Day 127-2011 : Paradise On Earth - Part 1

It has now been four days since I came back from Kashmir.  I still cannot get over the dazzling beauty of the place; I guess, I never will.

This is the story of my holiday trip to Kashmir.  Like any story, a good build-up helps.  So here goes.

It was a very late decision to take a holiday.  Myself and Priya had been mulling over where to go to, for quite some time.  One thing was certain: After 5 years of not taking any holidays, we were determined to take time off and travel to some place.  We felt confident that the kids were now big enough to take the risk!  Finally, we decided that given the time constraints and two sub-five kids, booking a domestic holiday package was the best option.  As to where to go to, we decided to start right at the top.  Kashmir!

The preparations began a week ahead of the departure date.  All the pre-trip shopping for the mandatory stuff to carry along was, to say the least, painful!  Finally, we are all set.

The itinerary was a shocker!  We learnt that we had to endure a five hour plane ride, departing at 6 AM (with 2 stops!) to get to Srinagar.  We got there on time though, after the two stops at Delhi and Jammu.  It was hot (dry heat) in Srinagar, when we landed.  Our first stop was a house boat on the famous Dal Lake.  A thirty minute drive to the Dal and a minute ride on a Shikara took us to our house boat; HB Young Light.

Now a house boat, if you have ever been to one, is an interesting place to stay.  It has an external sitting area, a common drawing room and a clutch of rooms (very similar to a hotel room) for guests to stay.  The number of rooms in a house boat depends on how big the house boat is.  The largest house boat, I was told, on the Dal was a 7-room house boat.  Ours was a 3 room one.  A comfortable contraption, it has all the amenities that a normal hotel room might have.  The fact that it is in the lake, takes some time to get used to.  One has to be very careful, especially if you have small kids, as you might actually step into the lake if you do not mind where your foot is!  Another irritant is the swarm of insects (harmless mosquitoes, we were told).  You need to cover yourself and use insect repellent creams.  One might also feel a bit claustrophobic in a house boat, but it is a great place to stay for a couple of days for city-slickers like us.

HB Young Light: The Common Room

I had been warned that the people in Kashmir might not be very welcoming.  I was happy that this was not the case.  The people are great!  The owner of the house boat, Muhammedbhai, insisted that we consider the house boat as our own home and give him a shout at any time of the day, if we need anything at all.  The owners of the house boats generally live at the back of the house boat itself.  Notwithstanding the earlier warning about Kashmiris not being hospitable, I think the people of Kashmir are realising that tourism is their lifeline.  Of course, in the evening, the owner produced multiple relatives who were selling one or the other thing.  Clothes, saffron & other herbs, handicrafts, etc.  The hard-sell was a great 'put-off' for me.  But, it was their livelihood.

The evening was spent rowing about in a Shikara all over the Dal Lake.  The Dal is one of the biggest lake that I have seen, next only to maybe, Loch Ness in the Highlands in Scotland.  Over a lakh households actually live on the lake!  The Dal has an economy and a community of its own.  It is huge!  I was amazed to see the little causeways in the lake which led to the different parts of it.  Everything is available on the lake.  Right from grocery shops, mobile photo studios (on Shikaras!) and handicraft unit to private farms on which vegetables are grown.  There are floating gardens on it too.  The Dal is infested by wild growth of weeds all over.  A huge investment has been made to continuously dredge the lake to take these weeds out which inhibit the proper functioning of this large aquatic body.  The Dal Lake really impressed me!  The views of the surrounding mountain ranges and the house boats, from a Shikara are spectacular. 

We did stop by the Nehru Park and a couple of shops on the lake.  Also, we did a mobile photo shoot (a first for me) in a Shikara wearing traditional Kashmiri costumes, the prints of which were delivered promptly in the evening. 

Thus our first day in Kashmir ended on the Dal Lake.  I did have a good night's sleep in the house boat.  However, when you spend hours together in a Shikara, you get the gentle swaying sensation of a boat even when lying flat on your bed!  It feels like you are sleeping in a 'thottal', if you know what I mean.

Next morning, we were to drive to Pahalgam, a 5 hour drive!  The next post will be all about Pahalgam and its surrounding places. 

Till then...take care!