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.

i bumped into the french and spanish tourists again, so i talked with them for a few minutes before i left to get my train. the french guy gave me his iran lonely planet (in french) which i figured i could use for maps and stuff. i had some iranian food for dinner and got the train to delhi.

day 332 – i spent the day on the train. i read ‘natural born killers’ and finished it in a few hours. i listened to music and also listened to some singing from the compartment next to me. the people in the compartment were traveling as part of a group. i couldn’t figure out whether they were religious or a good samaritan group or what. they sang a lot, which was fun, and in the evening they did a prayer. i had a long conversation with an indian guy and was given some literature about ‘love, life and the universe’ by one of the singers. it seemed like hippy/cult/religion stuff, so i smiled politely and didn’t read it.

day 333 – the train was delayed by six hours and we arrived really late. the train had stopped at a station an hour south of delhi in the early hours of the morning. many people got off, thinking that the train wouldn’t continue, and went in search of buses. the conductor told everyone that there was a problem with the train.

i was in two minds whether to go or stay, when suddenly they announced that the train was leaving. i jumped back on and got to delhi. the train was half empty and i think there must have been a lot of angry people stranded on the platform or looking for a bus.

we arrived in delhi and i had to wait another hour for a connecting train to the new delhi station. when i got to new delhi i walked through the main bazaar and checked into a hotel. after a shower and change, i headed straight to the pakistan embassy to start my visa application.

the freaking pakistan embassy require a ‘letter of introduction’ from the applicant’s home nation. i couldn’t get the letter or pakistan visa application forms until the next day, so i headed back to main bazaar. i had dinner in a nice rooftop restaurant, checked email and did an upgrade on my ubuntu os.

day 334 – i got up early, had a quick breakfast and went straight to the embassy district.

the pakistan embassy official gave me the application forms and confirmed that i need the letter of introduction. that meant walking to the australian embassy (which was nearby) and forking out $30 for a stamped letter. damn! i returned to the pakistan embassy, filled out the forms, had them typed (as is required and is a retarded rule) then walked down to the bank to submit my visa payment. applying for a pakistan visa is a ridiculously complicated process. it’s not difficult, it’s just stupid bureaucracy.

i had to wait three days to complete the visa.

i then headed to the iranian embassy to see if there was any easy way of getting the iranian visa (without the approval code issued by iran’s foreign ministry). the embassy official was very rude to me and told me to get the visa in australia. so i gave up and returned to the main part of town.

i walked around connaught place, bought a phone and decided to relax for the evening. i chatted and played chess online.

day 335 – i had breakfast and walked around the bazaar. i found a small bakery which had nice food, and the owner liked to play chess. we played two games (1-1) and i was happy with the result. i sold some books and had dinner.