"Only God know these things"

I'd first like to apologize for the long entry here. Getting onto internet amidst my crazy adventures has been difficult.

Anywhoo.....

I jumped ship in Langkawi, Malaysia after spending about 2 weeks there. As the time was ticking away, Locky's "sailor clock" just wasn't ticking in time with it. I had a great time in Malaysia and took my time getting to Delhi by taking a bus through Malaysia to Kuala Lumpur, spending a night there and then flying to Delhi via Singapore.

I had the feeling that my plans for India were going to be challenged from the get go. It has been said that you will most likely, at some point on your journey, find yourself taking a random bus to some random place that you never planned on heading. The only way to deal with this is to accept the path that you're on and go with it. I had a funny feeling about travelling to India. I think it was the build up of the constant fear I've felt since arriving. This isn't a bad fear. Just a realization of how big and crazy this world is and in a place like India I've discovered that there really is no place like home. Here is where you are, without choice, stripped down to the bare essentials of survival....much like the rest of the people who live in this country. I felt the strength of India's energy the second I touched ground like a massive wave, and each time I step outside I feel it again and again - much like being caught in an undertow. I manage to get breaths in though, and I somehow manage to keep on pladdling.

I arrived in Delhi airport at 6 am and my undercover cab driver, Dinesh, volunteered to take me to the tourist center on the way. The friendly boys there informed me that, thanks to Shiva and her migrating pilgrims, I would not find a cheap place to stay. Classic line right...? So we called a few hostels that I was intending to stay at and the voice on the other end, barely audible and heavily accented told me repeatedly that there was no availability. Option B was to go to Dharamsala (my next destination) 10 days early, but there was no bus for another 4 days and trains were striking. Plan C? I dunno Raj, you tell me. He somehow convinced me to take a plane to Srinagar, Kashmir and stay on a house boat on Dal lake.

So that was that. Money was paid. I was taken to a common house, paid for by the government to house tourists as they pass through Delhi. It was great, had a shower, some food and a little rest before my flight to Kashmir. But at this point anxiety levels started to rise as I did some reading into this place for which I was destined. According to my Let's Go and another girls Lonely Planet guide books (both written between 2-4 years ago) Kashmir was not a place to be headed. The area is about 98% Muslim and there have been many a battles fought between the Indians and the Kashmiri's (who want independence) as well as between the Indians and the Pakistani's to the north. There still is a very strong military presence in this area, experienced first hand by the airport security which was more thorough than even a red alert in Newark! Little did I know that since the publishing of this information a few years ago, things have settled down quite a lot in Kashmir and it has become a destination for trekkers. So I discovered, and was quickly forced to accept that someone else is hacking the brush on my trek through the fields of India.

So as I arrived at the "Wild Rose" I discovered there was no way that a single foreign girl could be walking around by herself. There was also the minor inconveneice of a boat paddler having to come and get me to take me anywhere. I'd been scammed and I was anxious, scared and a little bit pissed. I was determined to make the best of it so I spent a day and a half resting, recovering, reading and meditating on my own private house boat and figuring out a way to get the heck out of here. Eventually Ibrahim, the owner, brought me out of my stubborn reality and I surrendered into complete and total dependence - this is not an easy thing for me as I'm sure you all know. We talked for a while and I expressed my concerns and we came up with a pretty good solution. I would go on a 7 day trek along with an english couple and then he would get me to Dharamsala by jeep by the 14th.

The trek was amazing, and most likely something that could never be experienced anywhere other than a place like Kashmir. We drove by jeep along with our guide, Bashir, and our chef, Afzal Kahn, an hour and a half into the mountains (often stopped along the way by "Black Dogs"/military) where we were met by the 4 horsemen that would be accompanying us. A little preparation and a lot of bag-strapping to horses and we were off. Throughout the 7 days I mellowed out a lot and became fully aware of the fact that I was in the Himalayas and settled in nicely to the earth surrounding me. Often times I would sit and watch the thousands of sheep and cattle dotting the hills, or be accompanied by a meerkat or 2 (one was so curious about me he came within inches of my knee to get a good look). The most amazing part was the shepards and their families that live in these mountains during the summers. I have never in my life seen more beautiful people and I felt an odd sense of insecurity being around them with all my colourful clothes and needless "things". We walked several mountain passes over the 7 days, the highest of which being about 3800m and I was able to take a few polar dips in the 4-5 glacier lakes we came across. Unfortunatley it was only sunny for one of the seven days, but I was really ok with the Vancouver weather after being in sweaty SE Asia for the past 4 months.

So I've just arrived last night in Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama and will be going into a 10 day Buddhist studies/retreat this afternoon. So far this Tibetan community is amazing and I feel comfortable here....lots of other whities! I might just stay a while.