Samosas are very cheap, 3 rupees each (about 4p), and fresh on the street. Click on the lower image if it hasn't come up on your browser.

You can also buy a yummy bag of spicy deep fried vegetables for 10 rupees. And, just like shopping should be, it's a refreshingly simple transaction that doesn't involve any unnecessary discussion of your travel plans or mention of a close relative's carpet business. Incidentally, most things in shops are pretty cheap, it's services that seem to be expensive - musch more so than, say, Thailand.

Have moved out of the houseboat to avoid the owners, as I'm fed up with them trying to sell me things I don't want, and the food was getting samey. Also, having a house-servant was too weird. Am now in a hotel, which is cheaper and doesn't creak all night. Bonus: there is no ferryman trying to sell me a trip round the lake every time I go outside the front door.

Have been trying to make arrangements to move on, by getting a flight to Leh. It's only 400 km, but the bus takes 2 days and I can't seem to summon any enthusiasm for that! Unfortunately, the web-based airlines in India don't seem to want to take my money. The t'interweb isn't as big here as in SE asia, and everything takes ages.

Some Injuns speak with one of these. After 3 days I'm beginning to be able to spot the scammers. They always ask 'First time in India?' and if you say yes, they proceed with a merciless, headspinning onslaught of deception, fakery and duplicity in an effort to part you from as much money as they can reasonably think of. Complete rascals. Estate agents are angels in comparison, though I did once have a similar feeling of outright loathing for an Everest double glazing salesman.

It's enough to spoil your mood if you're not on top form. This is a shame, as there are just as many nice people (even some of the taxi drivers), but the problem is that you tend to get worn down by the hassles and become wary of everybody.

Today been up in the hills at Gulmarg, allegedly the world's highest ski resort. Had a stroll up to 3200m, about the level of the lowest snow patches, and felt the thin air. Massive pine trees and poplars dotted about everywhere, amid grassy pastures just like the Alps. Lovely.

Plans a bit sketchy, but hoping to arrange a short trek here then get myself over the hills to Leh, where I hope for some reprieve among them mellow buddhist types.

Srinagar, Kashmir, India, Tuesday afternoon. Arrived in Delhi (after changing in Paris) last night. Delhi is the main point of arrival in Northern India, and despite having no redeeming features, is a major tourist centre. Most people are desperate to leave as soon as possible, and business is brisk down at the travel agent's.

After a fairly uncomfortable midnight taxi scam and an overnight stay in someone's back room, I joined the stampede to leave, and jumped on a flight to Srinagar up in Kashmir. I feel very environmentally unsound as a result, but a mental resolution to offset my carbon footprint (at some point in the near future) quickly absolved me from any guilty feelings. A bit like confession in church, I imagine. Sadly, I can't see India undertaking to do the same, and one newspaper article I read today totally dismissed green emisions targets as beng 'of course, completely incompatible with India's economic growth' and that's that. Incidentally, Salman Rushdie and Silpa Shetty are vying for today's star coverage in all the papers. Did you know that the Times of India is the world's biggest English daily?

It's very beautiful here in Srinagar, and the depressing grime and clamour of Delhi is already a fading memory. Dal lake is is stunning, with a backdrop of forested hills a bit like lower parts of the Alps but with water lillies, unfamiliar birds wheeling around, and houseboats for rent. I have a boat to myself (so far), with a resident cook, great views of the hills, and cold Kingfisher in the fridge. What more could you want?

There are uniformed soldiers everywhere, but no sign of trouble. Apparently, tourism and trekking have been picking up in the last 2-3 years. Most folk here are Muslim, and are surprisingly moderate live-and-let-live types, fed up with people wanting to take over Kashmir, The majority seem not to want independence, rather to get on with being a part of India. Pakistan is very unpopular, at least with the bloke who runs my houseboat. He abhors violence and castigates the US for selling guns to every home in Pakistan, but supports Bush and Blair's intervention in Iraq and the removal of evil Saddam. How's that for a rounded worldview.

Plan for the evening: to try an obscure local delicacy, a mysterious oriental dish known to locals as 'lamb rogan josh'...

Houseboats on Dal Lake, Srinagar

The highest point wot I have ever been to, except for flying in planes. A volcano in Chile.

What follows is a series of pics uploaded a couple of months ago but that I never got around to annotating. They roughly go:

• lemon grove and canyons in Spain (2007)
• Wadi Rum and Petra, Jordan (2004)
• canyoning in Provence (2006)
• ice climbing in South Gully (IV) in the Devil's Kitchen, Snowdonia and on High Street, Lakes (2005)
• Driuds Circle, and Crispin climbing a 6a+ above the Marine Drive at the Ormes (Wales 2006)
• Jay drop-kneed on the Chapel Wall, Macc (2006)
• PADI advanced diving plus a blue-spotted ray and some clownfish, Sharm-el-Sheik, Egypt (2005)
• more Provence canyons including Verdon, plus reptiles and praying mantis (2006)
• Tryfan, Wales (2006).