Inbal was totally disgusted by what she saw on the beach and they decided to move on to a small village further up on the coast. There, people their age and older, sought to enjoy the beautiful beaches, the peace and quiet afforded by the serene surroundings and the plentiful tropical fruit juices and simple, yet delicious, cuisine. They stayed there for a couple of weeks soaking the sun, surfing the waves and talking about their future. They knew this wasn't real Thailand — the guests were mainly European with a handful of Americans, Canadians and many Australians, while the work force consisted of Thais. There was no opportunity for interaction with Thai people who were professionals like themselves. They became restless and wanted to get a taste of real Asia, especially India, so decided to move on. It was getting hot in the south of India and they wanted a change of scenery from the beautiful beaches of Phuket so they decided to go to directly Nepal and then to the north of India and the mountains and lakes of Kashmir.
The flight up north from Phuket back to Bangkok was a bit scary because the small plane was buffeted by strong winds just after take-off. Inbal clung to her seat with one hand and to Zorik with the other and he tried to calm her by saying that accidents rarely happened nowadays under these conditions. Zorik was impressed by the cool attitude and professionalism of the Thai pilot. He told Inbal that he was able to pass judgment of the pilot's performance because he had been in a similar situation a few times during his career. When the plane approached the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK for short) it was diverted to a small regional airport and the pilot announced that it was due to some emergency at the main airport but there was nothing to worry about as they would be transferred to Bangkok center. Some of the passengers protested loudly saying that they had to catch connecting flights from BKK. The pilot announced that all flights to BKK were delayed as well as the flights from the airport so they would not miss their connections. In any case rapid transportation to BKK had been arranged and would get them to their flights in time.
Inbal and Zorik collected their luggage and took the airline bus to the center of Bangkok where they found a hotel. After their experience on their way to Phuket they asked for a quiet room and the smiling girl at the front desk assured them that all the rooms were soundproof and quiet and gave them a room on the 13th floor. They slept soundly and the next morning, after having a lavish breakfast with fresh pineapple and papaya, they ventured into the main street to find a cheap flight to Kathmandu Tribhuvan (KTM) airport, Nepal. To their pleasant surprise there were many airlines that flew from BKK to KTM and they had no trouble booking a flight for the next day. The 3.5 hours non-stop flights were expensive so they selected a cheap flight that first travelled south to Koala Lumpur before heading north to Kathmandu. The travel time was nine and half hours but the cost was much lower than the direct flight and the young couple had more time than money…
After landing in Kathmandu they took a rickety bus into town and looked for the hostels that were frequented by young travelers. The selection and variety were amazing with prices that ranged from a few dollars per person per night to a few dozen dollars. They selected one midrange place and when they got there were happy to see that its residents were a far cry from those youths on the beach in Phuket. There were many young people who were planning to take trails in the Himalaya mountain range. The most popular track for was a circular route around Annapurna. When Zorik looked at the description of the mountain in Wikipedia he realized that there were many different tracks in the Annapurna Massif, some of which were accessible only to highly skilled mountain climbers. For example, Annapurna I main peak, soared to a height of 8091 meters, and was infamous for its death toll that statistically claimed the life of one climber for every three that managed to reach the summit and return safely to the base camp. The Annapurna Circuit, which circles the Annapurna Himal was the most popular track and was much less demanding. The starting point for this trek, and also several shorter treks was the town of Pokhara. So after talking to some young people that had returned from that track Zorik and Inbal made their way to Pokhara on the western region of Nepal. The track was challenging but they were in good physical shape, and although they lost some weight, they didn't encounter any insurmountable difficulties.
A couple of weeks later they returned to Kathmandu and started looking for a flight to Srinagar in India. They saw that there was a large selection of indirect flights but were a bit surprised to discover that for some reason the airfare on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays were lower than on other days. The distance between Kathmandu and Srinagar was slightly less than 1300 kilometers and the flight time just under two hours for the direct flight. However, much cheaper flights were available with a stopover in New Delhi and selected this route.
They did not wish to spend time in Delhi and didn't bother to leave the airport. After landing in Srinagar they went to a small booth at the airport that advertised itself as a travel agency and were put in touch with the owner of a houseboat who was more than willing to accommodate them for a reasonable fee. They felt that they had earned a peaceful vacation on the beautiful lake after the two weeks of hiking around Annapurna.
Chapter 3
After dark, the two gunmen led Inbal and Zorik out to the deck of the houseboat. The hands of both young Israelis were cuffed with nylon cable ties behind their backs and stinking black sacks covered their heads. One of the gunmen held a flashlight with a red lens and repeated a series of three long flashes pointing it away from the shore, towards the lake. Within minutes they all heard the stuttering sound of a small outboard motor. Zorik felt a slight bump when the small boat contacted the deck of the houseboat. He heard a short exchange in a language he recognized as Urdu but didn't understand between the gunmen and a person on the boat. A moment later he was none too gently guided down the stairs and onto the boat. He heard Inbal protest as she too was led to the small boat. They were ordered to lie down on the bottom of the boat and a smelly blanket was thrown over their prone bodies. Zorik managed to find Inbal's hand and squeeze it saying softly that everything would be fine. The gunman told him to shut up and bashed his shoulder with the butt of his gun to emphasize the point.