Kashmir...

Kashmir

Our Itinerary :

22 – 5 – 2008 : 7am Flight from Mum to Del to Srinagar
23 – 5 – 2008 : Pahalgam
24 – 5 – 2008 : Srinagar
25 – 5 – 2008 : Gulmarg
26 – 5 – 2008 : Gulmarg
27 – 5 – 2008 : 1.45pm flight from Srinagar to Del to Mum

Kashmir – Switzerland in India, Paradise on Earth… these statements don’t even come close to the type of beauty the land possesses. It is indeed indescribable and I don’t have words that can express the tranquility of the place…… U have to be there and feel it and see for yourself…. That is the only way….. As one drives through the meandering roads, with sounds of the rapids flowing by the side, lush green hills covered by a carpet of poplars and pines, the tall mountains hiding behind a veil of clouds with the white glistening peaks peeping from behind…. one wonders what is this place??

Anyways…..lets start from the start…… on 22nd at 4am this trip started…..took a cab to airport and the flight to Delhi was on time at 7am…. Weather conditions at Del were not very good and we experienced heavy turbulence and infact had to land in dust storm conditions. I pretty much enjoyed the flight. We then boarded our flight to Srinagar, which was a whole 2 hours late, and then again we experienced turbulence above Del. As we flew into J&K we already got a teaser of what awaited us as we flew over snow capped mountains. In Srinagar we met our driver Yaseem who was to ferry us to all the places we were to go. We checked into our houseboat on Dal Lake “The ‘Quine’ of Africa” (deluxe). Our Driver told us that owner of this boat had an African wife and hence the name. These floating hotels have all possible amenities and are very luxurious with every square inch of floor covered with carpets and comfortable sofas in the lounge. But the best thing about these is the service. The people of Kashmir are extremely polite and of all the places we have ever been to we got the beat service in each and every hotel or houseboats we checked into in Kashmir. Not only that even the locals who sell trinkets or souvenirs never hound you and if u refuse to buy their wares they would retreat. In stark contrast are hawkers of Delhi near Qutub Minar where they simply drown you in their call for buy this buy that and will not leave you till u buy something or the other.
We went for a Shikara Ride in the Dal Lake late in the afternoon and visited the floating gardens, the kabutarkhana, the floating markets etc. these floating markets are just like those in Bangkok….but much more peaceful…. And they sell everything from bread butter to pepsi to saffron, jwellery and pashmina shawls…. And the best thing is that they will never force you into buying their wares. Extremely humble folks.

The next day we went to Pahalgam. The drive to pahalgam is the one of the most beautiful ones with the terrain changing continuously. We saw fields of Kesar extending on both sides of the roads as far as the eye could see. All the while in the background the snowcapped peaks coming closer and closer… teasing u, calling u. The road passed through valleys surrounded by lush green hills and then as it started climbing, with the rapids flowing by its sides. In Pahalgam our hotel “The Silver Star” was first class with excellent food and impeccable service. We then took a Horse ride to Dabian and Baisaran. Baisaran is a large valley right in between a coniferous forest surrounded by tall mountains. I had as much fun sightseeing as I had galloping on the horse full steam… first time ever…

The next morning we went to Chandawari and encountered our first snow on this trip. The place was unfortunately slightly ruined by the tourists but was gifted when u let the eyes wander away from the ground towards the sky and the peaks…

We then went back to Srinagar and this time our houseboat was on Nigeen Lake, which is part of the Dal Lake, but on the opposite bank. Our boat “The Baktook’s Palace” was just as comfortable but the surroundings were even quieter and peaceful with a nice view of the Akbar Fort. In the evening there were rough winds and one of the shikaras of out houseboat went adrift. So later a caretaker and me went shikara rescuing… nice adventure in the middle of the Dal Lake I say!!!

The next morning we were to go to Gulmarg. Enroute to Gulmarg we were stopped by security cause the road was closed for a convoy of ministers to pass… President Pratibha Patil had visited Gulmarg and was returning to Srinagar and so we were lost in translation. The joke is that Prez Patil didn’t even travel by road she flew over us in a helicopter and the road bandobast was for her chamcha ministers….. a whole convoy of 30 cars….. which made me wonder the amount of tax payers money spent on ministers holidays what with road closing causing delay intrade, cost of so many security personnel, fuel, time, carbon credits etc…I were pretty miffed to say the least. If this wasn’t enough we were later stopped at an army checkpost and our driver was taken into the bunker by the side since the guy at the post didn’t like my driver speeding… Yaseem later told us that the guy had picked up a lathi and only because another person said it wasn’t his fault did they let him go.

Kashmiris have an issue with the army… the army proved instrumental in stopping the terrorism, which was rampant in Kashmir in the 1990s… however the army does carry out atrocities on the common people of Kashmir. For example what happened with our driver. The cost of maintaining the army also is borne mostly by the local people. For example the food required by the army is mostly produced in the state and doesn’t come from outside. Besides there are 7 lakh army men in the state so the resources required add up to a huge amount most of which is borne by the locals here. I don’t know the solution of this problem but the army is required in the region, as it is still very much sensitive. Maybe the army has to mend its ways and I don’t think it is used to that.

What with Pratibha Patil and all we reached Gulmarg late at 2 pm. The main attraction of Gulmarg – The Gondola (Cable Car) had its counters closed by 2 so then we went for a horse ride round the hill station. We did a large circuit around the hill station and towards the end the weather started worsening and it started raining and got freaking cold so we abandoned our pony ride halfway and took shelter in a small house nearby… We decided to go for the Cable Car the next day. The cable car is the highest in the world and transports people from 8900 feet to 10050 feet at the first stage and to 13500 feet to the second stage. Needless to say I was pretty excited about the cable car ride since it takes you to the very top of the peak!!!

THE TREK OF A LIFETIME !!!!!

The next day we reached the ticket counter at 9 am. It opens at 10am. and still the queue was already very long with more than 60-70 people ahead of us!!! The system here is weird to say the least. Every person can be allotted 10 tokens, at the ticket counter u pay the money and get the tickets and then there is a line for the gondolas since there can only be 6 people in a gondola. So in all there are 3 lines to stand in…. and I wonder why??? Well anyways as is evident there is scope for rampant corruption. And corruption was rampant. The local people from hotels queued up since 8 in the morning and kept coming back and in all booked some 400 to 500 tokens amongst themselves. These tokens were then sold to tourists in black from the hotels for 100 bucks more and so even when the token counter was closed the line for tickets and gondola steadly kept on increasing…. While we were waiting in the line…. By 12 we were still in the line with the token counter closed and the weather deteriorated further… it was announced that because of the bad weather conditions the cable car would only go up to the 1st stage at 10050 feet. Anyways dad and me decided to just pick up a trail and go exploring. But dad wanted to have lunch first so I took off alone. Unfortunately the camera was with dad. There was a trail nearby only and I could see it went towards the gondola and so I asked a local to confirm where the trail led. He said it lead to the highest point i.e. the 2nd stage of gondola. He also added that I wont make it that it’ll take 5 hours and that I better take a horse. But I had some pretty good gumboots hired with a heavy parka that kept me warm and I decided that well I’ll go as far as possible and then come back. And so started my longest ever, highest ever and the bestest ever trek. The trail was extremely muddy and I was thankful for my gumboots. I did loose the trail once and had to ask a local and get back to the actual trail. Soon I was away from the hoards of screaming tourists and high up in the hills with the cable cars running over my head. I was absolutely alone and was trekking up at my own pace. I met many locals and all said that I better take a pony and that I wouldn’t make it. Replied to all of them that I’ll go as far as I can. The thing with the trail was that it was steadily climbing but wasn’t very steep until the very end. The last 500 feet I think must be a steady 45 degree slope. There I met a small kid coming down, he was the only one who said “bas abhi thoda hi hai jao jao!!!” and that was just fantastic… I guess the locals are just not used to seeing tourists trek up right beneath the gondola…. Infact I didn’t see and other tourist who was trekking like me. Anyways after meeting the kid I decided I am going to somehow reach atleast the 1st stage… on that 45 degree incline I got tired so often that I had to rest 3 times. In one of these rests I forgot my woolen cap and had to back track to find it!!! The frustration!!! Towards the top when I was almost there a pack of mountain dogs started barking at me… and I was freaking scared shitless. These dogs are big hairy and more wolf like and our mumbai strays look like cute little pups in front of them. So I again had to back track and take another route up. Finally I ended up entering the first stage right by the side of the building where the cable cars where entering. I had finally reached the 1st stage. The tourists were coming out of the building to my right and I jumped the railing and entered the melee. The looks I got from people…. I could have laughed out loud only I was too tired… It had taken me a whole 1 hour 50 min to reach the 1st stage from 8900 feet to 10050 feet (that’s 1150 feet). I met a family from Vasai in Mumbai shared some biscuits with them. Told them I had trekked up and they couldn’t believe it. Since the weather above was very bad everyone was taking horses till the snowline at 12000 feet to get to the snow. After sitting for half an hour I decided that I had come till here…. No point in not going further…. So on I went… for some time I followed the trail the horses were using but the terrain there was covered with grass (which gives good grip) and rocks and I didn’t see any point in following the horses muddy tracks so I just broke away and criss crosses the steadily rising terrain. Again all horses were going with the tourists to a point where there were local people with bobsleds and there the snow was all muddy and trampled by the tourists so I took a left and just kept going till I finally reached the snowline. And that was just amazing…. I was the only one there no other tourist or local had come there it was absolutely quiet with only the wind and the grass talking. The best moment of my vacation, Me sitting on a rock surrounded by snow, no other person even visible, clear blue skies, a white mountain behind me, a green meadow in front of me, a cold wind blowing and absolute silence…. What more can I ask for??? It was 4 by then and it decided to head back cause I was just too tired to even attempt the 13500 feet climb and it was getting late…. I knew mum would be getting tensed cause no one knew where I was except that I had gone for a walk and it would take time for me to reach back to the hotel. I made my way slowly back towards the 1st stage. On the way I asked a local what height was I at and he told me that was 12000 feet…. Mind blowing…. Then I told him I had trekked all the way up and that look of genuine appreciation on him…. That made my day absolutely. I had some water and biscuits at the 1st stage and then continued on my way down. The way down was slightly more difficult since the slopes were extremely muddy and slippery and I fell 3 times infact and got a bad bruise on my right thigh but all that’s a part of the game after all…. Nonetheless the way down was much faster and I reached my hotel at 5.15 and guess what…. Met mum at the hotel entrance, said she was starting to come and look for me!!! This last day in Gulmarg was one of my best and I wont forget this unscheduled trek ever…

The next day we left for srinagar airport and took our flight and were in mumbai at 7pm. Reached home at 9.30 and that was that……end of trip!!!