cultural history of all the regions in the world. The earliest human remains found here date back to 30,000 years ago and 4 of the world's major religions originated here: Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism. With a population exceeding 1.2 billion people it is the second most populated country in the world with the 7th largest landmass. During its long history, India has influenced nearly all of greater Asia in some form or another culturally, religiously, or economically. There is simply too much to delve into about India as it is a huge place with a complex past and present... so I'll just zoom in on the places I visit as I go... beginning with Delhi. The area where Delhi sits has been inhabited continuously since around 2,000 B.C.E. and it is thought to be the sight of the legendary city Indrapraatha capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic the Mahabharata. The greater New Delhi metropolitan area has a population of about 14 million people with an average population density of about 6,000 people per square kilometre. To put this ın perspective for those of you out there familiar with Victoria B.C., the greater Victoria area has a population of about 345,000 wıth a population density of about 500 people per square kilometre. In Delhi there are people EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME. A little disconcerting for a wilderness nut like myself.
Now the traffic in many Southeast Asian cities was, to my mind, chaotic, but the traffic in India is down right psychotic. Pedestrians, cars, scooters, bicycles, rickshaws, cows, horse-drawn carts, and dogs all vied for the use of the same commuter space. Lanes are completely non-existent and people move in whatever direction they want on whatever portion of the road they wish... although technically they have a left-hand driving rule. Janet was more than a little perturbed at the melee of moving people and machines while our driver expertly navigated along with sometimes less than an inch between our car and other commuters. Once we arrived at the hostel we had scoped out, it turned out to be full... at least in the price range we were looking at... so we shouldered our packs and began wandering around the bazaars of Paharganj.
After a while of searching for some other hostels in the area noted in our guidebook, we decided to ask a local. Turns out I hadn't read the fine print on traveling in India. Apparently it is notoriously difficult to score good, cheap accommodations without booking in advance... or at least giving them a call before showing up. We were directed to a tourist bureau where we could arrange for a place to stay. Once there we discovered that not only accommodations had to be pre-booked, but most forms of land transportation as well... I missed the relative ease of getting around in Southeast Asia already. Given that we only had 3 1/2 weeks to check out northern India, we decided to get all the bookings out of the way in one fell swoop. A couple hours later we were delivered to our hotel to freshen up before checking out some of the sights in Delhi.
First off we checked out a temple to Hanuman, the monkey-faced god said to be an incarnation of Shiva. The temple itself was a gigantic, multi-coloured likeness of the god himself... a man wıth a monkey`s face. Hanuman is a Hindu deity who is an ardent devotee of Rama, the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu, and a central character in the Indian Epic Ramayan. A general among the vanaras, Hanuman is a disciple of Lord Rama in the war against the demon king Ravan. Known by many other names, Hanuman's exploits are much celebrated in a variety of religious and cultural traditions, particularly in Hinduism, to the extent that he is often the object of worship according to some bhakti traditions, and is the prime deity in many temples known as Hanuman Mandirs.
Next on our whirlwind tour of New Delhi was Ghandi`s memorial. Commonly known as Mahatma Ghandi, he lived from 1869-1948 when he was assassinated in a shooting, presumably for his role in the development of non-violent civil disobedience while protesting England's continued occupation of India. He is credited with the eventual success of India's independence. His memorial was constantly filled with admirers from every nationalıty and walk of life. Next up we got a drive-by of the Red Fort before heading to a local Hindu temple where talks were being given by a local guru.
Our second day in India began with a trip to the local Turkish Embassy so that Janet (who was holding a Chinese passport) could apply for a travel visa to enter Turkey with me in a month. With the application materials in, we continued to see a few more sights around the Delhi area before preparing for the bus journey northward to the Himalayas in the Kashmir region. First off was India Gate... India Gate is a national monument of India originally known as the All India War Memorial. It was built in 1931 and commemorates the 90,000 soldiers of the Indian Army who lost their lives while fighting for the Indian Empire, or more correctly the British Raj, in World War I and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. Next stop for the day was Humayun's Tomb. The massive structure is the final resting place of the Mughal Emperor Humayun. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's wife Hamida Banu Begum in 1562 and completed ın 1572 at which time his remains were moved there. It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian Subcontinent.
Our final stop before calling it a day was the Lotus Temple called so because of it's shape which resembles a Lotus flower. The Lotus Temple is the Bahá'í House of Worship which was completed in 1986 and serves as the Bahá'í Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent. The Bahá'í faith is a monotheistıc religion founded in 19th century Persia and emphasizes the spiritual unity of all humankind. The temple, like all Bahá'í temples, has nine sides reflecting the importance of the number nine to the Bahá'í. A simple nine-pointed star is generally used by Baha’is as a symbol of their Faith. The number nine has special significance in the Baha’i Revelation. The word “Baha” (Arabic for “Glory”) corresponds to the number nine in the Arabic system of numerology, known as the Abjad system. Nine years after the announcement of the Bab in Shiraz, Baha’u’llah received the intimation of His mission in the dungeon in Tehran. Nine, as the highest single-digit number, symbolizes comprehensiveness and culmination. As the Baha’i Faith claims to be the fulfillment of the expectations of all prior religions, this symbol, as used, for example, in nine-sided Baha’i Houses of Worship, reflects that sense of fulfillment and culmination.
One more night in our Delhi hotel and we were itching to get a start on our journey around India. The tour operator told us that we could expect our bus ride from Delhi to Srinagar in the Kashmir region of Northern India to take up to 17 hours. We were still learning about Indian understatement at this point. The average speed of vehicle traffic in most parts of India is about 30 kph. We now know this because the 900 or so kilometres took us about 30 hours to complete. Lucky for us we had a relatively comfy double sleeper booth on the bus. Comfy or not, nothing quite prepares you for laying down having a conversation with someone when you hit a bump in the road and both of you lift about 30cm vertically while still in a horizontal position... it makes for quite the visual.
About 27 hours into the bus journey we approached the regional boundary into Jammu/Kashmir. One of the bus attendants let us know in poor English that as foreigners we would have to disembark the bus and present identification before being permitted into the Kashmir region. No problem thought I... we passed some armed military personnel and entered a tiny mud brick booth where we were asked for our passports and visas. I presented mine and Janet presented the photocopy of her passport we had made when leaving the original with the Turkish embassy in Delhi. Unfortunately, we neglected to photocopy her Indian visa... small problem, as we would not be permitted into the region without the document. With a certain degree of dismay we began trying to negotiate a compromise with the guard. We made a few telephone calls to our agent back in Delhi who had promised to pick up Janet's passport the next day (in fact the day we were now in the middle of). This process took more than a few minutes and the locals on our bus were starting to get a bit antsy. Just as I had accepted the fact that we were going to be hanging out at a remote mountain highway guard post for an unknown period of time, we received a phone call... the fellow meeting us in Srinagar had vouched for us with the local magistrate promising that we would show up at the city offices with legitimate papers just as soon as they arrived... phew!
As it turns out there was a reason for the foreigner paperwork in this region of India. The area has been a disputed territory for centuries between various empires and warlords. In the last 50 years no less than three countries have laid claim to the Kashmir valley including India, Pakistan, and China. Even our guidebook maps depict the current uncertainty of the political divisions in the region with sketchy dotted lines outlining contested boundaries. For the time being it falls under Indian administration, although the predominantly Muslim population continues to possess ideas of Kashmir independence. As recently as June 2010 the city of Srinagar was under marshal law after the shooting of some juvenile stone-throwers. The political tensions mostly keep under the radar with the social controls of the reigning Muslim religious bodies, but one cannot ignore the armed military personnel stationed throughout the area.
As we got off the bus in Srinagar we were delighted to be met promptly by our pick-up who got us onto our houseboat on Dal Lake in no time at all. Staying on a house boat was a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of city life which gave us a chance to unwind a bit from the craziness of New Delhi. To our relief our hosts informed us that Janet's passport would arrive by express mail within a day or two so we could relax. We decided to do a little trekking in the Himalayan foothills. I call them foothills, but at 4,000 - 5,000 metres they are only foothills in comparison to the colossal 8,000+ metre peaks of the Nepali Himalayas. We were assigned a cook and a jeep and headed up one of the valley's going northeast out of Srinagar. After some winding roads through progressively more primitive Muslim villages, we arrived in the winter village of some semi-nomadic Muslim herders. The winter village is called Naranag after the 1,200 - 2,000 year old Hindu temple ruins near the edge of the village.
Since we arrived in the afternoon there was no time to do any trekking right away, so we enjoyed the hospitality of the local family whose place we were staying in. These people most definitely live a tough life by even the poorest standards back in Canada. The houses at over 3,000 metres elevation were not insulated, electricity was something that happened sporadically between the hours of 8pm and 10:30pm, heating happened only in the room with the wood-burning stove or where you were cooking, and hot water was something you made over a fire. Nevertheless, the people were healthy, living in a supportive community, and seemed generally happy tending to their flocks, crops, and crafts. We marveled at the rusticness of life in Naranag while our cook prepared an authentic north Indian dinner for us before we called it an early night and snuggled into several layers of clothing, sleeping bags, and blankets.
In the morning we were permitted to sleep in and have a late breakfast. Around 11am the skies which were blue at 6am had clouded over somewhat, but we were determined to head up the valley as far as our guide would take us that day. We bundled up and put on some local tunics, Janet got a pony to ride on, and we headed out. As we approached the edge of the village we were greeted by the 8th century ruins of the Naranag Hindu temples originally consecrated to the Lord Shiva. After wandering through the first set of ruins and watching some village children play cricket in the second set of ruins, we continued to a forest service station where we took cover from a brief rain shower. Mountain weather can change rapidly and without warning... thank goodness the change we experienced was from showers to sunshine. We then continued up the valley past a few recent snow avalanches that had crossed the entire valley covering a few of the herders' late-spring huts. After a few hours of easy trail walking our guide informed us that at this time of year we could not safely continue any further. So we sat by the river and ate a modest lunch while a troop of mountain monkeys passed us by and checked out what we were up to. By the time we got back to the village the chill of the evening was settling in and we were glad to play cards around the wood-stove for awhile before calling it another early night.
In the morning we were told to take it easy again, so we did, and didn't begin our second hike until the early afternoon. This hike was a little more arduous as it followed a stream up a steep valley to the snow pack at just above 4,000 metres. A good sweat later we were rewarded with a beautiful view of some of the slightly higher reaches of the Himalayas, although a proper Himalaya trip remains in my future and definitely later in the summer season. Back in the village we had a late snack before piling our gear back into the jeep to head back to the houseboat in Srinagar on Dal Lake. Once at the lake we decided to take it easy again and enjoy the hospitality of the family we were staying with. Another early night for us as the next day was scheduled to be jam packed with passport and sight-seeing action.
In the morning we got going as early as the chilly weather (and lazy travelers) permitted. We first made a visit to the Srinagar government offices to sort out our Kashmir entry issues before beginning a brief tour of some of Srinagar's highlights. First off was the Shankaracharya Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and overlooking Srinagar and Dal Lake. This Hindu temple is believed to have been built around 200 B.C.E. although some claim it was built around 2500 B.C.E. It's latest facade is thought to date to about the 9th century C.E. except for the roof which was repaired in the 18th century. The temple is also considered sacred by Buddhists who call it Pas-Pahar.
Our next stop for the day was at the Mughal Garden of Nishat Bagh. Located on the bank of the Dal Lake, with the Zabarwan Mountains as its backdrop, Nishat Bagh is a garden of bliss that commands a magnificent view of the lake beneath the snow capped Pir Panjal mountain range that stands to the west of the valley. The Bagh was designed and built in 1633 by Asif Khan and it is the second largest Mughal garden in the Kashmir Valley. It's name is a Hindustani word, which means "Garden of Joy," "Garden of Gladness" and "Garden of Delight."
The pictures of the garden I've shared with you all here are ripped from the net, as while we were there it was undergoing some maintenance and restoration work. Still a pretty amazing place though. Next up was a brief lunch on Dal Lake where we tried out first Thali meal. "Thall" means "plate" and the meal is typically served on a steel military style tray with various compartments and sections containing a variety of traditional Indian vegetarian foods. Oh yes... did I mention that India contains the largest concentration of vegetarians in the world? Hindus don't eat beef as cows are considered sacred... the reasons are varied and not universally agreed upon. Some locals told us it was because the cow was a form in which the Lord Shiva appeared on earth at one time. Others told us that Hindus have three mothers... the first is their birth mother who grew them in her womb, the second is the cow who nourishes young humans with its milk, and the third are the rivers which nourish the land and enable food to be grown. There are other variations of the three mothers in Hinduism... this is just the one which includes cows. There are many other other interpretations of the sacredness of cows in Hinduism. Muslims don't eat pork (no bacon in India - ARGH!) and many Buddhists and Jains are vegetarian as well.
After our lunch we headed for a rug making co-op where Kashmir carpets were hand made. They gave us a tour of the rug making process and then spent a good deal of time and effort trying to sell us one of their hand made rugs (various sizes ranged in price from $100-$2000 CDN). Some of these rugs take up to 2 months to make as each knot is hand tied. Given the amount of time it takes to make one such rug, the prices seemed fairly reasonable... although I later found out that the average Indian makes about 50,000 rupees a month... or less. That's just under $1,000 CDN. Not much... I know, but average Cambodians make less than $100 US per month and average Thais make less than $500 US in a month. After repeatedly, politely declining the purchase of a rug, we were carted off to a jeweler who mined sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and diamonds in the Himalayas. The prices he was asking for some ridiculously awesome stones were too good to be true for us to venture some money without knowing something about judging gem stones. Although, if I ever learn how to assess gem stones, I will definitely come back to Kashmir to make a stunning profit if what they were showing us was real. Once again we talked our way out of the place... Indians are VERY persistent when it comes to selling just about anything and bargaining must be done ALL THE TIME FOR EVERYTHING. Typically, Indians will ask 5-10 times the actual value of something to any foreigner. This got a tad bit tedious and annoying after a month. Anyhow, we headed back to the house boat and packed our bags so we could be ready for our early morning group-jeep back south to Jammu.
As we learned... well... experienced on the way to Srinagar... we didn't quite learn until after this second road journey... Indian travel time predictions by road are unimaginably understated. We were told that it would take us about 5 hours to get from Srinagar to Jammu. Try 10 hours. Sheesh. Once in Jammu we were frothing for some meat... western style. So I found a pizza place in our guidebook... it even had a map of the city with the restaurant on it. We hopped into a tuk-tuk... showed him the map and began drooling for the expectation of meat. Now... based on the guidebook the place we were trying to get to was about 2 kms from where we were... how hard could it be to get there? Well... I had experienced map reading skills in other countries and I guess I'm just an optimist because for some reason I still thought more people were map-savvy... I was WRONG. The tuk-tuk driver drove us around for a few minutes before stopping at a hotel and asking one of the employees for directions. Back on the road for another 2 minutes before we stop AGAIN for the guy to ask more directions. The whole time he was grabbing our map and showing it to whoever would look at it. The first time I was like, OK so he's a Hindu that doesn't know where a pizza place is... not too surprising... by the FIFTH time he stopped to ask for directions I was losing my patience... I mean come on... he's a tuk-tuk driver... it's his JOB to know where places are. That and I was beginning to experience the 3rd or 4th stage of being hangry (this means hungry-angry... when I get hungry... I mean REALLY hungry... I get agitated easily). So I look over at Janet who, at this point, is just shaking her head in dismay, and basically throw our bags out of the tuk-tuk and walk away. We didn't pay the poor fellow for his troubles... but hey, he didn't get us to where we wanted to pay to go. Business is business. So we wandered around random streets in Jammu until we found a place that served pizza... vegetarian pizza... grrrrrrr. On our tuk-tuk ride to the train station later we actually passed the place we were originally trying to go... it was like around the corner from where we ditched the first tuk-tuk and we had actually driven around it. Once at the train station it was my turn for a shock as this was the first Indian train station I had ever been in. More chaos... time for a nap on the train to Amritsar.
On the train to Amritsar we met a really nice Indian guy who wanted to share the entire contents of his travel snacks with us. This included some curried chicken, veggies, and... very surreptitiously... whiskey. Although alcohol is not illegal in India it is extremely hard to find in most places, and locals drink it out of the sight of other locals. We arrived in Amritsar in somewhat better spirits at like 2am and thank goodness our pick-up was waiting for us outside the train station. We got to our hotel and praised the fact that we had hot water and a proper stand up shower.
In the morning we had our breakfast and hailed a tuk-tuk to take us to the Golden Temple. Amritsar is the home of Sikhism and Sikhs' most important and holy temple... the Golden Temple. I had read that the temple had a kitchen which served up to 60,000 free meals a day, so we timed our visit to correspond with lunch. The Harmandir Sahi also referred to as the Golden Temple, is a prominent Sikh gurdwara. Construction of the gurdwara was begun by Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh Guru, and completed by his successor, Guru Arjan Dev. In 1604, Guru Arjan Dev completed the Adi Grant, the holy scripture of Sikhism, and installed it in the gurdwara. In 1634, Guru Hargobind left Amritsar for the Shivalik Hills and for the remainder of the seventeenth century the city and gurdwara was in the hands of forces hostile to the Sikh Gurus. During the eighteenth century, the Harmandir Sahib was the site of frequent fighting between the Sikhs on one side and either Mughal or Afghan forces on the other side and the gurdwara occasionally suffered damage. In the early nineteenth century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh secured the Punjab region from outside attack and covered the upper floors of the gurdwara with gold, which gives it its distinctive appearance and English name of "Golden Temple". The present day Golden Temple was rebuilt in 1764 by Maharaja Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (1718–1783) with the help of other Misl Sikh chieftains. Between 1802–1830 Ranjit Singh did thesewa of adding gold plating and marble to the gurdwara, while the interior was decorated with fresco work and glittering gemstones.
Lunch in the Golden Temple cafeteria was beyond chaotic. As we entered the area there must have been a few hundred people almost falling over one another to snag a Thali tray and elbow their way into the main dining hall. Once inside we had to literally climb over people (as everyone was sitting on the ground to eat) in order to find a place to settle down and await one of the many people wandering around with big pots of various Indian foods. They were more than happy to serve up as much food as you could eat and it was all very tasty... although, all vegetarian. After our meal we wandered around the temple area for awhile before heading off to rest for a bit and get some internet done. To get to the internet cafe we hailed a cycle-rickshaw who convinced us to let him show us a bit more of Amritsar once we done our online time.
Our last sight to see before calling it an early night in preparation for our next train journey was the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama. This famous Sikh emperor is known for his successes in capturing and uniting the Punjab, Kashmir, and Jammu regions of India, repelling the Afghans, and ending more than a thousand years of Muslim rule. His empire was governed as a secular one and he promoted tolerance for all beliefs and religions. The Panorama is a homage to his life containing dioramas of some key points as well as a massive 360 degree room showing the biggest highlights of his rule. With tired legs, sweaty bodies, and hunger pains gnawing at our insides, we opted to splurge on a meat dinner before packing our bags and calling it a night. Our next stop... the yoga and meditation town of Rishikesh just north of the holy city of Haridwar.
hey jon
ReplyDeletei like all the cool buildings they are so tall and pretty
finally i get to see a picture of you.
Deleteall for now, Tspikes