A quick update on the last week. Lots of thoughts, photos, etc to come, but here is a POV vid from our trip.

It was really great to get out of the Gulmarg bubble and see some wilder mountains and encounter a little more of the real Kashmir.

Below are a few snaps that I quickly got together from the trip. We are currently on a houseboat on the Dal Lake in Srinagar, relaxing, soaking up the sun. Ill have a better trip report soon.

In a nutshell, we ventured into the mountains above Aru, an end of the road village far removed from the tourist scene of Gulmarg. At the hotel we stayed in, we were the first guests since October last year.

Packing tents we toured up the valley and made camp by a shepperd's hut. It snowed everynight we were there and dawned bluebird every morning. The last day was the only day it stayed clear all day and was the climax to the trip, enabling us to climb high and see the towering Kolohoi Peak at 5400m.

The second day I fell in the river. Really and truely fell in the river head first and saoked all my clothes and boots. I spent the rest of that day drying myself out by the fire and thank goodness for that sheppards hut. But more soon.

Pahalgam POV, Feb 2009 from Anthony Bonello on Vimeo.

This is a picture from this morning as the sun rose on the mountains above Srinagar, taken from on the Dal Lake. Absolutely beautiful.

Lots of stories and reflections to come soon. We decided to leave Kashmir this week and make our way to Delhi by train from Jammu and then explore another part of India in our last week before flying on the 10th, so expect quick updates with the details to come when I get a proper connection and some time to digest the adventures of the last month and coming week.

VIO POV camera courtesy of Helmet Camera Central