Leaving Gulmarg

We arrived in Delhi late yesterday afternoon.  The flight was amazing, flying over the mountains.  Jim says look at all that untouched snow!  I am more than happy to leave it untouched – way too steep for me.

The trip from Gulmarg to Srinagar was as expected.  Got bogged in the snow on the way down to Tangmarg, hit the traffic in Srinagar where at this point Mushtaq followed the cheeky drivers going up the wrong side of the road and then cutting back in on the right side, all quite normal driving behaviour in Srinagar.  Then we had to deal with the normal security searches at the airport five in total.  Everyone is very pleasant about it.  

The region is still feeling a bit on edge with the execution of a local Kashmiri in Delhi a few weeks ago.  Lucky we left when we did as today is another strike day.  This means all the shops and services are non operational and we would have had to go to the airport at daybreak and wait all day for our flight.

It is nice to be back at Hotel Ajanta, a home away from home for us here in Delhi.  

We fly out tomorrow morning for Kerala.  It is a 5.5 hour flight via Mumbai.  We plan to be in Kerala for the next six weeks. There is lots to see and do besides sitting on the beach, that's what Lonely Planet and every Indian you talk to says so we will see.

Looking down to the left of the street off our balcony at Hotel Ajanta, Delhi

Looking down to the right, before the traffic of the day starts

5 minutes after leaving Srinagar airport

The Kashmiri tipping process

The night before we left Gulmarg Altaf and Bilal helped explain to us the tipping process.  The amount we thought we would tip was correct but the boys explained it is better to put the money in an envelope and write a note of thanks on the front for each department. 

It is not polite for them to look at what you have given them in front of you, in fact they appear dismissive of the gesture, which to us can be offensive but it is their way.  Don’t expect a thank you for the tip.

Bilal, Altaf and Jim - the boys were use to seeing us in bed, it was the warmest spot with the electric blanket on

Me, writing the thank you envelopes

Altaf would visit us everyday at least twice.  The occasional night he didn’t turn up we’d miss him and wondered where he was.  The next morning he would always turn up and say sorry he didn’t visit but he was busy with work and couldn’t get away.  Altaf will be twenty in March and has worked at the hotel for two years.  He is working his way through each department to eventually be on the front desk, like a traineeship.  He will be fine.  He is a nice young man and seems to know where his future is which, is surprising in a place where at times the future is bleak. 

Now Bilal on the other hand will have a rocky future for at least the next twelve months.  He has to appear in court on March 1.

I have not told you his story yet.  Bilal was head waiter in the hotels restaurant.  We became friendly with both Altaf and Bilal.  Jim and I were teaching Bilal how to ski over the winter. We were hoping all would work out well before we left but as far as bureaucracy in India goes this was wishful thinking.  A few weeks ago an Indian family from Malaysia was staying at the hotel.  On the night of the incident I woke up to yelling.  We were use to the drunken partying Russians in the hallway but this commotion sounded menacing.  As it turned out it was the drunken father ranting for the police to be called.  He alleged Bilal entered the room of his young (16yr) daughter.

In my sleepy state I imagined it had something to do with the curfew.  That week was the start of the unrest after a Kashmiri was executed in Delhi.   There is an unspoken dislike between the Indians and Kashmiri’s, more so in the young Kashmiri’s.  Talking to the older generation some agree Kashmir benefits from being part of India.  Anyway getting back to Bilal, the Gulmarg police took him away and he was in the local jail for a few days before being transferred to Tangmarg jail for another few days.  He could not appear in front of the magistrate due to the curfew and strikes.  Lucky for him he was released a week later and has been reprimanded till March 1.  Through the translation process it is hard to work out what he has been charged with. 

The day after the incident I bought a box of biscuits from the bakery and put a note with them for Bilal to say we were thinking of him.  Walking back from the village on my way to the jail I chickened out.  I wasn’t feeling brave enough  - a lone foreign woman.  I gave the biscuits to Manzoor the restaurant captain to pass on.  Bilal is well liked and has the support of his family and all the hotel staff and management but unfortunately the hotel owner put him off.  Altaf says he will get another job in Srinagar maybe coming back to Gulmarg for work next year.

One minute he was enjoying learning to ski, the next he is in jail.  Disaster can happen anywhere anytime to anyone.  

A good day out

I joined Jim, Majid (Ski Him guide) and two Ski Him guests yesterday for a run down the Four Sisters #3.  

I am glad I ventured further out than I normally do before we leave considering I have been conservative in where I have been skiing this trip.

We caught the gondola to phase 2, then skinned up to the top of Mt Apharwat, which was an hour’s walk.  Taking off our skins we then we skied and traversed over some wide open terrain, down a ridge line, down a couple of valleys (not too steep but steep enough to be enjoyable) with fantastic untouched powder, through some trees and finally dropping down to the valley floor all taking another hour. 

The walk/ski out took another hour along a snow covered road which led us to the army barracks where Majid called a taxi which took us back to the hotel.  It was the normal taxi ride you expect in Gulmarg with the car carrying 11 of us in the car and one hanging off the back tyre rack.  You get thrown around due to the ruts in the snow covered road (snow clearing normally happens once after a dump) and at least one car getting bogged along the way.  It wouldn't be a taxi ride without these adventures. 

Reaching the top of Mt Apharwat

Having a rest before heading off down the valley

One week to go in Gulmarg

This time next week we will be our way to the airport to fly to Delhi.  We will spent two nights in Delhi before flying to Trivandrum, Kerala.  Yahoo! the beach, mangoes in season, seafood, yoga and Ayurvedic treatments (massage).
It is hard to believe we have been here two months next week.  Overall our stay has been exhilarating, that is a good word for it.  I definitely have a love hate relationship with Gulmarg.  I love the idea of being here but the harsh reality is something different.  The skiing is a challenge and for me it is a struggle.  Jim has loved it and really enjoyed his work with the Ski Himalaya guides and guests but the past couple of weeks of queues and rude queue jumpers (as mentioned in the previous blog) is wearing thin so Jim is also looking forward to swapping his ski boots for thongs.
Towards the end of this week we will be busy doing final jobs for Ski Him, ski shop reconc, taxi logbook checks and ski shop stocktake.
The hotel staff from management through to door boys have made our stay warm and welcoming.  They genuinely seem to like and care about us (as they do all guests I am sure).

I have inserted a couple of photos of a party we were invited to last week.  As usual it was only local men present who danced and sang.  The only girls present were tourists.  We had experienced the music and dancing in a past visit but it was still mesmerising (and funny at the same time).  For one song, one of the men dresses up as a girl and tries to entice the men up to dance.  For this particular song the music gets more frantic each time he tries to get someone up to dance.

The band

The girl song

The Indian tourists love to pose for photos.  At this very moment there are three girls posing in the snow across the road.  They love taking off as many clothes (both girls and boys) as seems respectful and pose.  These three girls are early twenties and their boyfriends the same.  They are pretty girls and look quite provocative by local standards.  They must be from Mumbai.  Mumbai Indians consider themselves more western than the rest of India.  Not always a good thing! The Kashmiri's response is bloody Indians.

Indian tourists frolicking in the snow outside our window in their hire furry coats and gumshoes, obviously not from Mumbai

Lunch at Khyber

We enjoyed a pleasant lunch today at Khyber with two Ski Himalaya guests Kris and Andrew from Australia.  It started snowing over lunch which added to the ambiance.

Jim finally got his Angus beef

Kris & Andrew

My Norwegian salmon - I ate the lot, yummy!

Who would want to drink coffee that the beans came out of a cat's bottom and then pay 4000 rupees ($80) for the experience

Jim and the boys skied this morning but gave up after enjoying a few runs.   The queues were too long and the pushy Russians (and others) spoil the atmosphere.  

We were lucky in January when the snow was fun and there were no queues and unpleasant skiers queue jumping.  

The queue jumpers bring out the worst in me so I decided to have a break from them today so I 

spent a few hours on my cross country skis this morning.  

There are sunglass sellers come glove sellers come goggle sellers out and about.  One man in particular whom I see often and always say hello to, doesn't wear sunnies himself so today I bought him a pair.  I said you can't be selling a product if you don't wear them yourself.  He asked me to pick out a pair for him.  I chose the Ray ban silver frames aviator for him.  They looked good. 

He carries the sunnies on a hanging set up around his neck with a mirror.  I encouraged him to look at himself in his mirror.  He seemed pleased and shook my hand.  Who knows whether he will put them back in his stock and keep the 100 rupees ($2).  

The sled pullers of Gulmarg

The sled pullers offer their services to pull you, your skis, and your luggage for rupees. 

Their base is in the market place.  I don’t know how it operates but it appears the business is either privately run or government owned and each day the sled pullers turn up and grab a sled and go off for the day to earn money.

The normal haunts are outside the gondola station, near the bus stop, the corner of our street, the poma slopes and outside hotels when an there is an influx of Indian tourists.

The Indian day tourists arrive on buses from Tang Mang.  They are all geared up in big furry coats and gum shoes (as they call them) hired from rental shops in Tang Mang.  The sled pullers approach the tourists and they haggle on a price to be pulled from the market, down the road and across the golf course to the poma slopes.  That is the norm!

Over at the golf course you can also pay for a ride on the sled down the slopes.  The Indians laugh and cackle, it is very funny to watch. 

Rental shops

The first few weeks of the winter I was tempted to pay for a sled to carry my skis back to the hotel (when you couldn’t ski back).  It was hard and tiring work either climbing up the hills and down the road back to the hotel or walk the long way round.  No matter how tempting it was I couldn’t bring myself to do it.  I think it has something to do with our Australian psyche.  I would rather just give the sled pullers rupees for nothing but that is the wrong thing to do, it would promote begging.  There are no beggars in Gulmarg. 

The sled pullers are multi skilled, they become horse wallahs in the summer months. 

Photo gallery

Here are some photos of our regular spots we frequent in Gulmarg

Bashki restaurant (middle building) 

Mr Khan (on left)

The fruit shop & owner

The elderly gents digging outside our window

The day after the big snow, I am putting on my skis on the steps

Midstation, after the big snow

Ski Himalaya ski shop with it's new banner

Back to Khyber for coffee

Jim was lured to come with me to Khyber for a real coffee yesterday.  We sat in Chaikash (the chai shop) enjoying our coffees, admiring the view and reading the Kashmiri newspapers (three in total).

I read about how a local Srinagar girl band disbanded due to Facebook harassment; social networking bullying is worldwide, the need for sewerage treatment plants to be set up around Lake Dal to preserve  the pristine lake and the installation of etoilets (coin operated) in Gulmarg.  We have been watching the toilets being built at the midstation near the chair lift since we arrived.  Change is a problem everywhere in India so I can't see how the  toilets are going to work.  It is difficult to get change of notes, coins are almost non existent.  "Tell them they're dreaming".

Anyway back to Chaikash, Jim had a strong latte and I had a mocha.  Most enjoyable and the cookies that came in a beautifully decorated brass container which were served with the coffee.  What a bonus. I was in heaven.

Jim is keen to return for the Angus beef before we leave as he won't get the opportunity to see it on a menu any time before we arrive in Dubai which is in 2.5 months time.  Our diet has been balanced and tasty although it is the simple foods (our normal diet) like grilled chicken, fish and steak and a simple green salad are the foods we crave for.

The Khyber foyer

Chaikash

The view from Chaikash

The lights in the outside entrance

New career - TV star

I had my 15 minutes of fame yesterday afternoon.  I may appear on some local or national TV news or tourism show.  It was hard to tell what was really going on.

I was climbing up the poma slope (I like to finish my xcountry circuit at the top of the poma slope to people watch for a while) when I hear this madam, madam and out of the corner of my eye I see this man following (slipping on the snow) along side me with a camera.  I pretend I don't see or hear him but then at the top of the slope there are three more men all holding microphones with their camera men in tow.

One man steps right in front of me on the very top of the slope.  I could have easily fallen backwards as the snow is still quite icy for mid afternoon and there is little grip on xcountry skis.  I said I will need to move off the crest of the hill otherwise I will fall backwards.  That would have been hilarious (not) being caught on camera.

This same man then my pushes a handful of microphones in my face and says look directly into the camera which is within 30cms of my face.  There is no introductions or no explanation of what they are doing.  He just starts asking me questions: my name, what country I am from, do I feel safe in Kashmir, how does skiing here compare with other countries, etc etc.

We go through the same scenario with each of his microphones, maybe five in total, I am not counting.  I am quite enjoying this, thinking it is really funny but I am trying to be serious at the same time giving them the answers they want, by now I am thinking it is to promote skiing in Gulmarg both locally and abroad.  I find this ironic as I am the only foreigner on the poma slopes, the real skiers are out and about.  No foreigner would be caught dead on the poma slopes except me and I am on xcountry not downhill skies.

After this man finishes with me I do the same again with another two men, thankfully they only have one microphone each.  I am dismissed with an "okay" and the usual shake of the head, my television career is over.

Girls lunch

I had a girls lunch yesterday at "Cloves" a restaurant at Khyber, the only five star resort in Gulmarg.

Google Khyber Resort Gulmarg.  It really is beautiful.  It opened its doors just before Christmas.  It is a decent climb up a windy road near the gondola,  the views are breathtaking.  Unfortunately I didn't have my phone on me to take any photos.


It wasn't really a girls lunch because there wasn't any girls or wine.  I had to imagine both.  What I'd give for both at the moment, the girls more so.  It is fun with girls and wine because then it becomes silly with lots of laughs.
I had saffron and snapper risotto, can you believe it.  I couldn't, when I read the menu.  It is quite extensive and impressive.  There was New Zealand lamb and Angus beef.  The dessert menu was inviting, offering bitter chocolate mousse cake and frozen berry panacotta.  I didn't have enough money on me for dessert but I made do with a long black coffee.  It had a beautiful de creme on the top (sign of  a good coffee I have read) and tasted so good.

I had to ask the waiter how much the tax was before I ordered the coffee because the prices are five star which they should be and are "tax applicable".  Imagine how embarrassing it would be not to have enough cash to pay for lunch.  I normally walk around with 500rps ($10) in my pocket.  Luckily, I grabbed another 1000rps before I left the hotel room.  I didn't even think about the expense of lunch.  

I will venture back before we leave and visit the coffee shop "Chaikash" for another real brewed coffee and take some photos.

Today is another day and I have not suffered food poisoning as a few of you might be thinking ordering fish so far away from the ocean.

Soon I will venture out to do my xcountry circuit around the golf course followed by a visit to the market for fruit and stop off at Baski's for lunch for a yummy vegetable burger 100rps ($2), our normal budget.

The one metre of snow did arrive over the past few days.  It was not as light as powder as hoped for but  still well needed snow.  Today is a beautiful sunny day and Jim is out and about with Ski Him guests working on his goggle tan.  I purchased sunblock the other day so hopefully my tan will not be so obvious.  Our faces are starting to look like those weather beaten faces of Himalayan people you see on National Geographic.

A regular scene after a snowfall - at end of our street

A day off the hill

Yesterday we went to Srinagar for the day, for a change of scenery.  It is just over an hour's drive from Gulmarg.

One of the Ski Him guests had to be dropped off at Lake Dal.  He is staying on a houseboat for the night.  It is offered as part of the package at the end of the ski trip.  It is well worth it to experience the whole Kashmiri adventure.

The rest of us: Jim, myself, Mustaq (the driver), Bilal (one of the waiters from our hotel who came along for the ride) and two German brothers (Ski Him guests) visited three Mughal gardens for the day.  We have seen them before but it was good to walk around without snow underfoot.  The pansies are just starting to flower.  It was cute seeing young couples having sneaky meetings under the Chinar trees to whisper sweet nothings to each other without supervision. 

We were also keen to do some shopping, toiletries and beer.  Unfortunately there was no beer to be found.  Forgetting it was Friday, being Muslin prayer day – all day, the wine/beer shops (3 in total in Srinagar) were all closed, so no beer.  There are three hotels here in Gulmarg selling beer but it would be nice to have it in our hotel room as an option to going out.  We did find a great supermarket (of sorts) for the toiletries.  Bought a can of honey roasted mixed nuts - what a treat!

The landscape to Srinagar

A village stop along the road to Srinagar

Shikaras on Lake Dal, Srinagar

Me, Mustaq & Bilal at Pari Mahal ruins

Nishat Bagh Gardens

Looking down to Lake Dal at Nishat Bagh