Kashmir

I have to finish writing about Kashmir but the internet is so damn slow and expensive that its just not working out.

7:30: Sunset. Hungry from sitting around all day. Waiting for dinner, reminiscing about the hard hard day.

8:30: Eat. Jamal brings out the dinner, usually a variation on rice, veggies and potatoes. And carrots, lots of neglected carrots that supposedly grow in Kashmir. So dinner was basically carrots and potatoes, and maybe a little Spinach thrown in for originality.

9:30: Murder. We played this game almost every day after dinner, the same way my grandmother used to play Rummy with her friends every Sunday at three. I inevitably lost everytime, having no talent for bluffing.

After the game, which lasted until around eleven, we did more of the insigficant things we did during the day, only with less enery. Like playing cards, listening to music. Sometimes a few friends from other houseboats stopped and by and participated in our fun.

During the day a lot of Shikara salesmen would stop by with their boats full of special Kashmiri handicrafts and pashmina shawls and climb onto our porch to try to sell us things. I was suckered into buying a few gifts by one of these salesmen who offered a few glimpses into his daily life. I asked him about his family. He said his wife is one of those who wears a complete "burka" when she goes out. That is, she is dressed from head to toe in black. She even wears the sunglasses under the burka so that strange men wont see her eyes. He seemed to find much pleasure in this situation and was obviously proud of the fact that his wife was so "loyal". It did not seem that his pleasure was derived from religious belief, since he quickly added that sometimes, when he finds distaste in his wife's presence, he sends her to her mother's house, and brings over his two "girlfriends." I joked that I wanted to see his house, and he offered to invite us to dinner, an invitation I wanted to accept, but could not find any one else in the houseboat who would join me.

For the record, tomorrow Im going on a Trek for four days, but when I get back ill finish the story of Kashmir and catch up on the details of Leh, Ladakh, which is where I am now.