Anyone Been to India?

[mriko]

There's hot & hot and nowadays is more risky that what it used to be I think. Actually there are lots of caucasian featured people in NWFPs, it's not uncommon to meet red or blond haired people with green or blue eyes.
But yeah, wandering alone around Peshawar is to be avoided !

MY, the 90s must have been quite an interesting time for journeying Pakistan !

Irie !

 

[buddymate]

I have green eyes and I blended in with the Pathans and Hunzakuts quite well,had a good time working in the tribal areas,and crossing into afghanistan,lots of happy memories.

 

[Burt]

and the swat valley is the place to be too imo-can't wait for these fuckers to be rounded up and sent back to suadi arabia and eastern europe where the majority are from-the locals don't need this shit
i've heard mandan(?) has some legendary farms even to this day not far from swat
nepal seems the best destination for one who speaks hindi/urdu
the people from there are as kind as those from eastern africa that i've met

 

[limey]

I was based in Peshawar 1990,great place,I was once stopped in Peshawar train station with some weapons in a bag,didnt realise that westerners used to station after buying brown in NWFP and jumping on the train back to 'Pindi and Islamabad,happy days around the Khyber and NWFP areas in general,did you get to skardu or cross into Xinjiang over the Karakorams?

No mate, sadly I didn't. went up in to Swat and crossed over to Gilgit and Hunza. So, so beautiful. I really hope - perhaps unrealistically - that it all calms down enough there to make it safe to go back. Loved it.

 

[mriko]

So, so beautiful. I really hope - perhaps unrealistically - that it all calms down enough there to make it safe to go back. Loved it.

Insha Allah...

I loved Swat too, was there in 2006 and stayed in Mingora & Madyan (famous stop-over on the Hippie Hashish Trail during the Golden Age) and loved it. People were very friendly all around and I regret that I stayed only a few days. Went through the lower part of the valley again in 2007 on my way back from Chitral, few days later, Taleban swamped the area...

Yesterday I visited a buddy of mine and there was a rescapee from the Ol'time. The guy lived for a year in Madyan during the second half of the 70s, heard cool stories which took me from Band-i-Amir to Goa, the high-quality moroccan I was smoking while listening the guy turned it all into a tiem-travel machine eeeheeh... Cool...

Allow me here some Swat pictures, shot in April, (or was it May ?) 2006.




Sorry, can't upload pics heavier than 150ko, don't know why...

Irie !

 

[Hoover_lungz]

beautifull pics mriko


Looks like bare asian brothers on the forum

 

[limey]

Insha Allah...

I loved Swat too, was there in 2006 and stayed in Mingora & Madyan (famous stop-over on the Hippie Hashish Trail during the Golden Age) and loved it. People were very friendly all around and I regret that I stayed only a few days.

Yesterday I visited a buddy of mine and there was a rescapee from the Ol'time. The guy lived for a year in Madyan during the second half of the 70s, heard cool stories which took me from Band-i-Amir to Goa, the high-quality moroccan I was smoking while listening the guy turned it all into a tiem-travel machine eeeheeh... Cool...

Irie !

Did you (or your buddy) stay withthe infamous Muambar Khan in Madyan? I understand he was something of a guru to hipipy trail visitors back in the 70s. By the time I caught up with him in 1994 time, poverty (and dope) had really taken their toll. He had reverted (if that's the right word) to smoking hash by the ancient method of flattening hash into fingertip-size patties, placing them on a piece of charcoal fromthe fire and sucking off the smoke through a straw/reed/bamboo. Kind of hot-knifeing medieval style. Unsurprisingly he constantly complained of headaches and troubled us frequently for painkillers.

Sad to say that his hotel (which could also be fairly described as a hovel) was in very poor shape and (I was there in April) very cold. we met some people who were staying elsewhere (not guidebook listed) with some kinder and saner folk elsewhere in the village.

Top place though.... good trout fishing too, if that floats your boat!

I've been thinking for a while of developing a web/book/thread to capture tales from the hippy trail... do you reckon that's something IC could support? would be fascinating and perhaps even valuable to bring together gossip & tales from travellers past and present...

 

[buddymate]

Limey,best place I trout fished over there was Satpara lake at Skardu,I also fished for trout over in Kashmir just outside Srinagar,I wanted to try for brown trout in Bhutan but at the time it was tour groups only getting visas

 

[franco.gh]

Here some recent shots of some good Indian charras, cream and ice

 

[franco.gh]

 

[Burt]

superb indian!

 

[Cabri]

Oh Blimey charlie got New Delhi Belly, disentry diahorea.Such an old land uncivilized.

 

[iamcmcd]

Great pics! Looks a little different from some of the "Charras" I saw in coffeeshops recently... Funny that eh???

 

[tintala]

I live in Nepal and find India to be NEPAL on steroids, a visit to NEPAL then to india will have you running back to NEPAL!, I love India too, I have spent the past five years travelling to and fro nepal and India studying INdian Classical music and Tabla, The hash in Nepal is way better IMo. INDIAN MUSIC is the BEST!

 

[buddymate]

I live in Nepal and find India to be NEPAL on steroids, a visit to NEPAL then to india will have you running back to NEPAL!, I love India too, I have spent the past five years travelling to and fro nepal and India studying INdian Classical music and Tabla, The hash in Nepal is way better IMo. INDIAN MUSIC is the BEST!

I remember sitting in the Golden Temple at sunset listening to the Tabla and sitar,awesome,great memories.

 

[BuddingZennist]

This is a great thread. Belated thanks to everyone who has contributed as I'm sure it's helped numerous people become a little bit more informed.

I recently joined this forum to discuss just this. For some time I have been interested in traveling to India, Nepal, or some other East Asian area. Only recently have I begun to take a serious interest in this dream as far as preparing for the journey. I've done a good amount of reading on the subject, so it may be a little out of place that I have little desire to learn about where to get the best smoke, as this question has been answered a hundred times on this forum, let alone the rest of the internet.

Of course, I am quite fond of weed-related products and so I feel as though this community probably understands where I'm coming from, being a young American male who likes to smoke and travel. Though it is important to note that my first priority is not to get stoned; though, I'm sure it will happen and I want my experience to reflect that sort of leisure and "chill" atmosphere. My other interests include what I can very generally describe as mysticism. It is my hope that when I travel I will be able to experience many facets of culture, whether it be food, scenery/trekking?, wildlife, people (natives or other travelers), temples, ganja, (not very selective as far as specifics of belief system, etc.) what have you. What I do not want is to take a trip to another city; obviously planes go where they go but it would be ideal if I could promptly hitch a bus or something out of Mumbai or Kathmandu or wherever I happen to enter.

I'm not asking that anybody reiterate what's already been said here, as I've taken the time to read everyone's great responses and see the cool pictures. Mostly I want to know some other specifics. For instance, considering somebody of my interests, what would some of you recommend as far as roaming around the countryside, visiting places, eating food, getting good stuff to smoke. How do more remote locals respond to foreign travelers that they might be more used to seeing in cities? Meaning, are they more likely to be hospitable, helpful, etc. or instead cautious and withdrawn? I'd be most interested in traveling in the Himachal/Nepal/Pakistan area though of course I'd probably change my course according to whatever advice I get. I also am aware that the attitudes of some people vary depending on location so it's probably important to be respectful and careful no matter what.

Also, what would be the recommendation as far as travel goes in these areas? I'm not sure to what extent the buses and such deviate from the cities; I've seen suggestions of motorcycles or whatever but considering fuel I don't really see that as being efficient. Perhaps I'm incorrect.

I can't think of anything else I'd specifically like to know, but if anybody can think of something informative/interesting along the vein of what I've described I would be very appreciative. I'm not in any particular hurry for help or anything, considering I don't intend to leave until spring (in the US) or maybe summer. Thanks in advance for the info.

 

[BuddingZennist]

I remember sitting in the Golden Temple at sunset listening to the Tabla and sitar,awesome,great memories.

And I'd also be interested in hearing about where that sort of thing occurs!

 

[Wev]

Avoidance of Fiji and Australia due to Violence experienced by Indian Nationals.
very Many report filtering through our networks say unacceptable behavior does exist.

 

[buddymate]

And I'd also be interested in hearing about where that sort of thing occurs!

That was in Amritsar on the pakistan border amritsar/lahore at Wagha Junction,I actually shook the hand of the Dali Lama in Dharamsala at one of his public meet'n'greets,dont know if he stoll does them nowadays?Cool country,you will enjoy it

 

[hanuman]

TIt is my hope that when I travel I will be able to experience many facets of culture, whether it be food, scenery/trekking?, wildlife, people (natives or other travelers), temples, ganja, (not very selective as far as specifics of belief system, etc.) what have you.

You'll get all that easily. A good start would be not to use the word "natives" when you talk about the locals, though It is felt as derogatory.

On a more serious tone, about the roaming around aspect, each and every small village of india can be reached by train or bus, except those that you can only reach on footpaths because of the lack of roads, of course (thinking of the mountains, for instance). Don't forget that a great part of the population, especially in rural areas, don't own cars. And yes, there are zillions of places to see beyond cities. Actually, a lot of travellers obviously arrive in cities from their homelands, but manage to leave Dehli or Bombay for quieter areas after a day or two, although there is a lot to see there too.



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