broken knee

The gondala is still closed so we went scouting and found an old hotel, totally bombed during the war so it was more or less only ruins left of the hotel. With plenty of snow on the ruins and the hotel built in a slope it felt like a perfect ghetto photo session. The hotel is the oldest hotel in Gulmarg but since it was Hindi it was bombed during the war between India and Pakistan which is a shame. But at the same time it created a huge playground for us so we were happy anyway. We started climbing which was easier to say than to do but finally we succeed to get up to the third floor and while we were climbing and swearing Mats prepared the cameras, flashes and I don’t know all the stuff.

Anyway, I drop out and several meters below I touchdown in what I thought was a slope but no, the snow was so light and fluffy that I continued to fall just straight through it and instead of an easy drop from the third floor to a nice slope I dropped to flat and I both feel and hear my knee crack. Back at the hotel my knee now has double the size of the other knee and in a desperate attempt to stop it from swollen even more Im having a diet of pills and prayers to all gods I know that my ligaments are ok.

On the evening I limped up to Pine Palace and ordered in some smuggle beer to drown my sorrows. Two beers later and I was drunk and it was little bit fun that on the can it was a warning text, “For military use only” and they estimated it to be somewhere around 5 and 8%. After some beers my knee didn’t hurt that bad anymore so hopefully its good tomorrow!

“Sometimes its magic, sometimes its tragic”
– Mark Abma

Mu knee is still twice the size of ordinary but I cant see any bruises and it doesn’t hurt then you press on it so I assume its good a good sign. It still hurts like hell then I try to use it though so me and our hotel manager took the car and drove to a pharmacy to get some medicine. I tried to explain for the clerk what I needed and he gave me a package of something. I looked at the box and the only word I understood was paracetamol which I already had back at the hotel.  My response was of course no no, I need something much stronger and at that time our hotel manager started to talk to the clerk in kashmiri. I didn’t understood a word but after a while I got a new package of something and this time I dont recognize a word. Since I was at the pharmacy I also bought some cough drops since Martin got a nasty cough which just don’t wanna give up.

Back at the hotel I realize that I have no idea what kind of doze I should take, I try to read on the box but nothing so I assume its standard, two pills three times a day. Not a good idea! Two pills gave me a huge smile and I saw pink elephants in the hotel room and Martin who kind a improvised with his medicine saw flying dogs, I guess todays lesson is to start in small dozes and then raise if needed.

Pretty bored after a day at the hotel we spent the evening at Hotel Globe and a one pice party. Ski bums from all around the world partying just like they do back home which means a lot of beer, vodka and haschish. It was kind a fun to see the russian guys and girl go crazy with their vodka but me who had my stomach filled with some unknown pills choose to only drink water and I went home pretty early.

“I drink to you”
-Nick introducing us to a russian drining game