Kashmir: War and Boredom

This was the message I got from my mother this morning:

SEAN,
THE BBC HAS SAID THAT KASMIR IS VERY UNSTABLE AND THAT THE FIGHTING HAS INCREASED ALL OVER NORTHERN iNDIA. PLEASE LEAVE. MOM

Well, I have decided to leave but not because of any fear for my safety. I have been staying on a house boat on Nigeen Lake in Srinagar for the past couple days. While the lake is beautiful, peaceful and relaxing, the rest of the town is on curfew and pretty much dead. The food supply has been cut off by Hindu protesters in Jammu and food is getting short. No more eggs for breakfast, or meat for dinner. The tourism here is almost non-existent and the heavy military presence doesn't make walking around town too fun.

You can take small paddle boats to various other houseboats on the lake, bypassing the road. I know a handful of people on the lake but last night my bad luck struck me. It was about 1 a.m. on a fairly large, completely deserted lake. I was on my paddle boat heading home from a friends houseboat when my paddle boat started to take water. "Oh shit, I'm fucking sinking!!" was all I could mutter out (I swear a lot, I know, but I was sinking). Sure enough, I went under with all of my clothes on and no one to hear me call so I didn't. To be honest, I didn't want to be seen as the idiot tourist whose boat sank. Luckily, I know how to swim and my houseboat was in sight. I floated on my back to my houseboat, stripped down, took a shower and decided to leave.

The only way out for me is to fly. The road is closed down south and while I could wait and see if the road opens in the next few days, I have all of India to see and I'm bored out of m mind here. Tomorrow I have a flight to Delhi and will then take a bus back up north to Dharamasala/McLeod Ganj. It should be a long two days but it's the only choice I have. Once I get back up north, I will be back on track. Until then.....