It is amazing that even after a month and a half since we came back from Kashmir, I am still able to recall the smallest of details of the trip.
So here we were on Day 5. The agenda was to get out of Gulmarg and drive down to Srinagar. Actually a lot of people who were with us in the group were quite happy (and relieved) to check out of the hotel! We made a couple of stops on our way. The first was at Tangmarg, after descending from the hills of Gulmarg, to return the rented warm clothes! Priyanksh had lost a gum boot the previous day, somewhere between getting off the Gondola at Kongdoori and boarding it again on our way back. After paying for that we were on our way to Srinagar.
Just before we entered Srinagar, the convoy stopped at an emporium. It was quite a big one, with almost everything that anyone would want to buy as a tourist from Kashmir! The moment I saw it, I knew that this was going to be our first major touristy spend on the trip. After an hour of frantic shopping, Priya looked satisfied that gifts for everyone had now been bought. My spend control tactics helped and thankfully it was not a very large sum that I was looking at, at the end of the adventure!
We reached Srinagar and checked into the hotel after the shopping. After a good lunch, we were off to see the sights of Srinagar city! The first stop was the Shankaracharya temple on top of the Gopadari hill. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is said to be one of the oldest shrines in the city. Priyanksh had dozed off in the vehicle on our way to the temple. Hence I offered to baby-sit him while Priya and Suryanksh went to the temple. This was the first time in the 5 days that we were in Kashmir, where the security environment became a bit obvious. The temple is a heavily guarded monument. All of us had to get down from the vehicle at the bottom of the hill itself, for the BSF to sanitise it, before we continued our journey to the temple atop the hill. Even within the temple none of our modern day gadgets were allowed. Even cameras were banned.
After the temple, it was the turn of the gardens. Srinagar is a city of gardens and shrines. Up next were short visits to the three main Mughal Gardens in Srinagar. The Nishat Bagh, Chashm-e-Shahi Bagh and the Shalimar Bagh were beautiful. They are well maintained by the government agencies and are a treat to watch. Nothing spectacular, but neat and clean. Being a holiday, all the gardens were choc-a-block with visitors on that day.
Also, after we visited all three of them, it dawned on me that Mughal Gardens are all step gardens, with common architectural themes.
It was now quite late in the evening and we were all tired and very keen to get to the hotel to call it a day. Not the ladies though. The ladies in the group were planning on some additional shopping in the city area of Srinagar. We stopped at another emporium for another round of shopping. But as soon as we entered the place, I knew that this was a place, not to be in. Everything was priced very high, with no value for money. It took us exactly 5 minutes to get out of the place. We men, very tactfully I must say, convinced the womenfolk that shopping on the next day, which was a Sunday, might be a better idea. Mission accomplished, we were back in the hotel and looking forward to a good night's sleep. Next up was the final leg of this wonderful trip...Sonmarg!
Take care!
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