Yay, May 9th and Holidays declared, I packed my bags for a week long holiday and then a two week family time.
10 of us, friends, boarded the morning bus and went off gaily to Bangalore. We shopped and ate to our heart's content and took the flight to Delhi. We were met there by our dear friend Alli and two other classmates and the 13 of us had a late night chatting and making plans.We took off by the morning train to Pathankot. We had a frolicking time recalling all our 45 plus years of pranks and fights and fun we had. We reached Pathankot. From Pathankot , we were taken by a van to Jammu. It suddenly dawned on us, when our prepaid phones jammed down, that, we were crossing over into an area of turmoil and volatile temperament. Any moment anything could happen. But, with God on our side and the happiness of being with friends, we set off happily. Many a time we could see Police and Security guards with AK 47's etc. It was late at night and there was thunder and lightning and rain. We reached Alli's guesthouse in Jammu and was treated to a sumptuous dinner. After dinner and a lot of pranks, we retired to bed as we had to go up to Srinagar the next morning.
Some of us wanted to visit the famous temple which was a few yards away from the guesthouse. We quickly went through the ancient temple but were looted by the pujaris. They knew we were from down south and would easily part with our money if they said it was for the good of our children and grandchildren. Incidentally, the Pujari predicted a grand son. (Sic) ( He was wrong. Barely two weeks later a beautiful granddaughter was born.) We scrambled out of the temple a few thousands of rupees less and we boarded our tempo traveller. The journey through the Himalayas was picturesque. Waterfalls, steep abyss and awe-inspiring pine trees. It was a treat to our eyes. Coniferous forests dotted all over the mountains. Beautiful! After a long drive, we reached Srinagar around 10. Roads again dotted with a lot of security personnel. Srinagar is cold and beautiful. The next day May 12th, we went over to Gulmarg. None of us in the gang had been there and we did not know what to expect. Our car drivers were our guides and they were tickled to see us, 13 ladies all speaking broken Hindi, happy and so contented. At the base of the hill, we found people who rented out gum boots and huge jackets and we were wondering if this was needed. We climbed a few feet higher and we saw the cable car. Wow! Our excitement mounted. We were bundled into the cable car,also called the Gondolas, and reached the first level. The first level has a beautiful view of snow capped mountains. We waited for our turn to get into another round of a journey in the cable car. We reached level 2. It was spectacular. Snow everywhere and freezing cold. It was awesome. We slipped and stumbled and fell on hard ice. It was incredible! We wanted more. So, we bargained with the sledge pullers to take us into the ice mountains. They promised us a view of the LOC. We set out. Sledges being pulled by men. What an experience. The tourists screaming and hooting in fear, cold and excitement. We were surrounded by photographers who promised instant photographs. We posed in the shivering biting cold and pics were taken. We enjoyed the glamour of the chattering cold and as our hands started to freeze, we turned back and went back to the waiting cars. An unforgettable experience. That same evening we drove down to Dal lake and lazed around in the Shikaras. We had pics taken as Kashmiri females and hopping from one Shikara to another to dress and pose was a whole lot of fun. Tired but happy we returned to the guest house. The next day was a local sight seeing visiting day. The gardens were heavenly, the food amazing and everything was beautiful. Our camaraderie made it even more beautiful. We were invited to dinner by the secretary of tourism - Jammu and Kashmir, and we went back to our safe haven to sleep. Next morning we bundled into the car and reached Jammu by 5 pm. We bid farewell to our tour guide come driver and jumped into the train to Delhi. Reached Delhi in the morning. Shopped the whole day in the scorching heat.It was 42degrees and we shopped till we were exhausted and dehydrated. We went home to Alli's and in the morning the girls took a flight to Bangalore. Few of them to Chennai and I flew down to Pune. The most memorable trip ever. Muaaahhh
10 of us, friends, boarded the morning bus and went off gaily to Bangalore. We shopped and ate to our heart's content and took the flight to Delhi. We were met there by our dear friend Alli and two other classmates and the 13 of us had a late night chatting and making plans.We took off by the morning train to Pathankot. We had a frolicking time recalling all our 45 plus years of pranks and fights and fun we had. We reached Pathankot. From Pathankot , we were taken by a van to Jammu. It suddenly dawned on us, when our prepaid phones jammed down, that, we were crossing over into an area of turmoil and volatile temperament. Any moment anything could happen. But, with God on our side and the happiness of being with friends, we set off happily. Many a time we could see Police and Security guards with AK 47's etc. It was late at night and there was thunder and lightning and rain. We reached Alli's guesthouse in Jammu and was treated to a sumptuous dinner. After dinner and a lot of pranks, we retired to bed as we had to go up to Srinagar the next morning.
Some of us wanted to visit the famous temple which was a few yards away from the guesthouse. We quickly went through the ancient temple but were looted by the pujaris. They knew we were from down south and would easily part with our money if they said it was for the good of our children and grandchildren. Incidentally, the Pujari predicted a grand son. (Sic) ( He was wrong. Barely two weeks later a beautiful granddaughter was born.) We scrambled out of the temple a few thousands of rupees less and we boarded our tempo traveller. The journey through the Himalayas was picturesque. Waterfalls, steep abyss and awe-inspiring pine trees. It was a treat to our eyes. Coniferous forests dotted all over the mountains. Beautiful! After a long drive, we reached Srinagar around 10. Roads again dotted with a lot of security personnel. Srinagar is cold and beautiful. The next day May 12th, we went over to Gulmarg. None of us in the gang had been there and we did not know what to expect. Our car drivers were our guides and they were tickled to see us, 13 ladies all speaking broken Hindi, happy and so contented. At the base of the hill, we found people who rented out gum boots and huge jackets and we were wondering if this was needed. We climbed a few feet higher and we saw the cable car. Wow! Our excitement mounted. We were bundled into the cable car,also called the Gondolas, and reached the first level. The first level has a beautiful view of snow capped mountains. We waited for our turn to get into another round of a journey in the cable car. We reached level 2. It was spectacular. Snow everywhere and freezing cold. It was awesome. We slipped and stumbled and fell on hard ice. It was incredible! We wanted more. So, we bargained with the sledge pullers to take us into the ice mountains. They promised us a view of the LOC. We set out. Sledges being pulled by men. What an experience. The tourists screaming and hooting in fear, cold and excitement. We were surrounded by photographers who promised instant photographs. We posed in the shivering biting cold and pics were taken. We enjoyed the glamour of the chattering cold and as our hands started to freeze, we turned back and went back to the waiting cars. An unforgettable experience. That same evening we drove down to Dal lake and lazed around in the Shikaras. We had pics taken as Kashmiri females and hopping from one Shikara to another to dress and pose was a whole lot of fun. Tired but happy we returned to the guest house. The next day was a local sight seeing visiting day. The gardens were heavenly, the food amazing and everything was beautiful. Our camaraderie made it even more beautiful. We were invited to dinner by the secretary of tourism - Jammu and Kashmir, and we went back to our safe haven to sleep. Next morning we bundled into the car and reached Jammu by 5 pm. We bid farewell to our tour guide come driver and jumped into the train to Delhi. Reached Delhi in the morning. Shopped the whole day in the scorching heat.It was 42degrees and we shopped till we were exhausted and dehydrated. We went home to Alli's and in the morning the girls took a flight to Bangalore. Few of them to Chennai and I flew down to Pune. The most memorable trip ever. Muaaahhh
