Kashmir

  Srinagar, India
Saturday, September 22, 2007

I had to make a stop in Kargil before reaching Srinagar in Kashmir.  Wow!  This place is so different from Ladakh!  Finished the Nepalis and Tibetans.  Here most people are muslims. Women wear the veil and some are completely covered.  School girls all wear a uniform with a veil.  Men have a beard and wear the little muslim hat.  There's lots of traffic and no more mountain views!

I came to Kashmir because I didn't want to leave Ladakh the way I came and also because it is a place that most people have heard about.  I can't say that I saw the "real Kashmir", I only saw one touristic place, so I was a bit disappointed when I left.  I went to Dal lake.  This place is very touristic because the British used it as a hill station and since they were not allowed to own land, they stayed on houseboats!  These houseboats are ancred and don't move.  There are about 300 left and most of them are now used as hotels, a few as shops!  It was very quiet and peaceful on the lake.  I went on a boat tour twice.  Once just around the channels and the second time to see the small vegetable market at 6am.  As soon as I touched the ground I was harassed by everyone!  I did go to a mosque and 2 gardens. At one of the garden I had fun getting my picture taken with some local guys.  We were all dressed up in Kashmiri clothes!  Left aligned photo tag:

My new friends

Right aligned photo tag:

I had fun for my birthday

It was Ramadan while I was there so I got woken up every morning by the prayers which seemed to be a lot longer than usual.  They went on for 2 hours in the morning and at night. It was quite surreal to hear the voices coming from 4 directions while on the lake and waiting for my boat at 5h30am! 

Men here wear a kind of woolen poncho with sleeves that come down to mid-calf. Right aligned photo tag:

Lotus seller

It makes them look poor but very masculine, I like the look! There's lots of security everywhere!  Even on the field where people were harvesting I saw soldiers keeping watch with their gun!  It was quite funny and different to see the muslim men harvest with their little white muslim hat on.  I am so used to see asian women work in the field!