After crossing into Kashmir the heavans opened; much cooler here than Delhi, and raining steadly. First impression: military everywhere, lush green vegetation, grey and drab colours, certainly completely different from Delhi.
As you approach Srinagar you cannot miss to see by the sides of the road, thousands and thousands of clean, shaped, and perfectly stacked piles of white timber wood. I have seen that shaped cut wood before, but couldn't remember from where. So curiosty got the better of me and I asked a Kashmire who said 'Canada, England and Kashmire are the main producers of....................................... wet land in the valleys, our national game. Bingo, cricket bats. The stacked wood seasoning for bats, and the saffron of Kashmire are world renowned, but I guess many associate this region with wars, carpets, and drugs; and rightly so.
The congested slow moving entry into town was noisy, wet and miserable as the stone cutters chipped a way at their headstone orders, and kitchen mortar and pestels. I just wanted to get out of this metal deathtrap, and could now start to physcially relax and plan the next moves......when suddenly the back door was flung open and a young man in his twenties jumped in, his partner doing the same at the front nearside door. Instant reaction was to grab our small bags, and then see how our driver reacted. He was lost for words. We were going nowhere. Stuck in traffic, anyhow after a threating exchange with the guy in the back who had demanded to know my nationality, and where I was staying; he finally realised that he was out numbered, and fled the scene. Strangely, not before saying 'Sorry'. Welcome to Kashmir...... this could be a very interesting visit to this mainly Muslim area.
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