We made it!!!

Here we are in Leh, Ladakh. It's funny because in our slight preparations for India Mendo and I always thought that we probably wouldn't go to Kashmir because the danger was unpredictable... then on our second day in Delhi we booked an overnight train to Jammu, Kashmir. In Jammu we found a Jeep to drive us the 8 hours to Srinigar. Mendo nicknamed the driver Fernando Alonso, so I'm sure you can understand that it was not a leisurely drive through the hills... although it was spectacular, driving 8 hours in the BOOT of a jeep with 8 men was certainly an experience. They say that in Kashmir the population is 50% Military... from what I saw, I'd say that is a conservative estimate. We didn't feel in danger at any time, but seeing huge amounts of military men with big guns is certainly intimidating. In Srinigar we stayed on a houseboat of a greedy Muslim man and his family. His opening line was: 'Welcome to my family: I am a gardener and you are my flower!' Cheesy as, but we had a nice stay and a delicious Kashmir home-cooked meal. The next day we again negotiated a Jeep to Leh. This time 15 hours in the boot through amazing scenery. Our driver this time was gorgeous: Mr Mohammed was "slowly, slowly" and the other passengers, especially 2 men in the Indian military were lovely - even bought us lunch and dinner because "we are a guest in their country". The mountains from Jammu to Leh are barren and even seem inhospitable - yet there is still life everywhere. It is incredible to see how humans survive in such places. The road signs kept us amused: "If you are married, divorce speed" "If you want happiness for a lifetime, learn to love what you do" "whiskey and driving don't mix!".

Leh seems to be a great introduction to India. Whilst Delhi was very loud and in your face, Leh is laid back and there are lots of tourists so it's not very intimidating. I still get stared at, but there are women walking around here wearing singlets and shorts, so I'm sure they feel the stares much more than I do all covered up. One thing I'm STOKED about is that I'm not the only one being stared at - Mendo is too!!! Indians LOVE his hair! They all ask if it's real or fake, how long it took to grow, how it's done etc... so although I know they look at me, I always see them staring at his hair. We are both very impressed how cultured/worldly Indians are. If they overhear us speaking Spanish (shock horror, yes we are speaking some Spanish) or Mendo says he's Spanish then they always know some Spanish to speak to him, or ask him about bull-fighting etc. Today we even saw a sign which said 'Andorra' and a restaurant which served Tapas! For the next 13 days is the Ladakh Festival which celebrates the end of Summer. Today we saw a polo match with the backdrop of the Himalayas whilst sitting next to some Buddhist monks. Amazing. Tomorrow we will move guest houses to somewhere a bit quieter for AUD9 per night with HOT WATER - yeah! We'll also try to catch some of the festival plan some more of our treks. We're thinking 2-3 weeks in Ladakh, so that may include: treks, homestays, hiring a motorcycle to go stay the night at a Monastery nearby and also of another 3 day Jeep trip to Manali via some hot springs and a beautiful lake.

So as you can see it's been a great start to our journey. Our flights were fine, we found each other easily at Delhi airport and so far there has been no hastles. We probably won't be updating this too regularly, but when we do update it we'll also be on MSN Messenger, so log on and you may catch us!

Love to you all and thankyou so much for the Messages - it's GREAT to get news of you all!

Love Nicoletta and Mango.