Hotel Zahgeer Continental Gulmarg

... where the brown fog ended and the blue sky above it with what I'm told was K2 peaking it's head over.
I headed back down towards the cable cars, happy that I was passing some people and wasn't the last one down.
Headed back down to the halfway point with 2 army personnel carrying rifles, and met Shakeel who was waiting for me.
Had some chai and a snack and then headed to the bottom. Shakeel then took me on a 3km gentle trek through the forest (or jungle as he ...

... fondo, si apriva uno specchio di lago ristretto da canneti ed altre house-boat. L'umiditā saliva dall'acqua e la nebbia era spessa anche al buio del mattino presto. Da giā quasi un'ora risuonavano le preghiere dai megafoni delle decine di moschee tutte attorno. Srinagar č una cittā di un milione di abitanti, quasi completamente mussulmana. E se dell'islamismo ho visto poco e nulla, ho potuto percepire la forza della fede di queste parti. Tutti hanno oggetti religiosi in case e negozi ...

... the ever present avalanche danger and land mines...but I digress. Anyway...for my ski adventure, I decided to visit a ski mountain in Gulmarg in the northern most state of India, the state of "Jammu and Kashmir". That's the actual state name..."Jammu and Kashmir"? That's sort of like having the state of "Texas and Oklahoma". Some of you may have heard about Kashmir before as back in the late 90's as it was probably the most dangerous ...

... 2006. Guillaume Soubiraa, a Madagascar based French gemologist, a former gemology student at AIGS and Sardar Saeed Akhtar, geologist and assistant director at the Geological Survey of Pakistan were traveling with me.. From Islamabad we went to Muzafarabad to explore the Neelam valley and reach the Kashmir ruby mine at Nangimali. The expedition was difficult as the area was still ...

... 1. Training of Crew Members--All members of a crew should be trained in their job so that their work can be done safely and correctly. This would include, for example, training of guides in First Aid, Survival, Map Reading, and other outdoor skills. 2. Ensuring Proper Gear of Crew Members and Trekkers--One question that must be asked is: for the trek, are trekkers responsible for bringing their own gear or will the outfitter provide ...

... my tires to check before inflating, and no further issues. As of this writing, we've completed the first week, which was all of 435 km. The biking is physically very demanding due to the altitude, and the road conditions, and drove home, with absolutely NO ambiguity just how much of a relaxing cake walk the trek had been. But that's quite enough drivel for now, will write up the biking part of the Himalayas next time. ciao MK (stupid editor won't let me do my usual signature)

... odwiedzilysmy swiatynie Sikhow, ktorzy okazali sie bardzo przyjaznie nastawionymi ludzmi. Oprowadzili nas po swiatyni, objasniajac odbywajace sie tam ceremonialy. Przed wejsciem do swiatyni musialysmy obmyc rece i stopy a glowy nakryc husta.Wszystko bylo interesujace do momentu kiedy w akcie nasladowania zmuszone bylysmy polknac wymietolona w ich dloniach kulke nie wiadomo czego - mialo to slono slodki ...

... t have 250 rupees on me, here's 230. I'm not going to your home. I'll just get the ticket from an agent." As I started to walk down the street he grabbed my sleeve. Looking him in the eyes I told him not to grab me. "You are stupid! I'm just trying to help you because you are here alone. Just come inside and everything will be alright. Have a little trust." "I'd rather pay the full price than be called stupid!" "Look, (showing me ...

Gulmarg is about 50 kilometers to the west of Srinagar. It's a small resort village on a nationally protected piece of land, 50 kilometers closer to Pakistan, within a few kilometers of the Line of Control. Two Tata Sumo's (Jeep-like trucks- Tata is an Indian brand) took me through all the checkpoints and heavily guarded roadways. Along one stretch of a poplar lined road, soldiers stood at 20 meter intervals. Bunkers sat slightly ...

Ok*y here it is - the sh*meless (*nd perh*ps slightly irresponsible) K*shmir plug. K*shmir is be*utiful. Gr*nted there *re some "hotspots" but it's re*lly just * coin toss - wrong pl*ce *t the wrong time c*n get you into trouble *nywhere. Th*t s*id, the recent episodes of violence in J*mmu, Srining*r *nd the *re*s close to the Am*r*nth c*ves, *re tr*gic. No longer *re the t*rgets solely milit*ry inst*ll*tions but now include innocent civili*ns *s well. This deterior*ting ...