Kashmir

Travelling to Kashmir has been one of my childhood dreams. It came true in an unexpected fashion last week.
After the quite epic and never ending #anshitanukulkishaadi in Jammu, we headed to Kashmir. The wedding and kashmir culture merits a super long post of its own. And I think the beauty of kashmir and its description is best left for personal experience. So I'll write about touristy stuff and general do's, dont's, scams to be avoided and things to be covered. This is going to be a long list.

1. Always check weather before entering the valley. We were well equipped with winter jackets, caps, gloves, boots, pairs of socks to tackle the untimely and delayed snowfall. 

2. If possible stay in Srinagar and travel to and forth. Gulmarg is an hour's drive away and Pahalgam is 2-2.5 hours drive away. Sonmarg is 3 hours away. So one day trips are possible to all major touristy spots. Of course, if the weather permits and you want to do elaborate hikes at pahalgam and enjoy skiing at gulmarg then makes more sense to stay overnight.

driving around dal

3. If staying in Srinagar, try to stay around the scenic drive around Dal lake. We set camp 5 minutes drive away from Dal. So everyday when we headed out, we would get to witness life around Dal. Also gives you a chance to take a good run, if you are a runner i.e.

4. I found food particularly cheap in Srinagar. Krishna dhaba offers good vegetarian options. Ahdoo's and Mughal Darbar are must try for non vegetarians. And please don't eat chicken in Kashmir. Mutton is the real deal!
Food is comparatively expensive at gulmarg, where the altitude and tourist destination tag, justify the rip off. For eg. a plate of maggi costs 70 rs at gulmarg.

maggi and chai!

5. At gulmarg, you get winter jackets and snow boots on rent. Its a good idea to take these if you plan to play in the snow. This way your winter clothes remain dry and safe. Rental price is 250-300 Rs. per person depending on how much you can bargain. Buy the extra pair of snow proof hand gloves if you are not carrying them. These will come in handy at other destinations as well. Don't buy sunglasses, carry your own.

6. Once at Gulmarg base, you may have to travel by a different vehicle, owing to snow covered roads and safety issues. We took a sumo for 1500 Rs. for to and fro ride and the vehicle stayed at the base of phase 1 for the entire day.

7. We found the sledge rides at the base of phase 1 to be a scam. We took 2 sledges and later figured out that the distance to the gondola station could have been walked easily. Unless you have senior citizens with you, I suggest NO-NO to sledges. If at all you take one, then bargain as if your life depends on it.

8. Same applies for a tourist guide. Don't take one if possible. And if at all you take one, bargain! 

9. If you are not taking a tourist guide then buy your own gondola tickets to phase 1. These cost 600 Rs. per person. If there is heavy snow around, then a visit to only Phase 1 is worth the money. If you are into advanced skiing then makes sense to visit Phase 2 as well (ticket is additional 800 Rs.). We visited only Phase 1 and were quite happy. 

10. If you are walking your way around Gulmarg, then don't miss the walk through the golf course.

the romantic in me could not get enough of all this!

11. Route to Pahalgam merges and separates to the route to Jammu from Srinagar. So make sure your driver has fair ideas of security checks. 

12. Eat at roadside dhabas on the way to Pahalgam. Once you have crossed Anantnag, things get super exciting in the form of a scenic drive. So having a meal by the road side with the lidder river flowing alongside makes for quite an adventure. 

13. Make sure you have checked which points are open and which are closed before heading to Pahalgam. Saves disappointment once there. Also if you are staying at Pahalgam, don't miss the hike to Tuliyan lake. We did not do it because of bad weather, but its supposed to be extremely amazing.

14. In Pahalgam as well, do not spend on guide. Do spend on winter boots if its snowing. We spent 30 Rs. per person.

15. You have to leave your vehicle at Pahalgam taxi stand to reach any point around. You can take ponies to Aru valley from there or another car to Betaab valley. The prices are standard according to taxi stand union. So no bargaining here for taxis. There are few temples on the way which are worth a visit, owing to Pahalgam being one of the start points of Amarnath Yatra.

16. In Srinagar there are 8-10 major attractions. If you can, then miss one of the gardens and include coffee drinking experience atop a hillside cafe instead. I know cliched but worth the time!

17. Keep aside 4-5 hours in Srinagar for shopping at Lal Chowk. Paper mache, wood carvings to stoals and shawls, one cannot say no to anything!

18. The Srinagar airport has a lot of security checks, so leave for the airport 3 hours in advance. Usually there's a jam outside the airport, so would save you a lot of anxiety. Also, post all security checks one has to identify baggage personally. Don't forget to do this!

These are the *only* tips I have from my experience. The culture and people of Kashmir are warm and hospitable. Learn a word or two of Kashmiri from them :) Ending this post with the surreal shot of Betaab Valley, Pahalgam.

'In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.' - Albert Camus

Satara hill marathon 2014

I can see this blog is slowly becoming a place to document running events. But as long as I keep on writing here, no one's loss right ?

The Satara Hill Marathon is an elite ultra marathon event in Maharashtra, which only in its 3rd year has already become famous for some superlative arrangements for runners and gorgeous and tough route. I ran the 10 k race there yesterday and immediately made a plan to run the half marathon next year.

I and P reached Satara, (1.5 hours drive, 2 hours by bus and 3 hours by train, away from Pune) a day before, collected* our stuff (kit consisting of bib, running tee, route map and other goodies)  from the expo and set about exploring Satara. 
* Great story about the managing team here: They sent a wrong text message regarding the bib number and race category to a bunch of participants. I was one of them. My immediate thought was to get this resolved at the expo itself. To my surprise, I received an email the next day, where they admitted their mistake and gave instructions about what should be done by these participants. I think this was a pretty good corrective measure in what could have been a management disaster, where I could picture participants arguing and fighting with the marathon staff.

Satara has a distinct small town feel to it. There is not much to do in the city itself, except some amazing foodie treats. But around the city are some great escapades like, Sajjangad, thoseghar falls, kass valley (smaller version of valley of flowers) which are 30-40 minutes drive away from the city. So if you are the adventurous kind and would not mind exploring these instead of resting it off, these are a must visit. Of course, we did not do any of this as we were quite anxious about the run the next day.

We hit the sack early and got up at 4.30 am on race day. Owing to the fact that our hotel had some cleanliness and water issues. Runner tip: If possible get an idea about where you will be staying in advance to avoid such issues.

We reached the start point when the half marathon was about to start. After cheering the amazing elite and non elite runners for the half marathon and some warm up, we queued up for the 10k race. The 10 k race, starts in the city, takes one to the sahyadri ghaats upto 5km and then one returns to the start point having gained an elevation of 2034 ft. 
I clicked this picture during one of the water breaks -> 

<3

Needless to say I had not run on a route which is outside the city limits and is surrounded by luscious green hills. I was mesmerized by the views on my way upto the 5k mark. The return was even more beautiful with view of Satara city covered by fog and mist in the early morning hours and the sun penetrating the cover. I did not click any pictures on the way down from the ghaats as I was busy capturing the beauty for my own sake. I will go back to these images in my head over and over, is the only thing I can say right now.

The live traditional dhol-tutari played by local troupes welcomed the runners back in the arena on completion. That along with some astounding ground support all along the route made this one of the most well managed events I have attended since I started running.

I wish to come back over and over again to this wonderful city and these amazing people, just to run with nature and take it all in. If you are a runner anywhere and reading this, then I also urge you to visit the Satar Hill Marathon. You will not be disappointed!

Appearances

I read a really amusing and inspiring post here And traveled back in time to an incident when I had my tryst with 'the awesome'.

Since teenage I have been a fan of the Murthy's. Their entrepreneurial success and middle class (not communist) approach to wealth really inspired the idealist in me.

So during one of early training days at India's biggest IT firm (size wise at that time) I happened to stand 4 feet from Sudha Murthy and observe her. She was tiny, hardly 5 feet few inches and I do not mean in a patronizing way. As in she was like a very average Indian if you know what I mean! She wore a plain white cotton saree with red border and had a gajra (flowers) in her hair. My instant reaction was, this lady looks like my mother! Not just looks, but dresses up like a very normal Indian woman.

I was wonder struck. Because, she was not this shoo-shaa image of a hot shot lady, that I had had in my head. That day one of my perceptions about being awesome and still be not very 'jazzy' broke. Shattered if I am allowed to be dramatic, in a good way.

Simple and awesome. Works so well together!

~nightflier