xp_logs | Kashmir Waltz - Feel Like A Trip To India? (Nathan, Angelo) (Reply)

Nathan finally calls Angelo in to sound him out about travel plans. Angelo is perfectly amenable to the idea of seeing Kashmir.

Flying in was going to be as tricky as usual, Nathan thought with a frown, examining the flight times on his screen. However much more settled the political situation in Kashmir had become, there still weren't a lot of flights available, especially at this time of year. But taking the first leg to Delhi and then driving wasn't an option. Too much wasted time.

There was a knock at the open door of his office, and Nathan looked up to see Angelo standing there giving him an inquisitive look. "Ah, good. Come sit down," he said briskly, glancing briefly at the clock. "How you feel about a trip?"

Angelo blinked at the sudden question, then grinned. "Always wanted to travel. Where're we goin'?"

Ah, youthful enthusiasm. "Kashmir," Nathan said, and then grinned briefly as Angelo blinked at him. "Yeah, my patience has run out. The polite phone calls and emails are not turning up what I want to know, which really shouldn't have surprised me. Time to go take a look in person. I know someone in the area who's not easy to get in touch with from here, and if nothing else, we can always see DRMA's field operations for ourselves."

"Sounds like fun," Angelo answered cheerfully, recovering from his surprise. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow. If I can sort out flights all the way to Srinagar, we'll probably be gone five, six days, tops." Nathan gave Angelo a thoughtful look and then opened another window on his computer, typing rapidly. "I'm sending you some basic stuff about traveler's etiquette and so forth in that part of the world. Read it. Memorize it, actually. I can give you more on the flight to Delhi. We'll need a couple of immunizations, too... I'll have to check with medlab about that."

Angelo nodded, grinning. "I'd better go pack, then."

"Don't go just yet," Nathan said more seriously. "I know we discussed Kashmir fairly extensively in class last year, but I want to make sure we're very clear on the fact that we're going into... well, not a war zone, per se, but not an entirely safe travel destination, either." The type of quiet Kashmir was currently enjoying could very easily be shattered. He'd seen it happen before, more times than he could count.

Angelo turned back to him and nodded again, more seriously this time. "Yeah, I remember what you said. Doesn't mean I won't go."

"I don't want to be overdramatic. It's entirely possible that we won't run into any problems. I've worked in the area often enough that I know where to go and where not to go, what sort of precautions to take... but just in case we do find ourselves in trouble," Nathan said, locking eyes with Angelo, "make sure you do precisely what I tell you as soon as I tell you to do it. Even if it's 'run in the other direction and leave me to handle this'."

There was only the tiniest pause before Angelo nodded one more time - he didn't like the idea, but he knew Nathan might well be able to handle any trouble better than he could, and more easily if he was only worrying about himself. "Okay."

"Good," Nathan said approvingly. "Like I said, not anticipating problems, but it's better to have what we do just in case hammered down before we even get on the plane." Nathan frowned at him for a moment, trying to think of what he might have forgotten... gah. Of course. "Oh, and it's liable to be cool - the weather, I mean. Not cold, but cool, especially at night. Keep that in mind while you're packing. Remember, we're going to be at the foot of the Himalayas."

Angelo's eyes lit up. "For real? I've got warm clothes, since I moved out here. New York's cold next to California."

Nathan couldn't help a smile. "For real," he said. "Actually, one of the people we'll have to see owns a bar at the base of one of the major trekking routes." The smile turned nostalgic. "It's a pity we probably won't have time to drive up from there to Ladakh. 'Little Tibet'," he explained when Angelo got the look that suggested he was remembering the name but not the details. "Remember? The Buddhist region between the Himalayas and the Karakoram range. I talked about it in class." He grinned. "Ah, well. Maybe we'll be able to wave at Mount Everest another time."