One encounter, one direction...

Srinagar - February 2008

Oppression, honking horns, insistent stares, the din that swallows everything.
I've just arrived, you can see it. You can feel it. I'm floating, I'm looking for my bearings, I'm trying not to lose my footing.

And in the midst of this human tide, only one encounter.
A merchant, originally from Kashmir.
No explanations. No guarantees. Only an instinct; this encounter is not a coincidence.

The north.
It will be the north.

Stop following the guides.
Forget the advice of other travelers.
Thinking outside the box.

Follow your own path. There isn't another one.

A change of scenery upon arriving in Kashmir.
Militarized zone.
Infamous.
Painfully beautiful.

The Himalayan mountains stand there, silent, motionless, eternal.
The air changes. The faces change. The stories too.
It's cold — an unexpected, dry cold that stings the skin.
I wasn't ready.
Never mind.

At this stage, adapting is no longer an option.
That's the way the game is played.

And somewhere between fear, wonder, and the icy breath of the peaks…
I feel that I am exactly where I need to be.

By Elias Nordren — Founder of Nomad Drift