My trip up north to a different kind of India

So this was a while back, but after dropping off the interns at Delhi airport, I went on a 3 week journey to the northern most state of Jammu & Kashmir. My butt was sore from riding on buses for 6 full days on roads that were scary, steep, bumpy, and plainly ridiculous, but all the hassle and pain was well worth it because I really enjoyed my time up there. Basically, a large portion of the state is disputed between India, China, and Pakistan, so there's a real strong army presence there (they say that almost 70% of the Indian army is up there), and so depending on which map you're looking at (a Pakistani, American, Indian, etc.) the northern border of India is drawn quite differently. What I really enjoyed about being there was the relaxed pace of life, the (relatively) low amount of touts, and some of the most amazing scenery on the word.

The western part of the state is almost all Muslim, and the eastern part is almost all Tibetan (granted, in practice, both have hints of Hinduism mixed ). The western part that I was in is a huge fertile, super green valley called Kashmir. I didn't spend too much time there because I'm hoping to go back there with my brother to go skiing right before I head back to the states. So, I spent the bulk of my time in the eastern region of Ladakh. Some call it a lunar landscape. Anyways, on to the pics, enjoy!


After taking an overnight train to Jammu, I went straight for a 12 hour "jeep" ride to Srinagar, I headed straight to my houseboat/hotel. The British built lots of houseboats in the area because they weren't allowed to buy and build on land. Since the Brits are gone, they've all been converted to houses and hotels.


This is where my bro and I are hoping to go skiing, supposedly some of the best (but cheapest) snow in the word. Here's a pic of the ridge we're hoping to ski. I went to go scout things out. Lots of really nice high end hotels...


...but luckily, I was able to find a cheap place to crash for a night. It was maybe the dirtiest place I've ever stayed in, (what's up with the dirty bathroom with a no toilet seat? is that a bat or a rat in ceiling above me?). It's funny to think of how standard of cleanliness has come down...


Next, I headed out towards Leh. It took 2 full days on the bus, but the scenery was crazy awesome. We went from a super green fertile valley to rocky, dry, and ridiculously steep mountains.


Our "Super Deluxe" bus got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, but at least there was room to pull off on the side of the road.


When we got closer to Leh, the capital of Ladakh, the scenery became this acute contrast between the rocky and desert-like landscape (feels like you're on the moon) and the lush green valleys wherever streams were flowing.


And finally, we got to Leh, "little Tibet". It's hard to see, but at the base of one of the mountains to the left, there's a golf course, which has dirt fairways, rocky roughs, and greens that are covered with oil to make a nice putting surface.


EMI did a project in Leh a couple years ago, so I called up the contact, and within a couple hours, the guy convinced me that I should go with a small team to some villages to help with their medical clinics. This is the first village we visited. We kinda had to go off-roading in a bus to get there, that was interesting.


Here's one of the us giving out worm medicine. Kids are so cute everywhere I go. Here, some looked Chinese-ish, others Thai-ish, but all are one of the billion Indians.


My friend Kapil with a yak's skull. For some reason, they were everywhere.


One of our campsites was in an apricot orchard. One of the guys and I decided to do a little hiking, and we ended up on top of this plateau where this woman was pitting and drying apricots, yummm.


We threw a small birthday party for one of the guys at this cafe that's owned by the local church. They had awesome lattes, cookies, cake, etc., it was like being back home in the US for the couple minutes while drinking coffee.


Probably my favorite and most memorable touristy thing I've ever done was renting a bike and going along the Indus Valley to visit various monasteries and villages. I've wanted to ride a motorcycle for such a long time, and where better than one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to (plus the bikes here are like glorified bicycles; at a slight uphill at about 13,000 ft, mine didn't go above 30mph). Here's a view of Thiske Monastary.


A view back toward the Indus valley.


I also got a chance to visit this really nice school (apparently financed by Richard Geer, whose Buddhist). For those interested in architecture, a lot of care was put into passive heating/cooling and sustainability, which was designed by Arup. It was really interesting to see a lot of things that I learned in school put into practice. Incidentally, one of the schools I designed was based off this one.


It took another 3 days of bus riding to get home. The road was so beat up and bouncy that my butt was sore for a week, but it was all worth it.

The road leading up to one of the highest motorable roads in the world.


17,582 ft.!


Road? Who needs a road when there's a flat valley?


One of our tea/ bathroom stops. Lots of little tents that serve as restaurants and hotels. I can't imagine what life would be like living and working in one of these tents that are in the middle of nowhere.


Melting glacier


Random picture of the 10 lbs of CHEESE I bought on the way back. Some European taught this Indian guy how to make real cheese! mmmm. Little things like this really excite me while living in a different culture.


That's it for today. I just got back from 3 weeks in the state of Orissa for a couple project trips to help with a design of a vocational training center, children's home, and a school out in a little village. I'll be sure to post about it soon, thanks for reading!