Traditional Kashmiri tea might be the best tea in the world. It's a pretty simple recipe... definitely plan on making it when I have a kitchen... & think you might want to try it.

All you have to do is:
Boil a few cardamom pods, a small cinnamon stick, some almond (or pistachio) bits & a few pieces of saffron until the water becomes slightly red. Then add sugar.

Delicious!

It's taken 2wks to get feed up with the harassment in Srinagar -- a new record for an Indian town. And what did it... not the little boy who put his hands between my legs, nor the 6 Army men that laughed about it... let me add that "Eve Teasing" (harassing women) carries a 5yr prison term if its against an Indian woman & a 7 yr term against a foreign woman, which is why the boy ran as fast as he could after he did it... nor was it even the head of the Tourist Police asking for sex when I tried to file a complaint against the Army that pushed me over the edge.

Rather it was a woman. And a highly educated woman at that. Was recently at a party with just women & when they all asked me if I'd like to marry a Kashmiri man I said maybe... next thing I know my hotel owner's wife tells me to stay away from her husband. She did go on to joke I'd never want him because he beats her... but the message was still clear. And all that was after I told her that her sisters were beautiful & she responded "you're only fair, we're beautiful". Bitch!

Two days later finally got the nerve to confront her... & thought I came up with a good one... told her that movies in my country show all Muslim men as terrorists. But by having a little trust in people I've learned that's far from the truth. So while all the blondes in Indian movies (& TV shows & even commercials) are depicted as whores, she needs to open up a little & learn that we're just like her. Although she kept saying she was only joking, think I may have gotten through to her.

But all of this combined... makes me want to leave. I've got plans for the weekend don't want to break but first thing Monday I'm headed to remote part of town to stay on a luxurious boat on a quiet lake where I'm planning to just hang on the chaise lounge & read for a few days. With one exception... a trip to town to file a complaint with the Tourism Minister against the head of the Tourist Police.

Which came first, the pink chicken or the pink egg? Saw these pink eggs in Thailand... had no idea why they were pink... until yesterday when I came across these chicks...

Scarecrows are nearly universal. With the exception of Indonesia where the women would stand in the rice fields & bang on pots to scare the birds, seen scarecrows everywhere. Up until yesterday, Sri Lanka had the best scarecrows... people with terracotta pots turned upside down & faces drawn on them. And they'd put these scarecrows in all constructions sites too! (To scare away robbers.) But now... my new favorite... the burka clad scarecrow!

After two straight days of everything being closed from a strike, awoke this morning excited my favorite breakfast place would be back in business. But... found everything closed again!

One of the half dozen ever-smiling, non-English speaking old ladies that have invited me to their house for breakfast stopped me, hugged me then started speaking the local language very fast & shaking her hand in the direction I was headed. After reminding her many times that I do not speak her language, someone came over to translate... apparently there'd been a grenade attack last night! And very close to my hotel! Don't know the details yet but am about to go play Nancy Drew & find out...

However, I'm still completely in love with this town! Even with everything being shut down, last few days filled my time making the rounds, visiting all my new friends here. And lapping up all the great food they offer. Yesterday afternoon went to the house of one the richest men in town. Absolute dear! Very unassuming, drives a beater car but lives in a mansion because "he only likes money for what it can do for his family". And his family is great! He & his brother have side-by-side mansions housing a total of 5 girls & 4 boys ages 20-30 & all highly educated & just as unassuming. Had such a wonderful time with the girls... couldn't stop talking with the girls long enough to get to know the boys, mothers or the crazy old grandmother... that when he asked me to stay with his family, said yes! I've had lots of offers to stay with people, but this is the first time I've agreed.

The only problem... the owners of my hotel are so great that I hate to tell them I'm leaving! In fact, they've invited me for tonight's circumcision party. (Boy I hope they're not preforming it!) And it's a big celebration! Four cooks have been pounding meat since early this morning.

So I don't care if there's more strikes & grenades, everyone is so wonderful, I'm not leaving! Never!

Kashmir is wet. Wet good. Everywhere are mountain rivers, waterfalls & valley lakes. It really is beautiful.

There's so much water that before there were roads... everyone got around on boats. Around Srinagar the capital boat transport is still a popular mode of transport. It's not uncommon to see a mother taking her kids to school on a boat. Or bigger kids taking themselves. Everywhere are floating flower shops, fruit shops, jewelry shops & tea shops. These smaller boats are called 'shikaras'.

And everywhere there are bigger 'houseboats'. While staying in these is a big draw for tourists, there are still many Kashmiri families who also live in these. Due to being forced as a child to spending weekends on my parent's boat, so far I've had little desire to stay on one but have found a very luxurious boat on a secluded lake that I might stay on next week.

A strike's been called for Friday & Saturday... meaning nothing will be open. The newspaper reported it but talked to a few shopkeepers who say they'll be open. Either way, gonna stock up on food & supplies for a few days. Strangely, to stop the strike & march, the police have issued an "undeclared" curfew for Friday. Either there's a curfew or there's not. Don't get the undeclared part!

It's now the 20th day of this strike in Srinagar's suburb of Shopian. Good cause... two women (one pregnant) were gang raped & murdered. First the authorities took their time showing up to investigate & take away the bodies. Then when they finally did, they said the women drowned in a river. Now that the Indian federal government's gotten involved, the story's been revised to rape & murder. All the people want is a real investigation to find out who was responsible. The problem... it was probably the Indian Army. Kinda thinking about joining the march/protest to the suburb~

Hate cold! Avoid it like the plague! But always wanted to come to Kashmir & decided it was worth the chill. And here... let an Indian tourist talk me into getting even colder... by spending a day at a glacier! Sooo worth it!

The journey was beautiful... small villages, mountain passes & cute inspiration signs along the way like "No race, no rally, enjoy the beauty of the valley". And thanks to a local village blocking all the traffic until they got a doctor, ended up spending a few hours in one of those villages. But it was lovely! Sat by a large ice-cold river while all the village kids gathered around. That alone would have been great!

Me & Mohammed the hoseman

Really lovin' Srinagar. From the moment I got here, everyone has gone way out of their way to take me places & feed me. It's almost overwhelming how nice everyone is!

Starting on the ride here, the jeep driver & the 6 other (non-tourist) passengers keep recommending places to stop so I could take photos. And when we got here, the driver dropped everyone at the station then called the hotel I'd booked, got directions & drove me across town there.

And the hotel... it didn't work out (he'd agreed to a third of the price but only for a few days & I didn't want to change hotels later) so he walked & drove me all around to find a good hotel in my price range. And the next day, insisted I come for breakfast followed by a city tour - for free! And I've had to promise to visit everyday!

Oh, & the hotel I ended up in, incredibly nice people too! First night asked where a restaurant was & he made me dinner. And he's always offering me tea & cakes. And a few days later when I agreed to have dinner in the family's house, the mother insisted I start paying less. Now that's a first!

And a random boat man has decided he wants to show me real Kashmiri hospitality... so I can get boat rides for free whenever I like. One day he took me out all day & even cooked me a fantastic meal in his little boat.

Yesterday, I walked into a cheapie restaurant & a friend of the owner dragged me out to a fancy restaurant (& he paid!) then drove me around town showing me other sights. Finally had to say goodbye because the boat man was making me dinner on the boat again.

And two different mornings, went to the market to buy breakfast & ended up having an older lady, neither of whom spoke English, drag me to their house for breakfast.

It's amazing, I've been here 6 days & have only spent $2.50 on food! Maybe there is such a thing as a free lunch~

One of my favorite words of advice came from an old Tibetan man right before I got on a bus that had repeated fallen off the mountain in Nepal... he told me "if it's your time to die - die". Basically, don't fight it. It's in god's hands. Great advice in general since being on the road in many countries is a life or death adventure.

Even walking is dangerous. Like I'd recently said, many men in the last town kept trying to run me down. And I was hit by a truck in Calcutta & a motorcycle in Bhopal. The Bhopal incident happened right in front of a policeman who just watched in amusement then drove away!

When you read this I should be in an overcrowded jeep going up steep mountain passes to Srinagar. The jeep is slightly more expensive than the bus... but like that road in Nepal, buses frequently fall off these mountains. One just this week. Jeeps tumble a little less often.

And there are the motorcycle rides... squeezed myself in between 3 other people in Cairo. That's 4 of us on one motorcycle! Or the first time I drove a scooter in Laos head first into on coming traffic. Or sat sidesaddle while the motorcycle driver weaved thru 6 directional traffic in Phnom Penh. Oh there's so many more... I love motorcycles! They're my favorite way to travel!

But the most exciting road events, when I drive! Hilariously I co-drove in Cairo. The driver... had a broken leg & I with my then broken arm was shifting. But there was no choice, with 7 of us in a tiny little car & me wedged over the gear shift, it was either shift or let the guy get friendly between my legs. Even better, I drove an ancient, bet up Mercedes around Sana'a, Yemen. With my cheek stuffed with qat & a cigarette in hand, the police at every check point were too stunned to stop me & ask for my license... thank god, because I wasn't even carrying it! And then last night, got to do some Dukes of Hazard style off-roading thru winding mountain roads. That was fun!

Today marks 2yrs life on the road! YAHOO! Life is grand!

Just before England gave India independence in 1947, they decided to royally screw the country one last time. So they separated the Hindus & Muslims by creating East & West Pakistan. (Now the two different countries of Pakistan & Bangladesh.) But this meant 8.5 MILLION people had to move. One of the largest exoduses in world history.

At that time most Indian states were ruled by kings & the kings were allowed to decide which side to join. One Muslim kingdom, Hyderabad, which was totally surrounded by Hindu kingdoms, was taken by force by India. But the big problem was Kashmir. The king of Kashmir was Hindu but 85% of his people were Muslim & the area borders both countries. While the king really just wanted his own independent country, both India & Pakistan also wanted the area & they've been fighting wars over it ever since. The UN helped a bit by creating a temporary border giving both countries half the state.

But the fight took an evil spin in 1989 when Afghans & Arabs turned it into a holy war & started helping the Pakistanis fight for the Indian area. While originally they just wanted the people to vote in a fair election which side to join, now terror & mayhem is the higher objective. And the result... the death of over 47,000 people.

But it's not just the Muslims... the Indian army's repeatedly been accused of human rights violations. Which leads to the current problem... last week someone was executed in jail without a hearing but why people have been protesting & rioting in cities for the past week -- the rape & murder of two Muslim women. A tactic not uncommon for the Indian army. Sickening.

(And for me... not too keen going somewhere with all shops, banks & restaurants closed, roads barricaded, curfews & people being tear gassed. So, currently sitting tight in Jammu waiting for things to calm down...)

Am always impressed with how many languages most people know. Except Brits who normally only know French, most Europeans speak several languages. And people from other corners of the world... often speak many, many languages.

Including the Indians. Even if they can't speak English, they usually know their regional language, Hindi plus an additional regional language or two.

So compared to Americans who usually only know English, that's impressive!

And I've always been proud to be an exception. Yes, my other language - Nepali - is rather obscure, but it's still another language. But now, wondering if I should count it. The workers in my hotel all speak Nepali & not much English, so... been brushing off my Nepali. And over the past 16yrs it's gotten really dusty! Thought it'd come right back... but keep spitting out a strange mix of Nepali, Arabic, Hindi & English... which just confuses everyone!

But since that's the only language to talk to them in... have no choice but to keep asking them to speak slowly & repeat themselves. And they're very happy to keep trying. :)