Traveloner for a (be)Cause

Finally it was happening. I was still skeptical about having some problem, constraint, limitation or sickness or the other. This was how it had been for all the things I had really, really wanted to do. When they would finally happen, I would not be able to go.

But this time was different. I had to go. Ladakh had to have me. Srinagar had to have me. For what seemed like eternity after I watched the Nat Geo Adventure episode on Khardung La, the itinerary was made, with tickets booked. 2 of us were to travel to Jammu and then by road to Srinagar. The other 3 would join us in Srinagar and then we would go to Leh.

Problem, if not you, who is my friend? My initial travel mate had to back out because of inevitable family situation. I was alone. This was still OK, except for the fact that I did not want to travel on roads for 49 hrs all alone. So minor change in itinerary at a negligible cost, and I flew to Srinagar on Aug 25^th, the Tuesday. So before the 3 friends – Chacha, Roger and Motar-Motar reached Srinagar, I had 5 days all to myself.

This was the first time I was traveling all alone for pleasure. That too to such a place (international cordiality galore!). The specter of skepticism engulfed me right as I emerged from the airport and looked for the bus to take me to the city. Relentlessly looking under the seats of the passengers (and regretting that I was not able to see under the driver’s seat), I constantly felt on the verge of dying, my earlobes were piping hot, and I was ready to be at the centre of a bus explosion. The bus was exactly like the ones shown exploding in the movies. This still didn’t keep me from appreciating both – the military presence and the greenery. Finally I was at the interchange between the airport shuttle and the city Auto network. First thing – get a map, and I was actually surprised by the fact that I got it exactly for the price printed on it. The city map only fueled my ubiquitous suspicion further – it was not to scale. The auto guy on top of that, gave excuses such as ‘Ramadan ka mahina hai’(It is the Ramadan month) and charged me 1.5 times what was written on reasonable for that distance on most travel forums.

The destination was Hotel Swiss. An awesome welcome by Fayaz and Altaf instantly relaxed me. What made me further feel home was their impeccable confidence about what I should be doing in Srinagar, and offering the in-house bicycle for sauntering around.

What followed were a quick nap and a quack snap.

And with sprinkling off the burden of such a laden day, around the gardens and the suburban streets of Srinagar, it was a cold, starry, light night.