Day 4 was to be an early start, as we had to drive from Pahalgam to Gulmarg. After an early breakfast, we boarded our vehicle (a TATA Winger) for a 5 hour drive! The early rising part is what Priya hated about this day. She could not understand why would anyone want to rise as early as 6 AM on a vacation trip. Actually, even on a normal day, 6 AM is a bit too early for her. She obviously loves her nine winks! However, the promise of our first view of real snow (not ice) and possible snowfall, was good enough for her to sacrifice her sleep.
Pahalgam to Gulmarg was an uneventful drive, except for the fact that we stopped for refreshments on the way, at a cricket bat manufacturing factory. By now, refreshments for us meant Kahwah! Kahwah is a traditional green tea recipe made in the Kashmir Valley, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other places in Central Asia. And it is wonderful, full of various herbs and dry fruits; very refreshing! The bat factory was basically a place where logs of walnut trees were being cut into bat size logs. These were then stacked together for further processing to be chiseled as the bats that we see cricketers playing with. Seeing and holding a 'Mongoose' for the first time, I just could not resist buying it. Good willow, I hope I get to use it some time soon! Not to be left behind, Suryanksh got one for himself too.
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| Father & son with the new acquisition - a Mongoose! |
We touched the outskirts of Srinagar, on our way from Pahalgam to Gulmarg. Before climbing the 'ghats' of Gulmarg, we stopped at Tangmarg, to hire / buy woollens for everyone to cope with the snow on top of the mountains in Gulmarg. After checking in to the hotel in Gulmarg and having lunch, we were off on our mission to experience the beauty of Gulmarg. Gulmarg is, by the way, in Baramula district in Kashmir and is very close to the Line of Control (LOC) between India & Pakistan. We had to take the Gondola ride to get to the snow-clad slopes of Gulmarg. The Gondola ride itself was very interesting. It is the highest cable car in the world, reaching 3950 metres. We stopped at Kongdoori station, where the Phase 1 of the Gondola ends. Phase 2 of the Gondola takes you to the top of the Kongdoori mountain. It had begun to rain when we were in the Gondola. When we reached Kongdoori, the sight in front of us was breathtakingly beautiful; well worth the early start, Priya confirmed!
As if on cue, as soon as we reached the snow-clad slopes, it started snowing, something we had hoped for when we decided to come to Kashmir. Gulmarg offers one of the longest and highest ski slopes in Asia. Yours truly tried his hand with the skis and so did Suryanksh. Myself and Suryanksh had a great time playing with the snow and making yet another 'bonsai' snowman! Priyanksh was too tired for the fun and games and hence slept off! Priya was of course, left holding the baby, literally!
After having a great time in the snow, we had to rush to take the Gondola ride back to the base and reach our hotel in time. By now the rain was pouring really hard and reaching the warmth of our hotel was a relief. Now, I have to mention here, the real struggle for resources, in hill stations like Gulmarg, to run our day-to-day lives, some of which we take it for granted in the cities that we live in. It was freezing cold in Gulmarg, the water in the pipes was just short of becoming ice and guess what, the boilers to heat the water in the hotel could not work because there was no electricity supply. The hotel was surviving on just one generator. Usage of water was ruled out for the kids. Moreover, most of the other things in the hotel also did not seem to work, right from the bulbs (which they replaced) to the television (which they couldn't)! Thankfully, we were here only for the night and the gas heaters were great! But, hats off to the locals, who actually live in such difficult circumstances.
After a good dinner, and an impromptu birthday party (for one of the kids in the group) in the dining hall, we were lulled into deep sleep by the warmth of the gas heaters! Another day ended, actually zipped through. And we had only a few more to look forward to. More about them in the next post.
Take care.
2 comments:
Did you put to use the Mongoose in your recent slush cricket??
Good question! I did carry it with me with an intention to use it. Given the condition of the ground, pitch and more importantly, the ball, I decided against it. I figured that a milder initiation for the Mongoose was probably in order.
Cheers!
Suresh
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