Escaping Kashmir It had been so easy to get to Kashmir and Lake Dal yet leaving was going to be somewhat trickier.With local protests against the military growing and the death toll rising the only option was to be smuggled out in the middle of the night.In true style during our last day on the boat we were still waiting for our train tickets and hotel vouchers and weren't entirely sure of the plan until the last minute.For our last supper we were delighted to b...

"No I don't want a prayer wheel or a carved wooden table but I will take a paper mache moon" Well rested after a good nights sleep we had 2 days left on the boat to relax before we headed south to Agra. As part of the "package" we booked the trek with we had a boat trip in a shikira boat around the Dal Lake and the surrounding lakes to see the area.Bashir had made us some lunch in a hamper to take with us so we set off thinking it would be...

On Top of the World Arising at 5.15am from the very comfortable houseboat we tucked in to some eggs and bread and made our way to collect Alex, Joe, Lauren and Tara (our fellow trekkers) from the house boat 3 down the lake.We got to the other side and jumped in our jeep, strangely named "Dreamgirl" and headed to the village where we would start our 2 day 1 night trek in the Himalayas.Very excited we all were as we meandered the lake and mountain road...

"Shaffi sent us here" Arriving at Srinagar airport we could already tell a difference to Delhi.We were met by the tourist police who escorted us to a jeep to take us to the lake we'd be staying on.It was, as promised, much cooler here and similar to a European summer and as we arrived at the lakeside it was as beautiful as it had been described with mountains providing a backdrop and colourful boats lining the shore.Although we knew we were close to ...

A change of plan After we'd waited in the office foyer for a couple of hours drinking more tea and chatting to other relieved westerners who had found their way here we wondered if we'd ever get our trip confirmation and the necessary vouchers. Things don't happen in a hurry here and whilst everyone working in the office seemed super busy, nothing ever seemed to get done (except for shouting at the cook to make us more tea).Eventually a guy we'd met in the morni...