Kashmir!

Yup I am in Kashmir!

Meanwhile, ie yesterday I was in Kabs' place..

Juhi is quite grown up and is a clever little girl.

I was seriously doing the coin toss to take the bus to Kulu or take a direct flight to Leh. The second option was chosen with a lot of sense inputting from Kabs and Anubha.. Not to mention how I missed the bus to Kulu, since we were just happily driving round CP and just didnt care too much...

So I took the morning IC445 (0645hrs) from Delhi to Leh(IXL). There are two flights from Delhi to Leh as of today... JET(0540hrs) and Indian... In a couple of weeks from now, Air Deccan will also be entering the fray.. The cost of the ticket is Rs2380+taxes which comes to Rs3355. It is a beautiful approach to Leh..

It looks like a giant chocolate cake from the top, soft and creamy. The pilot was doing a-one to the left and a-one to the right to get us some views from the air.. An entire stretch of mountains is snow filled... If I was a skier, I would die and go to heaven from right here... And another stretch is just barren chocolatey mountains... Leh is in the midst of the barren stretch... A few spots near the local river (will get the name) were green.. This place is supposed to be a desert with the same amount of rainfall as the Sahara.

My cellphone is down because only Airtel connections are available in Leh. Mine is a Reliance connection. I am feeling just a little short of breath... I usually keep myself somewhat fit, so I guess this is the worst I am going to feel for the next 24 hrs by which time I should get acclimatized to the conditions here... Ok.. If I rush up the steps in a quick motion, I do feel the shortness of breath a little more acute.

One of my friends who runs a tourist and trekking agency suggested Hotel Yak Tail, which is where I am put up. It is quite decent and has the most comfortable bed I have been in any hotel. The tariff for me (special because of Akshay) is Rs 700. I slept off the early part of the day and now it is time to go find some food.