Footsteps - Jotaro's Travels: Intoxicating India 2013

Monday, March 4, 2013

Intoxicating India 2013 - Day 4

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Footsteps - Jotaro's Travels

Intoxicating India : 9th to 16th February 2013

Rajasthani Puppets

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DAY 4 : 12TH FEBRUARY 2013

A. GOODBYE KASHMIR

We woke up to the early morning shrilling cry of a eagle soaring over Dal Lake.
Did it know that this will be our last day here? Was it a shrill cry of goodbye?
Today will be more of a day of travelling : Flying from Kashmir to New Delhi, and from there a long bus journey down to Jaipur.
But an incident did jar me a bit! More on that later.

After breakfast I took time out for a last view of Lake Dal - ducks were paddling serenely.

Our luggage were loaded onto the waiting Shikaras, and we are ready to set off for the mainland.

On the way across; a look of our houseboats and a silent goodbye.

Over on the mainland, our luggage were loaded on top of the vans and we hit the road.

Along the way we met the expected frequent security checkpoints.

But this did not deter me from viewing the local scenes - a milkman on his bicycle.

Crossing the Jhelum River, one of the feeders to the mighty Indus River.

Finally at Srinagar Airport, but security getting out from Kashmir and to Delhi is even more strict than that of coming in.
First there is the the checkpoint at the air-port gate. Everyone has to get down and carry their own luggage through for X-ray scanning, and then there is the body checks.
Next, at the doors into the building was another check of boarding passes, and then a final one at customs.

We went through all three security checks; and are safe & sound in the terminal building - or so I thought!

Until some other Malaysians and I were nabbed by airport security for smoking in the toilet...
We had asked the reception and they had said it was okay to smoke in the toilet. But less than a minute after puffing up, a plains cloth (undercover) security personnel "caught" us, took our passports and paraded us down to a security room.
Is this the end of my India trip - the rest of the time to be spent in some cell in Kashmir?
No! The plains cloth agent was more eager to find out how one of my fellow smokers managed to get his lighter through! They were more worried about a slip in their security system.

So when the plane taxied off from Srinagar Airport, I let out a huge sigh of relief. NO MORE SMOKING IN AIRPORT TOILETS!

On board, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself seated next to Santosh Thakur. He's India's Olympic skier from Manali. We chatted a bit, he was up at Kashmir's Gulmarg mountains for some skiing.

B. A TIRING JOURNEY FROM DELHI TO JAIPUR

We reached Delhi and on the way to lunch saw this cute sign.
Now I am HAPPY again, the unfortunate airport incident behind me already.
Dogs always do make me happy!

Lunch in Delhi was at the Asia Kitchen Restaurant.

Among the dishes we had was this interesting and delicious vegetable balls - the spicy filling goes well with the crust.

Once back outside, we were exposed to the sights and sounds of everyday life of Delhi.
The shoe-shine boys here were shouting loudly for business...

... and beggar children clung on to one of our co-tourist's leg, reluctant to let go until they received some alms.

We are on our bus again, starting our 4-5 hours trip along National Highway No.8 down to Jaipur, the afternoon scorching sun penetrating into the bus.

Arising from a recent brutal rape-murder incident on a bus, all buses in India are now banned from having curtains. This did not help us, as the afternoon sun was very hot. Luckily our Cashmere veils came to good use.

En route, our bus had to stop at these Tax Collection points. Commercial vehicles crossing from one state into another state have to pay a tax. This one is at the boundary where we entered Haryana State. Later on, we stopped at another when entering Rajasthan.

Along many stretches of the highway were these interesting sights - cow dung patties everywhere; at the road shoulders, road median, and even on top of village houses. These were put out to be dried under the hot sun and will later be used as fuel for cooking, etc.

Our mid-way rest room stop - the Shiva Oasis Resort. There don't seem to be proper R&R stops along the highway, so tour buses stop at these resorts. It is a welcomed relief for the tourists to carry out their personal hygiene, and at the same time to do a little bit of shopping - they sell snacks and souvenirs here.

Doorman of Hotel K.K. Royal, Jaipur.

Due to bad traffic, by the time we reached our hotel in Jaipur (the K.K. Royal Hotel) it was 9 pm. Tired, we were just glad to have a late dinner and adjourn to our rooms.

It has been a long day that has been short on sights and uneventful,
so just Goodnight then. Let's hope tomorrow will be more exciting.
Zzzzzzzzzz.....

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