From Amritsar to Srinagar

Anem cap a la sisena entradeta del Blog, primer en català per a la familia i amics i després en castellà pels amics que no ho tenen tant fàcil amb l’anglès, vamos pallaaaa…

Finalment varem sortir d’Amritsar amb una miqueta de pena per part meva perque es una de las ciutats que em donen més bon rottllo, caótica però fascinant. El viatge nocturn fins a Jammu el fem en autocar, passant pel mig de poblets que a aquelles hores semblen com sortits de fa 200 anys, ple de xiringuitos on venen begudes i bosses de patates fregides i galetes caducades que resten oberts tota la nit. Un incident a remarcar, típic de la India: a la frontera amb Jammu & Kashmir (territori amb certa autonomia) ens aturen i confisquen tot un carregament de formatge fresc que portavem a l’autocar per no pagar les taxes corresponents. Quant arrivem a Jammu, com sempre s’ens tiren a sobre 3 o 4 nois que volen aconseguirnos com a clients per la següent part del viatge, tot això sota una pluja torrencial i be un cop negociem el transport comencem un altre viatge de 9 horetes amb minibus cap a Srinagar per uns paratges ABSOLUTAMENT increibles, difícils d’oblidar, tota una experiencia…. Ara, a veure si parem una miqueta, passejem i disfrutem de les bones temperatures!!!

Bé ara segueixo en Castellà que si no la Sandra s’enfada, jejeje…

Buenoooo!!! Vaya viajecito! Pa mear y no echar gota, si señor! A veeer… 6 mas 9 igual 15 horitas (aunque parecian 20). De Amritsar a Jammu en autocar “De Luxe” (luxe indio, se entiende, jejej) con incidente fronterizo “a la india” incluido. Ahora entiendo perfectamente el de esa expresion tan popular que tenemos que dice: “quieres dejar de hacer el indio de una vez!!!”. Luego continuación hasta Srinagar en minibus negociando el transportista y la tarifa en medio del “Danubio Universal” (Rocio Jurado, qed, dixit). Conseguido esto (que no es moco de pavo), empezamos una travesía por una de las carreteras más espectaculares del mundo, sorteando camiones profusamente decorados con lucecitas y lentejuelas, y atravesando unos paisajes con montañas altísimas. Nada que ver con la imagen que tenemos de la India. El trayecto lo tiene todo, amanecer espectacular, tormenta eléctrica, adelantamientos imposibles, compañeros de viaje cuando menos “pintorescos” (imagínate lo que pensarán ellos de nosotros)….

En fin, llegados a Srinagar vuelta a empezar: los buscavidas locales que se pirran por nuestros maltrechos huesecitos y nosotros intentado escapar de sus garras, no se crean, cada vez nos sale mejor!! Una vez instalados, nos preparamos para disfrutar unos cuantos dias de paz y tranquilidad a la orilla del Lago Dal ¿lo conseguiremos?
Lluis

Hi all, I suppose you have already discovered that you just have to keep scrolling until you find your preferred language... OK, here we go!

Thursday 14th June
JEE-ZES! What a trip!
We had prepared it well: made a 50RP agreement with the hotel that they would keep our luggage during the day and would let us have a shower in the evening. So at 22h, freshly washed, with clean clothes and charged with food, we got on our super-de-luxe bus (according to Indian standards) for a 6h drive to Jammu. I could have slept, because it was quite comfortable, but Lluis and me started chatting (one of those cosy “driving-at-night conversations”) and time got by really quickly.

Half an hour after we’d left, the bus stopped and someone opened the boot. Lluis immediately got down to check on our luggage (important when travelling through Asia!) and he saw how the luggage guys were filling the boot with loads of metal buckets and water was dripping from them…

Then, around one-ish, we stopped at the border of J&K (Jammu & Kashmir), where we could stretch our legs, have a drink or a quick bite, and… of course… there was also custom control and… yes… the officers discovered the smuggled merchandise: the boot and rooftop full of Paneer (=cottage cheese) and decided to confiscate it. Imagine the faces of the poor luggage boys, unloading rooftop and boot again, and all the irritated passengers standing around and discussing the incident.

Friday, 15th June
At 4.30h we arrived in Jammu, where it was pouring with rain. The busstation where we thought we would be dropped off, turned out to be a parking lot where vans and jeeps were awaiting the arrival of the different buses. When we got off the bus, 2 or 3 guys tried at the same time to get our luggage and put it in their van, jeep, minibus and shouting “Srinagar, you come with me, very cheap, luxury seats”, or whatever to convince you to go with them. We were getting desperate: in the pouring rain, holding on to our luggage and being harrassed by 5-6 guys shouting all together. Suddenly I heard: “Shut up! All of you!” and when I turned around, I saw it was my Lluis, taking control of the situation like a hero. I was impressed, because they HAD all become quiet. “You, how much? And you? OK, we go with you, 350 to Srinagar.” And the deal was closed. This minibus was a lot less comfortable than the coach, and we would soon be sorry to not have slept a little… What followed was a crazy race through the mountains with breathtaking views, but also a breathtaking way of driving: 9 hours of zigzagging and dangerous overtaking, but the driver managed to get us to Srinagar safely.

Once in Srinagar, we were again bothered by 2 people trying to get their commission on whatever they can offer. After the 16-hour trip it was a bit too much for us, but nothing worked: telling them nicely we had already booked and that we didn’t need their help, begging them to please leave us alone, we are tired, we’ve had a long trip, getting angry, … No, they kept on talking, arguing, and they followed us to the hotel. One tried to convince us to go to his houseboat instead of the hotel and the other one tried to get his commission on our room. At first, the hotel was going to charge us 550RP, but once we made clear that we had come by ourselves, that nobody had guided us there, the price suddenly dropped to 400RP. We only stayed 1 night though, cos the room was too small and too dirty and now we have found another hotel, good for 4-5 nights, which is a little less dirty (we did some cleaning ourselves) and much bigger.

Srinagar is really beautiful and very varied. It has a marvellous lake, with houseboats for rent, a nice and busy town centre, with different types of houses, mosques and temples, as well as beautiful & colourful gardens. Ideal to take some days of rest.
Sandra

The old city of Srinagar

Beautiful mosque named #XFl#+G)&*#, or something similar

The lake and the houseboats