Good omens started at Mumbai Airport. Awaiting an outbound flight we were still trying to figure out how to dial certain Indian phone numbers from US mobile phones. The announcement for failed calls was a very pleasant woman's voice the first few times. A fellow passenger overheard our puerile telephony attempts and chimed in. In the end a Cosmo author taught two voice engineers to place calls and then set off to Kashmir. Thanks Rena(sp?), you are amazing!
There was one casualty of this trip - my US drivers license. Somewhere between being insufficient identification at flight checkin and setting off wands at security checkpoints it went missing. Note to other travelers don't bother carrying it, its mostly useless. The museum in Mumbai preferred to hold my hotel room key over my drivers license as collateral. That should have put things into perspective. What can I say, I'm slow on the uptake.
Then things got interesting. I was vaguely aware of the hostility between India and Pakistan. Jammu is ~16km (I still have to convert from miles) from the Pakistan border. Exiting the plane onto the tarmac a soldier with automatic weapon encouraged me to delete freshly snapped pictures. Inside the terminal there were more soldiers than passengers. We progressed through without incident. I never perceived any actual hostility. It is a personal issue that I am uneasy around soldiers with fingers on the triggers of automatic weapons (note: not shouldered). The people were nice, just prepared, and I can respect that.
Overlooking the armaments Jammu was a normal city with people going about normal activities.
Primary industries seem to be garment manufacturing, mining, and tourism. There were major road construction projects underway along NH1A. Military and security were also major employers. Metal detectors appeared mandatory everywhere. I found it entertaining how we always to go through the detectors, pretty much always set them off, and no one ever seemed to care. The gates were almost obligatory check marks.
The white night symbolism captured my interest. This drew a reminder that the military is interesting but not particularly photogenic. I pocketed my camera until more sparsely populated area.
Monkeys lined the side of the road awaiting handouts and discards from passing cars. Some wondered into traffic but did not make it back out. Terrain turned mountainous and breathtaking.
The hotel greeted us with the cultural significance of the area and I received my first red dot.
The trip was amazing and concurrently very personal.
For now it will have to suffice to just say "Wow". I was very clearly a stranger in a strange land and yet welcomed all the same. I did my best to pay respect, show appreciation, and reciprocate kindness and generosity when opportunities presented. It was humbling to be present, let alone participate at an unprecedented level.
Daylight of the following day revealed fresh perspectives on the beauty of the Tawi River Valley region.
Kashmir is further north and supposedly more breathtaking. Hopefully cooler minds will prevail in the future and reopen this beautiful area. At the same time there is already a steady stream of people. Perhaps tension is a guard against further proliferation?
Reality was still firmly in place back at the airport. This was to be my last chaperoned travel for a while. My next steps out on my own would be much easier after this rich introduction to India.
beautiful photos Wes. The only places I visited were Bangalore and Mysore. That's great that you were invited to the north by some local people.
ReplyDeleteBIll - people here fondly recount your trip. There is so much here.
ReplyDelete