After spending four months in India, London was a night and day difference. The air was not clean but rather was filled with the scent of western cologne. I can’t say I enjoyed it any more than the dung and garbage lots I found in India, but at least this scent was sanitary. In fact, sanitation was really a novelty to me. The hotel I stayed at with my parents was…spotless. Of course, at the price I was paying, one could nearly construct a new hotel India (no, but it really is expensive).  The cab ride from the airport to the hotel alone was over 60 times more expensive than in India. It just blew my mind.

Once you get past the price, London is just like any other city. We went shopping, saw Spamalot (hilarious), and did the usual tourists attractions. I really enjoyed the British Museum and our day trips out to see Stonehenge, Bath, Oxford, and Stratford. I spent the week catching up on all the sleep I had lost as well as soaking in the luxeries I had nearly forgotten about. These included constant electricity, fast internet, temperature controlled rooms, hot showers with shower heads, toilet paper (oh, how I missed it), clean clothes, and mattresses with clean sheets. To be honest, all of these luxuries are possible and certainly cheaper in India, but were out of my price range while trying to live off of my Indian salary. That last part is the key difference.

And, while I have left out many stories, that concluded my summer. I am now back in Cleveland toiling endlessly away on my masters project during my last semester. I act like life is hard, but I know it isn’t. I have embraced the lifestyle I all but abandoned while in India, but certain things have remained. I have been cooking a lot more Indian dishes now that I know how they are supposed to taste. I notice Indian people a lot more (and I sometimes will interject a “shukriya” in conversation to see if they notice). I am applying to full time positions, but otherwise, life is quiet and a bit lonely. Alvida, summer.

My friends at IBM India helped me put together my travel itinerary for the rest of my trip in India. They all agreed on one thing - there is no place more beautiful than Kashmir, but going there might be the last thing I’ll ever do. Kashmir has a long history of violence and unrest. What was once the jewel of India has now been marred by constant bomb explosions and killings.

Nonetheless, this is my only trip to India. I decided to toss the advice given by my friends, The Lonely Planet tour book, and others aside. Foolish? Yes, but I wasn’t going to regret it and I booked a trip.

Flying into Srinagar is like flying into a military compound. Granted, the weekend I flew in was India’s Independence weekend, so the troops were out in full force. There were over 700,000 troops on the ground and were literally spaced at least one soldier for every 10 meters on most roads. Vehicle checkpoints are positioned throughout the city and cars are inspected at gunpoint. Once you get out of Srinagar, things get a little less scary, but the troops are still around no matter how far into the countryside you go.

I stayed in a houseboat on Dal Lake. I had beautiful accommodations and the food was among the best I had tasted in all of India. I took trips to see Gulmarg and Sonamarg mountains. The Mogul Gardens were also very pretty and I enjoyed the boat rides through the floating vegetable gardens. While in Kashmir, I purchased a kilo of tea as it was the best tea I have ever tasted. The secret is to boil the tea leaves with cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and saffron, which I also purchased. Kashmir’s rugs are known as the best in the world and I bought a few as presents and a personal souvenir.

As much as I would like to, I can’t recommend any one going to Srinagar. However, if you do go, you will have a great time and see some beautiful sites you just won’t see anywhere else in India. It is a personal decision that every person will have to make themselves. I spoke at lengths with the residents about the situation and it is clear that if one thing can fix Kashmir, it is more tourism and independence. Their situation is better off with India than with Pakistan, that to me is clear. However, India is not treating Kashmir with the respect it deserves and I would have to agree that Kashmir might be best as its own country. Then again, I am not a very political person and there is really no reason that Kashmir should not be able to function within India. India has worlds of opportunities and Kashmir could only benefit from these if India were to loosen the military control it has placed on Kashmir.

I spent the next part of my India trip with a tour group based in Pune, Foliage Outdoors. I had joined Foliage Outdoors while with IBM on a trip to Tamhini waterfall, near Pune. I had a great time and noticed in their brochure that they were organizing a tour of The Valley of Flowers. Their itinerary nearly matched the one I had collected by talking with my coworkers and since I had such a great time on the Tamhini trip, I would join up with them when they reached Delhi.

There were about 20 of us total on the trip. We all met at the train station and headed via non-ac coach to Rishikesh. The journey took all day because of the Yatra festival. Everyone on the road was wearing orange and cars, buses, and even bikes were packed with people singing and shouting. Inside the bus, I spoke to the others and earnestly tried improving my Marathi so I could understand what they were saying.

We arrived late in Rishikesh because of the festival and we didn’t get to see Rham Jhoola or Swargashram as planned that day. I did see the Ganges as we entered which was simply amazing. The river was incredibly fast moving due to the monsoon season and it was colored like Masala Tea. We stayed in a GMNV hotel which was very nice. I haven’t had hot water in over a week and bathing in the steamy shower was a religious experience.

The next day we left very early for Joshimath. The bus ride was incredibly long but beautiful. Staring out the window, we saw the Ganges river roaring hundreds of feet below and staring up was hundreds of feet of canyon walls. The road was incredibly dangerous but this did not seem to register with the driver as he threaded the coach like a needle around landslides, fallen trees, and other vehicles on the narrow road. At points, you could look straight down out the window and see nothing but the sharp drop off. It made even my heart skip a few beats! I took plenty of pictures by sticking my head out the narrow window. At some point during the journey I learned that my narrow window was not just a window but an emergency door. The door popped open when we hit a large pothole in the road and I nearly tumbled out. Luckily, I quickly grasped the seat in front of me but that was the last time I decided to take pictures from that window!

The highlight of the trip was surely the Valley of the Flowers. The thirteen kilometer hike from Govindghat to Ghangria was absolutely beautiful. You follow the tributary of the Ganges river and just are in awe of the Himalayas which stretch far into the sky. The river sounds peaceful until you get up next to it where you realize the shear amount of power of the water flowing in it.

We spent the night in Ghangria and then headed into the Valley of Flowers the next day. It was a six kilometer hike and was, by far, one of the most beautiful sites in India. Hundreds of species of flowers could be found all within a small area and it just stretched off into the distance. I took many photos of the beautiful flowers. We were very lucky that the weather cooperated with us and it was a perfect day. I returned to the Valley two days later to explore deeper into the valley only to find it completely overcast and then I was driven out by the rain.

Many of us also trekked ten kilometers up to Hemkund. At the peak, at over 15,000 feet, is a glacial lake. I met some Sikhs while traveling up and they convinced me to go swimming with them. As part of their religion, entering this lake cleanses you of all your sins. The downside to this great deal is that the lake’s temperature hovers around freezing when it isn’t frozen in the winter. Patches of snow could be found around the lake, but I took the plunge anyways. Jumping in felt like being hit with a truck but I laughed afterwards - so how bad could it have been? All of us headed into the temple and we attended a service.

Our trip concluded with stops in Auli and Haridwar. I would highly recommend Foliage Outdoors to anyone. Their tour guides love their job and it shows. They are incredibly knowledgeable about the sites, wildlife, and how to make sure everyone enjoys their trip.