asia trip update
some of you know that i had planned to do relief work in central asia. initially, my heart was set on my ancestral homeland of afghanistan. but i was recently told that the situation is dire and that my family can’t ensure my safety. as an afghan-american female, i am placing myself in jeopardy. i next set my sites on baluchistan, which is a province in western pakistan and eastern afghanistan but i would be on the pakistani side. an earthquake devastated part of the region in the fall. i was told that would be a no go as well.
my third option was kashmir. i have always wanted to see it for myself after having heard that it’s a magical place, much like the mythical camelot. verdant valleys and mist-covered lakes abound, according to my sources, and those same sources have said it’s quite possibly the most beautiful place on earth.
lucky for me, i get to go. i planned on traveling this month but was told by my mother that they close the roads in and out of kashmir for fear of avalanches. march is the earliest i can get there. my friends have asked me what my plans are once on kashmiri soil. i would like to volunteer with a local agency, doing whatever i can to help the local populace, and then i’d like to travel around the region, interviewing the locals and photographing my journey. my cousin’s husband is a general in the army so i will have unfettered access to the area. this may be the trip of a lifetime.
Kashmir is so very interesting and absolutely beautiful. I was there twelve years ago, visited a cousin who was the defense attache to the governor at the time. So I was able to get around to parts that weren’t open to civilians. It is so freaking spectacular! I’m excited for you.