KASHMIR (XVIII)

The more I think about this place, the more I wish to go there again.

THE THIRD DAY- GULMARG

21st April, 2014

In morning we were all ready to check out from our hotel and go to Gulmarg and stay there for one night. But to our disappointment Abdullah bhaiya told us that it was an election time in Kashmir and it would be better for us to come back to Srinagar and not to stay in Gulmarg. There was curfew in Srinagar that day. This trip was going quite unexpected and adventurous. We started our journey for Gulmarg and reached there in approx 1 and a half hour. Because of our previous day experience this time we were more careful and more prompt in bargaining. We took jackets and boots on rent and entered Gulmarg. The first word which came out of my mouth was "Wow". It was the land totally covered under snow. 

We booked our tickets for Gondola (cable car). There were two phases- Phase I and Phase II. First hault was at Phase I. The land seemed to be covered under white diamonds. The snow was shining brightly. And in that cold we had coke and yummy kashmiri pulav. The local boy there offered us Kashmiri kahwa- it was the mixture of 11 different things including Kesar, daalchini, badaam etc- very tasty and nutritious. Then  Phase II took us to a height of approx 13000 ft- till LOC. Not everyone go there, but those who don't go, they surely miss on something very interesting. To my amazement the LOC was the only place where mobile signals were coming. It was windy and it was difficult to walk in that thick snow. We stayed there for almost half an hour and felt as if we were flying. We were at the top peak and all other mountains were beneath us.

THE FOURTH DAY- PAHALGAM

22nd April, 2014

Pahalgam was totally different from other places in Kashmir. All other places were mountains, but this was a valley- popularly known as mini Switzerland. It was drizzling, little snow and too much greenery. It was the 45 minutes horse trek. 

THE FIFTH DAY- SRINAGAR

23rd April, 2014  

We had our flight for Delhi in evening, so we decided to spend the day time in Srinagar only. We hired a shikara- a boat in Dal lake. We thought that it would be normal boating for an hour or so- but what we saw kept us amazed. There was a full floating market inside Dal lake. These pictures would speak it all:

In flight we were all in our jackets and mufflers  and suddenly there was an announcement "Bahar ka taapmaan 36 degree hai" (outside temperature is 36 degree Celsius).