1. When the driver tells you it will be a 12 hour journey, he means at least 30. Double, even triple predicted driving times and you might get close to the time it will actually take you to get there.
2. Embrace altitude farts. It is difficult, however, to get the rest of the people sharing your transport to embrace them quite as much.
3. If you suspect you have worms, don't embark on long distance, isolated road travel. Trust me on this one.
4. The best scenery - snow capped mountains, glaciers and amazing views - generally mean the worst roads imaginable. Be warned, some of the potholes are the size of Australia.
5. Make sure you love tea. Or at least pretend to like it, coz your driver will make tea stops several times per hour.
6. Don't expect to get any sleep. At all. Between the potholes and the blind corners, it's rather hard to nod off and get comfy. Oh, and if a friend offers you sleeping pills - TAKE THEM. Don't even think twice.
7. Prepare yourself for squat toilets overflowing with half frozen poo. I find myself wishing I had a willy at least a dozen times every day.
8. Learn to enjoy Hindi music. The screechy, air drum hurting kind. Your driver will play the same CD several times during your journey. Hell, even try to sing along and learn the words - it will make the time go a lot faster.
9. Read all the Indian road signs. My personal favourites are "Bro, if you are married, divorce the speed" and "Bro, drinking the whiskey makes the driving risky!"
10. If you, or anybody else you are travelling with has long blonde hair, get them to wear it loose and flick it around a bit at military checkpoints. It just makes for a more efficient, easier trip. However, if a creepy soldier who hasn't seen a woman in months enquires about the marriage status of said blonde chick, help her in convincing him that she has a big, burly devoted husband back home in New Zealand.
Trekking in Leh
This morning, I woke up in the mountains, had fizzy, fermented yak curd for breakfast, almost killed myself climbing a 4000m pass then finished the day with a private tour from a chubby-cheeked monk round a centuries-old monastery. It's the last night of our first trek in the Himalayas, and i'm more in love with travelling than ever.
Our houseboat in Srinigar was a refreshing respite from the chaos of India. Treated like royalty, we ate incredible Kashmiri food and were waited on hand and foot by our Indian man servant (feel rather uncomfortable using that word!) We slept late everyday, toured ancient Mughal gardens and had boat rides atop of mirror-flat lakes. It definitely wasn't a backpacker's lifestyle!
The visibility of the famous Kashmir conflict was limited to high military presence pretty much everywhere we went. There were numerous checkpoints and security stops, and, rather disturbingly, graffiti on public walls reading "GO INDIA GO BACK". Our Muslim guide informed us that most Kashmiris wanted their state to be independent from both Indian and Pakistan rule. I didn't feel threatened or scared at any point (unlike bloody Jammu!) rather simply a little wary of being around so many men with guns. We left Srinigar, well rested about about 5kg heavier, after 3 nights on the houseboat.
Early in the morning we hopped in a Jeep bound for Leh - a gorgeous mountain town close to India's border with China. The driver told us to expect about a 12 hour journey, so we settled in with fully-charged ipods and plenty of chocolate. However, about 2 hours into the drive, we had to stop because a military convoy was blocking the 1 way road. We parked up for a mind-numbingly boring 8 hour stop in a deserted field. A couple we were sharing our Jeep with said that you need 3 qualities to travel in 3rd world countries - patience, tolerance and flexibility, none of which I would say were my strong points!
31 hours later, and after some of the most beautiful and mind-boggling mountain scenery I had ever seen, we pulled into Leh.
The Ladakhi scenery is very Tibetan, prayer flags are on every high point, and the architecture is quintessentially Chinese. The people, too, don't look very Indian at all, and even speak their own language that resembles Tibetan more than Hindi. It's a barren, beautiful land where desert-like plains are shadowed by towering, snow-dusted peaks and ruins of ancient empires are strewn everywhere. We immediately committed to a 3 night, 4 day short trek to get a taste for the mountains and go a bit intrepid.
Being brought up in sea-level Auckland, my climbing at altitude experience was naught. Sucking in thin, oxygen starved air, my breathing on the fist day resemble that of an overweight couch potato. Each day it has got a little better and I felt strong and fit scaling today's passes. We have been staying in local Ladakhi home stays and eating home cooked food, which has been a fantastic way to learn about this fascinating, isolated culture. I have also fallen in love with a few Ladakhi babies on the way, and have fleetingly considered marrying a local guy in order to spawn some of the super cute offspring myself (just joking Mum and Dad).
Tomorrow we get back to civilisation and I can't wait to wash off 4 days of accumulated sweat, dust and filth! We have our sights set on completing an 8-day tented climb over 7000m passes and up to mountain lakes in the clouds. First priority, however, will be a beer and a pizza back in Leh.
