travel diary – day 340
day 336 – basically, i’m killing time until i get my pakistan visa. i can’t leave delhi without it. so i have been spending my days as lazily as possible, trying not to spend too much money.
i bought some underwear and spent much of the day online. i had dinner at a rooftop bar which was unlicensed. they sold beer in mugs which they called ‘cappuccino’. i watched the liverpool game live on tv, returned to the hotel and slept.
day 337 – i had breakfast and did some research about pakistan. then i returned to connaught place to find a beggar i’d seen a few days earlier. she was old and had patches of different coloured skin on her face. i really wanted her photograph. i walked around for half an hour but couldn’t find her. then, suddenly, i almost bumped straight into her. i took her photo, gave her some money (and craig’s old phone!) and ran away.
i returned to the hotel and inquired about flights to ladakh and kashmir. the hotel owner also told me about a friend he knew in srinigar who had a house boat. it sounded promising, so i planned to make arrangements the next day (after confirming the pakistan visa).
day 338 – i went to the pakistan embassy early. i got inside and had to wait two hours for the interview to get my visa. the interview was fast (further proof of the bureaucracy) and i returned to main bazaar. i scanned some photos, withdrew money and bought two flights: one to leh (ladakh) and one to srinigar (kashmir). i would have gone in by bus, but at this time of year, the roads to leh are shut and the only way in is to fly.
i checked email, had a nice coffee and apple pie at the bakery, and spent the rest of the day online. in anticipation of going to leh, i also started a course of anti-ams (acute mountain sickness) medication. i would be flying to leh, meaning a quick ascent to high altitude, which i knew could be a problem.
day 339 – i picked up my passport and pakistan visa. finally! i still had two more days to kill, so i spent the afternoon online. in the afternoon there was a power surge which fried the ac power cable. damn! another freaking thing to go wrong.
day 340 – i went to see if i could get a replacement power cable. i ended up at a hp service centre and was told that the cable was nearly $50. to hell with that! i went back to the main bazaar and got a non-genuine cable for a quarter of the price.
i checked email, picked up my washing and packed my bag. after dinner i withdrew some more money, paid my hotel bill and went to bed early in anticipation of a very early start the next morning.
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