Kashmir is heaven on Earth! I have been hearing this since childhood! But even after visiting so many places, I didn't get time to visit Kashmir! In 2016, I visited Ladakh, which is a par of the Indian province Jammu & Kashmir. The city of Leh, Nubra Valley, Pangong Lake, rugged hills, endless rough road just drove me crazy.
If I get a chance, I will visit Leh city again which is 8000 feet above the sea level. But what I have heard about Kashmir, or seen in Bollywood movies since childhood, I did not get a taste of Kashmir in Ladakh. You have to go to Srinagar to get that taste.
So finally, I added Kashmir to my long India tour plan. The greenery of Kashmir, and the thousands of tulips can be seen between April and mid-August. Kashmir is buzzing with tourists during Summer. But I wanted to see the snowfall. And it would be nice if the tourist place is empty. You can move around comfortably.
So in November, I planned for a long vacation in India. It was cold then. I had to wear a winter jacket in Delhi. As soon as I stepped out of the door of the plane at Srinagar Airport, it felt like cold air was piercing my skin!
I put all the warm clothes in my shoulder bag. I was thinking if it is so cold at 11 o'clock, what will happen at night! Anyway, without thinking so much, I went to the parking lot after completing the formalities at the airport. I must say that everyone at Srinagar Airport is very friendly. Tourists from other countries in Kashmir actually have to fill up an embarkation form. If you ask anyone at the airport, they will help.
We had to book the car in advance through Hotel Wilson. Our hotel is close to Dal Lake. I booked the hotel after seeing a good rating on booking.com. Anyway, we started our journey towards the hotel to see the Srinagar city. The distance is about nine kilometers.
Srinagar is a tidy city. There are not too many people on the streets. I saw a little more people on the side of Dal Lake, Lal Chalk. Most people were wearing Kashmiri Pheran, a traditional Kashmiri outfit. Young boys and girls, of course, were in modern dress. And every Kashmiri boy and girl is so beautiful, especially the boys. If I were a girl I would probably fall in love. :P
Many times in my Kashmir tour, I felt a little bit uncomfortable to see handsome boys, driving boats or taxis, or hawking on the streets. They look way more gorgeous and smarter than any Bollywood actor.
Before our journey, everyone in our family warned us - You are going to Kashmir, but be careful!
There was heavy shelling and bombing in Srinagar even a month before we arrived. Indian Army was at every corner of the road on the way to the hotel from the airport! Armored car equipped with weapons! It seemed like the war will start anytime.
Anyway, I came to Dal Lake, near the hotel, and forgot about the stress of the day's journey. Mesmerizing beauty! Quiet and tidy environment!
The hotel was beautiful, and the hotel owner was a great man. He helped a lot on the whole Kashmir tour. We didn't have many plans that day. I had a plan to go around the city of Srinagar, Ride-on Shikara in Dal Lake, and search for good food.
One local suggested us to go to Khayam Chowk. Khayyam Chowk is a food paradise. That guy didn't say anything wrong, it was indeed. I took a taxi to Khayam Chowk for 60 rupees. As soon as I arrived, I see just kebabs, lots of kebabs around me!!! Seeing so many types of kebabs, water came to my tongue. I didn't take many photos of Khayam Chowk, I forgot about snapping by seeing so many delicious food around me.
I ate up to my last and best level. Nothing was left out, starting with the kebab. What I saw in front of my eyes, I ate!
What can't be found on Khayam Chowk! Someone was selling ice cream in this cold, someone was making momo in a van on one side, there were also some Bengali food hotels. However, I did not go near the ice cream. Moreover, the amount of cold air that I ate in the open taxi, I had no wish to eat ice cream after that. But on the last day of my Kashmir tour, I ate the famous Kashmiri Kulfi.
After being loaded with food, I returned to Dal Lake. The temperature was probably seven or eight. At night it goes near zero! The hotel boy said there could be snowfall in a day or two. And if it happens, it will be a record of the last twenty years! Because in the last twenty years, Srinagar never experienced snowfall during November! Anyway, I went to Dal Lake and hired a Shikara for 2 hours with 500 rupees. Shikara is a traditional Kashmiri boat. Like the royal boat, there is a mattress for reclining comfortably. This type of boat is also seen in Venice, Italy.
As soon as the Shikara started to move, I was overwhelmed by the cold. Of course, thinking about that, the boatman put a thin blanket on the boat. Full VIP service only for 500 rupees or approx $10!
Row upon row of houseboats on either side of Dal Lake. These houseboats are hundreds of years old, but still in good condition. You can stay overnight on these houseboats by spending a few bucks. We stayed overnight in a houseboat on our five-day Kashmir tour. Inside the houseboat, it is decorated like an ancient kings boat! I will tell the story of the houseboat another day.
We slowly started to go deeper into the Lake. And slowly the lake was getting bigger, and the natural beauty was increasing. And as the evening drew closer, the cold was increasing gradually!
The best thing about Dal Lake is the floating market. There are all kinds of shops here. However, considering the price and quality, we didn't buy anything from here. On the last day of our journey, I shopped from Red Chowk. It was evening when we finished our trip to Dal Lake.
In Kashmir, all shops are closed by 8 pm. Only a few souvenir shops, and restaurants, are open until 10 pm as there is a tourist hub around Dal Lake.
Due to the low number of tourists at that time, everything was closed before 9 pm. We just found one Panjabi Restaurant open at 9.30 and took our dinner there. Of course, no one came out of the hotel at 9 pm in this cold weather except crazy people like us. However, there are no tourist activities to do in Kashmir at night.
I fell asleep before 11 o'clock after a beautiful and busy day. Though 11 pm is too early for me to sleep! But we had a plan to travel Sonmarg on the next day; so we had to get up very early in the morning. The hotel owner hired a car for our Sonmarg tour. I never imagined that such a big surprise was waiting on the next day. The hotel boy's words came true! The Sonmarg tour was one of the most memorable tours of my life.
I will tell you that story some other day.
- Read this post in Bengali - Click Here
- Read also - The Day I Got Lost in the Clouds - Discovering Sajek Valley!