Hellooooo everyone, we just want to give a quick update on our plans considering recent events in this part of the world. For those who haven’t heard, on the 22nd of April there was a terrorist attack in northern India. The attack, carried out by a shadowy militant group, targeted non-Muslim civilians in Pahalgam, a town in Jammu and Kashmir. Sadly, this is part of a long-standing and complex conflict in the Kashmir region, which has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan ever since the two countries gained independence in 1947. Tensions remain high in the area, with sporadic violence often tied to the broader territorial dispute and religious divisions. This attack is the worst in many years and has further intensified tensions between India and Pakistan.

In the aftermath of the attack the Indian government immediately accused Pakistan of supporting terrorism while the Pakistani government denied any involvement. The Indian government responded with a number of actions including the closure of the Wagah border crossing, suspension of the Indus water treaty, and cancellation of all direct flights from India to Pakistan. Although it is still unclear if the militant group was actually linked to Pakistan, India's prime minister Modhi vowed that India will take firm and decisive action against Pakistan for their role in the attack (namely allowing supposed training of these groups in Pakistan). Hyper nationalist Indian media coverage has also narrowed the space for de-escalation, and Modhi’s government was under intense political and public pressure to respond forcefully to the attack. This week, on the 6th May, India fired a total of 24 air strikes on locations in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir killing civilians and suspected terrorists. Since then Pakistan has responded with its own strikes and continued deadly artillery fire across the Line of Control.

So where are we currently and are we safe? For the last week we have been staying in a small town in northern India near Dharamshala doing yoga teacher training (YTT). We are tucked away in the mountains safe from any of the conflict. However, some drone attacks have been close by as the actual border with Pakistan is only around 5 hours drive away. A cricket match was evacuated the other day in Dharamshala due to concerns about air strikes and many of the airports in the north and west of India are closed. We feel safe where we are and plan to continue the YTT. We are monitoring the situation daily, and if things start to escalate into a full-fledged war we plan to pack our bags and get out of here. 

Unfortunately this makes it impractical for us to continue with our original plan of heading to Pakistan to meet Clara and Julian, and continuing on to China from there. It would mean breaking our no air travel rule significantly as we would likely have to fly to Bangkok or Dubai, and then back to Pakistan from there, if the airspace was even open (as of now it is temporarily closed). Additionally and more importantly, on our assessment it is no longer safe enough, the risk feels too high. This leaves us with limited options if we want to continue our no flying goal. Our new plan is to go to Nepal next and then make our way through Tibet into China. Although it is not the best time of year in Nepal now, there are still some treks you can do which are in the rain shadow and we are also planning to complete a stay in a Buddhist Monastery near Kathmandu. 

In some ways it feels reductive and menial to discuss the impact of this conflict on our trip, when we compare this to the impacts on the citizens of both Pakistan and India, especially those in the Kashmiri regions of both sides. As with all conflicts, so much of this feels absolutely senseless. Political posturing from the governments on both sides is resulting in the deaths of civilians and the disruption of daily life for so many. Every day we hope for peace for the incredibly resilient people caught up in this conflict who have already been through so much.