The Great Escape from the Moon
Tales from Ladakh Pt. 5

Little did we know this was going to be one hell of a departure. I was exhausted mentally and physically and all I wanted was to return to Kashmir. The sooner the better or so I thought. So when the first Lorrie driver pulled up we were quick to jump. Can you take us back to Kargil? We knew from there we'd have more options for transportation to Srinagar. Sure, for a cost. No problem, we thought. I just want to get out of this moonland.

However there was one glitch. There were 3 people Including the driver inside the cab so the driver insisted that we could join them but had to sit on top of the rooftop cab, exposed to the elements. Whatever, we thought. It will be an adventure. I was literally so spent all I knew was that I wanted to go back to my Kashmir "home". If you have ever seen a typical Indian Lorri you will know that they are substantial trucks that are ornately decorated with a unique decor usually with some sort of religious icon (for safety of course) that is meaningful to the particular driver. There is most always a open air cab on top for extra load or in this case to carry a couple of passengers. I do not recommend it. There is no cushioning, no seat belts or strap downs and besides bumping yourself to and fro the entire way, there is no guarantee you won't go flying out.

Being that the roads were fairly nonexistent, our Sikh Lorri driver made his own way through dirt, rocks and the occasional river crossing. I immediately swathed myself head to toe, wrapped a long scarf around my head only exposing my eyes. It was extremely dusty as our driver careened the open road. The sun beat down relentlessly upon my black scarfed head. I did not say a word. I held on for my life as I bounced all over that truck top. Looking at it all now, I realize that in order to make it through I had naturally went into a state of shock. Literally I said nothing, just absorbed the past 2 weeks. All the while, my brain was frantically replaying all the years of my life beforehand. I vividly recalled minute details from my childhood, various past experiences etc. It was amazing and sort of an epiphany. Steve tried to talk to me, but I was in my zone. I had nothing to say as the pages in my head were turning with great detail. I recall seeing some poor Ladakhi peasants on the side of the road in the heat of the day moving rocks from one side of the road to the other. Their skin was blackened from the harsh sun as there was absolutely no shade to take cover. Were they criminals serving time? What could be any worse penalty than to be forced to do heavy labor in this godforsaken land of rocks and sun..

The Lorri stopped many times. Once to negotiate how he was going to cross a raging river and another as we got a flat tire. I said nothing, just sat and waited. Finally it started getting dark and our driver pulled off the road to look for some acquaintance of his who resided nearby. I suppose it was a truck stop of some sort. The man greeted us. We all got out of the truck and into his stone hovel. An hour passed and he served us some suspiciously looking plate of dal. We ate it as we had no other food but I must admit it could have been infested by worms. It was dark, we were hungry and that's all there was. Now what about sleep? We were instructed to pile back up on the top of the truck. I unfortunately was the Only WOMAN and somehow got stuck between Steve and one of the weird truck drivers. EEEEWWWW, all night that gross man rolled over and would try to grab me. YUCK, he was disgusting. all I could do was wait for morning so we could continue our journey.

Sure enough morning came and we finally rolled out of there. Luck had it, engine troubles so once again we had to wait until another truck came by and see if they could help. Hours past, another Lorri came through and they tried their best to help our driver. But to no avail. finally we asked the new Lorri drivers if we could continue with them and they agreed. Steve and I squeezed into the main cab (5 of us sitting as close as possible) who cares? At least I was inside the cab this time. It was a slow journey back with many stops but we finally got close to Kargil. for some reason we had to wait in this little village while our new driver did some business. I was getting restless now. We weren't far from Kargil which was the original bus stop 1/2 point to Srinigar. There were hotels with hot showers and hot food there. About an hour or so later, we rolled into Kargil. The town I once found dreadful on the journey up to Ladakh now looked like paradise. We collected our thingsd, thanked our drivers and made a b-line for the best looking hotel. We would pay ANYTHING for a warm bed, a hot shower and a good meal. We checked in and hit the showers. I have never been so filthy in my life. I was covered head to toe in dirt, dust and road grime. I have never appreciate being so clean. It felt sinfully wonderful. After Steve did the same we immediately headed for the dining room. Oh My god! They had a Chinese buffet...We ate and ate and ate until we were stuffed and then I think for good measure we had a little more. Food never tasted so good. chicken, meat, noodles, vegetables and hot chili oil. It had been a while and a lot of miles under our feet since we ate so much. We slept like rocks...

The next morning after a big breakfast of course, we set out for transport back to Srinagar. Kargil was a bustling town and there were many options. This was also the day before Eid so may muslims were heading down to Srinagar for the festivities. Eid is one of the holy days of Islam as it is the end of Ramadan Or fasting time. In Kashmir, it is tradtional to sacrifice a lamb.
We happened to find a muslim taxi driver who said we could ride with him to Kashmir. The journey was only 70 miles or so but the roads are unpaved and the shoulders are narrow with steep drop offs. His cab was old, looked minimally maintained and had bald tires. We hopped in. 3- 4 flat tires and half a day later, we finally rolled into Srinagar. I remember feeling so happy to be at home. We would return to see our friends, Mr. and Mrs. Naqueeb and spend a bit of down time at Dal Lake.