Kashmir - Srinagar - Day 23

Trip Start Jan 31, 2008
1
28
251
Trip End Ongoing


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Where I stayed
Ibana Houseboat
(Srinagar hotels)

Flag of India  ,
Monday, March 17, 2008

Arrived in Kashmir just after nine this morning, landed in a place called Srinagar which is the capital of the Jammu and Kashmir state in the far north-west of India . Had a window seat on the plane and saw some beautiful views of the snow capped Kashmir Himalayas as we approached Srinagar airport. I was the only western person on the plane which is a first for me.
 
The people here are visually very different to the other peoples I've met on my travels in India so far. The Kashmiri's look more like Afghans than Indian, lighter skin and hair, and very different features. I suppose this is not too surprising as I'm less than 300 miles from the Afghan border as the crow flies.
 
I was picked up at the airport and as we drove through the streets, the conflict with Pakistan was apparent, on every corner there are troops with assault rifles, guarding important buildings and just the streets in general Houseboat 1
Houseboat 1
 . I'm less than 70 miles from the heavy disputed India/Pakistan border so the Indian army are here in large numbers.
 
For the next two nights I'm staying on a houseboat in Dal lake close to Srinagar, the boat is one of dozens around 50 metres off shore, it's like a village on water with walk ways connecting most of the boats and little ally like paths above the water on stilts in between the boats. To get onto dry land you have to flag down one of the passing Shikara's ( Kashmir narrow boats) for a lift. It's not the luxury of the houseboat In Kerala but this place has a lot of character and a real sense of community.
 
Sat on the roof of the boat listening to the mosques calling the people to pray this afternoon, with the Himalayas as the backdrop, I was only in the hustle and bustle of Delhi this morning.
 
Think I will stay in Kashmir for 6 days, do some trekking, spend some time on the lakes and see the local sights. I'll then return to Delhi and visit one of the seven wonders of the world in Agra , the Taj Mahal!
 
The guys I'm staying with think I'm very lucky guy, the number 786 is in the middle of my passport number and I bought an apple juice with a batch number of GB 786. What's the significance? Well 786 is an extremely lucky number for Muslims and it's appeared twice since I've met them, freaky shit.
 
Had some traditional Kashmiri food tonight and took a small boat with the guys to the middle of the lake, you can see the silhouette of the Himalayas in the moonlight and the lights of the houseboats twinkling on the lake. The Kashmiri's refer to this place as paradise, I can sort of see why.
 
Sat on the roof tonight for half an hour and I had thermometer with me (I know I'm a geek), 5 degrees at 1600 metres, going to be really cold in the mountains.
 
My experience of Kashmir so far is nothing like what the western media makes out, it seems to be great place to live, work and be a tourist. This opinion may change in the coming days, but I'll let you know.
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Comments

binou59
binou59 on Mar 24, 2008 at 11:24PM

Photos and Kashmir
Hey mate,

Glad to see you're having fantastic time. Your photos look gorgeous, and I guess they still must be far behind the beauty of what you can actually see in real.

I have to say that I'd find hard to go to Kashmir now, given the tensions, and I think it's a great achievement to pass these cliches and actually go there. So good on you!

Also, congrats to try to live it 'real', mixing with locals, going away from the touristy places. True, you'll always be a tourist, but if you're the only one in the place, this means things begin to be interesting!

Take care.
Ben

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