In Transit

So we have been in transit for about three days. From Mumbai we hopped onto a sleeper train that went all the way to Jammu, in the very north of India. It took a nice 29 hours. So the Lonely Planet doesn't say much about Jammu other than it's a transport hub with no compelling reason to go there. Clauds and I thought we might stay a night and see, trying our hands at being adventurers. We chatted to nice family from Mumbai and we asked them their opinion, hoping for an insiders scoop.

"It's a hole"

Right. If Indians were telling us that we were going to run for the hills.

Did you know I love trains? I do. I sit and watch the world go by so happily. I love watching the scenary and the feel of the train as it rattles along. For the whole 29 hours, when I wasn't sleeping, I was looking out the window. I never even opened a book. It's fun when you pull into a train station and all the food vendors come on board plying their goods. Occasionally there are beggars, but if your REALLY lucky you get a he/she.

I was really lucky.

I looked up to see a towering man in a beautiful red sari, long hair pulled back in a plait, a little make up and an adams apple. It is a striking look. I was instantly back to a moment when Claudia shared a fun fact with me, "I've heard that you don't pay beggars because it's all owned my the mafia. Except if it's a lady boy on a train, you want to pay up because if you don't they give you a lap dance until you do". Oh my God. What do I do? I don't want a man lap dance on a train, but I sure as hell don't want to pay someone for dressing female and putting on a little make-up. By that rational I'd be handing out money to every Tom, Dick and Harriette on Oxford street. Unsure of what to do I came up with a third game plan....stare at the Adam's apple. Clever plan. Eventually the family that was in our cabin shooed him/her away and my panic passed.

So we arrived in Jammu with a plan to leave straight away for Kashmir. From the little information gleaned about this place from the Lonely Planet we knew the background of Jammu Kashmir and that there is a large military presence. Still, it was disconcerting to see AK47 slung over shoulders everywhere I turned. I realise what a blessing it is that in Australia you don't see guns unless they are in the holster of a policeman. We found a tourist travel agency that was very helpful and found us a room, (you could find amazing patterns in the mould on the walls), and set us up for transport to Srinigar in Kashmir. Clauds and I had been told by other travellers that it is safer to get a jeep rather than bus because buses were likely targets for bombs.

"So Madam would you like to take a bus or a jeep to..."

"JEEP!!" Clauds and I say in unison.

I don't believe we are in any real danger but why be flip? Also two days prior there were bombs in Jaipur that killed quite a few people and was aiming to cripple the tourist industry there. I was in Jaipur only 6 weeks ago. When we got on our train to Mumbai I was reading the newspaper article about the bombings and there was a group that claimed responsibility, promising more attacks in many other places, one of them Mumbai trains. Maybe I shouldn't have read that right at the start of the 29 hour train trip, also I probably shouldn't have shown Claudia. I wasn't really stressed out but frankly I don't need any more contributions to my hair falling out!

Anyway we arrived safely and were taking a tuk tuk to our mould hotel and we were pulled over at an army checkpoint. In peers this man with a huge gun slung over his shoulder. After scrutinising us for a couple of secomds he grins, sticks out his hand and says "How do you do?" An honest answer would be, "About to soil myself, how bout you?" But I smiled saying I was from Australia, and people, this is an invaluable asset to me. Everyone loves Australians and I strive everyday to keep it that way. We walked around town for half an hour and I tell you, we were the only tourists there. This is a town where I saw at least 40,000 and Clauds and I stood out like...like....like tourists in Jammu. This was my first taste of being off the tourist trail.

So then it was up at 6am, crammed into a jeep with families and one other tourist from America. I asked if he started telling people he was from Canada yet and he said the time may have come for that little white lie to be used regularly. It was nine hours drive to Srinigar. Kashmir is called paradise on earth, and it is. The mountains with pine trees, snow on the tips, clean air, panoramic views to die for. I was in heaven looking at the view the whole time. The drive made coming to Jammu worth it.

Tell you what though, Kashmir's military presence puts Jammu's to shame. We were passing conveys of military, buses after buses of them, (and yes they all look gobsmacked at the novelty of tourists passing by). Even saw a couple of heavy duty tanks. Then there is the bunkers, barbes wire compounds....the list goes on. In Srinigar there is literally one armed guard every 10 metres. It was a little disconcerting to begin with but I'm pretty OK with it now. I don't feel in any danger, though of course I will continue to be aware at all times, but a little part of me feels like an adventurer now. Clauds and I went somewhere with no information but a general idea, arriving happily after a beautiful drive through the mountains. Have just come back from walking around the lake and after three days to get here I'm thinking bed.

10 bucks says I'm plagued with dreams of lap dancing he shes

xoxo
Sim