Is Pahalgam, Kashmir. I'm not kidding, it is spectacular. Clauds and I, along with a very entertaining American called Jayson, arrived after a two or so hour jeep ride through mountains and checked into a perfect guest house. The rooms were basic and clean and the staff were very friendly, but what made it was the backyard. We stepped out into bright sunshine where everything was a brilliant green and RIGHT THERE was a river racing past. We crossed a little bridge to an island to take tea, I always feel very civilised and grown up when I do this, though I have no right to be! I sat and looked up at the mountains towering over us with their peaks tipped with snow. It was picturesque and I felt instantly at peace and ectasticaly happy at the same time.
We strolled around all afternoon to say 'Howdy Ho' to the neighbours, but being that Kashmir is predominantly Muslim we quickly switched to 'Asalam-u-alikum'. They instantly love you for it and think it's kind of sweet, similar to a child learning to say good morning to adults. Pahalgam is a small town that is a tourist destination for Indians, not so much for International tourists. I think we saw one other anglo when we were there, so it makes sense that we are quite the novelty. Stares are much more frequent and marked with a genuine curiosity, but the second you chuck out a 'Asalam-u-alikum' they crack the fattest smile and launch into the questions they were dying to ask you. "Where are you from?...what is your good name? Who are you travelling with? No men? Only girls? What is your profession? How much do you earn? Australia, oh yes...RICKY PONTING!!" The last always gets me because I have to own up to being a very unpatriotic Australian becuase I do not follow or care about cricket. It's like taking a nap but with people interrupting you every six minutes or so to applause someone for running four metres. I made the mistake of telling one boy, ONE BOY, that I didn't know much about cricket. This 13 year old went on for 20 minutes telling me the batting average of every Australian team member, where they were born and what his opinion was on all of them. It drew a crowd...by then end of the conversation I was joined by his Father, his uncle, his two brothers, three cousins and his Mum, passionately throwing their two cents into the conversation. All of them took the oppurtnity to tell me EVERYTHING that I have ever ignored or avoided knowing about cricket, and I couldn't stop laughing the whole time.
The next day was the best day of my life. Clauds and I woke up early and sought out a pony man to take us riding into the mountains. I have been wanting to ride a horse for years now and never got around to it. I was so excited to slip my foot into the stirrup and swing myself up into the saddle, everything I ever learned about horses came flooding back to me and I found it effortless and downright brilliant to be riding again. First things first, big SNAPS for Clauds. She has ridden a horse only once in her life...in year six....for twenty minutes....and someone walked the horse up and down the road. I reassured her the night before that these were sturdy looking ponies and would be an easy ride. So up she goes...and within two minutes we are cantering. God bless her, her stirrups were too short, there was no thorough instructions before mounting and we are on the main road made of asphalt which would bloody hurt to land on. But she kept her whmpers inaudiable and clung on for dear life. She has forever earned my respect for that. After fixing her stirrups and reducing her pulse rate we trekked through the mountains and it was like stepping into a fairytale. Tall trees, running brooks, nomad families herding their goats while pack horses carry all their wordly goods with their children perched on top. The views were constantly stunning. On the way back Clauds encouraged me to canter ahead while she stayed with the safety of the pony man at a pleasant walking pace.
Let us change perspective for a moment. Be any resident of Pahalgam, a farmer, a nomad, or one of the friendly militia that are ever present in the town. You look up to see a foreign girl with aviator sunnies, hair streaking out behind her, cantering like a mad thing down the main road, which is complete with buses, jeeps and the multitude of pedestrians...and she is laughing maniacally all the way. Strange no?
I can confidantly say that I had every pair of eyes on me as I passed. But I was enjoying myself so much because I love horse riding, and I loved the reckless feeling of streaking down a road....that just happened to be the hub of all Pahalgam.
That afternoon I walked like I had an invisable balloon between my legs, so I set myself on my little island in the back yard. I took tea and read a wonderful book under the dappled light of a tree. That night the three of us sat outside and watched a lightning show, as many as 84 bolts in one minute, dramatically lighting up the night sky.
A good day, no?
Photos:
1) Our backyard
2) Clauds and I stopped on a hill top called 'Little Switzerland' that was strikingly stunning. Green fields, then green trees, then mountains, then snow tops. Stun-ning.
3) Overlooking Kashmir Valley
4) Preparing saffron milk - our favourtie drink to chase away the cold!
5) Had to show you the extent of the pot growth out here, it's like this all along the roads
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