We awoke at 09:30 hrs and after a short spell in Middle Earth (reading our Tolkien books) we hit the shore for breakfast. A couple of omelettes were rapidly demolished, and George was presented with the tiniest, most undercooked, toasted jam sandwiches that we have ever encountered. In a trice they were gone, without need for chewing!
Next, we did a little shopping in the touristy shops that all claimed to be Government emporiums of fine handicrafts. I ordered some made-to-measure sandals and invested in a small shoulder bag for carrying passports and documents. We returned to the boat and took advantage of a short period of sunshine to read our books and sip tea.
I was shown some beautiful carving on our host’s new houseboat “Chez Henry”, which was still under construction, and Abdul reiterated the old “we are brothers” spiel and tried to interest me in an expensive trip into the mountains and several local tours.
He proved that our words were just wind to him by asking if we had flown to India despite us yesterday having explained at great length how we got from Britain to Srinagar. He grinned his too-good-to-be-true smile and waved as we were rowed back to the shore to ascend to the Shankaracharya Temple overlooking Dal lake. The track was very steep, and we discovered that our fitness had lapsed on our travels. Nevertheless, we made good time to the top, sweating and with laboured breath.
The temple is dingy, and the view spoiled by a dismal cloudy sky. We trudged back downhill along a long and winding road (cue The Beatles). The weather and the deciduous woodland combined to make it seem as if we were walking along a British country lane. At one spot a snake slithered across our path and George, ignoring the Country Code and fearing a lethal threat, crushed its head with a rock.
We stumbled wearily into a vegetarian restaurant (same one as last night) for some sustenance as daylight began to fade. Following supper, which was porridge for George who now has a bad sore throat, we went on what started as window shopping around the various art shops in a pleasant shopping centre.
We looked at awe and desire at incredible walnut carvings, elaborately embroidered silks, intricately woven carpets and copper statuettes. George was soon 325 Indian Rupees lighter (£1 = 15 Rupees) for a fetching silk smock, trousers and scarf set for his girlfriend Kim. We looked on in wonder as the shopkeeper wrapped up the parcel in brown paper and then sewed it up in a cloth envelope.
We wandered from shop to shop wishing that we had money to burn and eventually broke off from our dreaming to have a coffee break. Local shopkeepers told us tales of how they had been stitched up by French, Germans and Canadians with their trusting “send now, pay later” policy.
This shopping spree served to cheer us up and renew our strength, so we returned to the boat to read our books before getting a good night’s sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment