When we got off the Shikara

1:00 am in the night, at Patnitop 120 kms from Srinagar

Don’t remember what the date was. We had spent a month zig-zagging, criss-crossing, bumping over the roads (or roads that could be paved) in Ladakh. We were returning home via the beautiful Kashmir valley. The clouds were bleeding over us. But we stopped not breaking our ‘no riding at night’ rule. We kept going like there is a tomorrow, and we must get to this place, any place outside of Kashmir before tomorrow gets here. We stop. We stop only when reach that and knock on the door of the first hotel in sight at Patni Top at 1:00 in the night.

5 hours ago at 7:45 PM, 55 kms from Srinagar on the way to Jammu

The local traffic police official asked us to leave. “What are you waiting for? If you want to get out of here, then now is the time. People are all in their homes breaking their fast. Leave before they return. Tomorrow morning the stones will return to be pelted at you. God knows what will happen. Leave! Leave! God will take care of you. Khuda Hafiz.”

5 hours ago 2:45 PM, 55 kms from Srinagar on the way to Jammu

Ishwinder refuses to eat anything before she gets home and sees “mumma” again. She can’t stop crying. A kind uncle who is the owner of the hotel where we were staying waiting for the curfew to be lifted tries to pacify her. We feel like we are in a movie when he offers us to bring something from the house of Hindu shop owner in case we feel eating at Muslim’s house violates our religion. Ishwinder in a gust of emotions touches his feet and tells him he is like family and that she is also observing a roza, a day of fasting in the month of Ramadan. It was the month of Ramadan.

2 hours ago 12;45 PM, 55 kms from Srinagar on the way to Jammu

A stone was sent flying at Ishwinder. Luckily the body suit worked and she still uses her arm to type the posts on this blog.

3 hours ago, 9:45 AM at Dal Lake in Srinagar, where the story began

“Where are you guys going?” asks the man rowing the Shikara.

There is a bandh declared in Kashmir today. Nobody is allowed outside. Police will not let you leave.

“What?” we look at each other in shock.

Before we could say, “But everything seemed normal yesterday. What do you mean there is a curfew. What will happen now? Is it dangerous” we had already reached the shore.

The brother of the man rowing the shikara helped us get off the boat. Vikram brought the motorbike from the parking.

“Where are you going? The police will not let you go anywhere. It is risky. Somebody may try to hurt you. People are protesting.”

While we were both still, the two men tied our rucksacks to the motorbike and probably also placed us on it.

“Anyways God will take care of you. Khuda Hafiz.”

Off we went. Not sure how far we would get before we are stopped. But what was it that would stop us we did not know until a police barricade told us it was risky to go further. That is when a stone from the crowds came flying at Ishwinder and we panicked. We turned around. We checked into a hotel for the day and kept walking up to the police officials congregated on the street to ask them when we will be able to leave. All day we heard news of causalities. How true or false they were we don’t know. Finally we could leave at 7:45 PM when protestors went home for iftar and we rode like there is a tomorrow, and we must get to this place, any place outside of Kashmir before tomorrow gets here.

That time we were stuck in the riots in Kashmir and ours was the only vehicle on the road and 119 kilometres from Srinagar to Patni Top seemed like forever, and we had to drive in the middle of the night making our way on the road through tyres set on fires, broken glasses and rocks placed on bridges. No, that time is something we don’t even joke about. That was one of our worst travel experiences.

Our Worst Travel Experiences – Travel is exhilarating, life-changing, transforming, liberating and all that blah blah. But after fourteen months of backbreaking travel and bus journeys spanning several hours and days that end in us lying down in different beds of different sizes, and ever-changing food types, style and quality, we can vouch for you that much as travel enriches you, it also impoverishes you. Travel is not always glorious. Sometimes things go wrong. And we will be writing about those times when things went wrong in the next few posts. So, ladies and gentlemen, bring out your pop-corns and be ready to be thrilled for we bring to you our worst travel experiences. These are stories full of drama, mystery, victory and redemption.