Last Day in Srinagar

It is already difficult for me to continue my writings in this blog after not writing anything for couple of months. I do realize I have more responsibilities than before so might as well I do what I have to do. Well, without having to write a superfluous introduction, I think it is prudent to just restart where I have left.

Our last day in Srinagar seemed to disturb our mind. I just could not believe we have to leave Srinagar today. We started the day very early, as early as 5 am where it was still dark and quiet. We were picked up by a shikara heading to Dal Lake morning market. I thought it would be something like floating market in Thailand but it was not. This morning market was more like an exchange of goods from one wholesaler to another wholesaler. Most of the goods were local products especially Kasmiri vegetables (radishes, cabbages, onions etc). Few shikaras were loaded with other groceries such as tea, saffron, sweet stuff and even flowers. 

The air was very interesting as more and more shikaras appeared out of nowhere and the haggling and bargaining are getting more intense and fun. While enjoying their way of making a living, we came a cross a shikara with chests full of chocolates and cookies. I thought it would be a good idea to buy some as we have not had our breakfast yet. The chocolates were reasonably tasty, considering that they are all home made and the cookies were my favourite.

The youngsters and the seniors.

Kashmiri radish. Nice to have it raw.

The 'sweets' seller.

 Before sunrise, we left the trading area back to our houseboat. We packed our staffs and did nothing much. We had breakfast and around 8.30 am, we left the houseboat to spend the remaining time around Srinagar city, before heading to the airport. We bid good bye to Mr. Firdous and her sweet daughter.

As usual, our young driver, Adil waited us at Gate 7. We were brought to Srinagar mosque and spent less than 30 minutes here. The internal was under construction but I guess it should have completed by now.

Next stop was Shah e-Hamdan shrine. This is a beautiful shrine which was constructed without a single nail being used. This shrine was built to commemorate one of the Sufis who have played important role in spreading Islam in Kashmir. The Sufi was Mir Syed Ali Hamdan. Although this is a Muslim shrine, the wooden architecture is based on Islamic, Buddhist and Hindu architecture.
Women are not allowed to enter the shrine, which I totally don't understand why. As a Muslim, I do not see why women are not allowed into the shrine as I can't think of any logical reason about it. I can sense gender discrimination exists but since this is not my country, I think it is best just to abide.  It was good enough that every visitor has the chance to appreciate the beautiful architecture from the outside..

Shah e-Hamdan shrine.

Lots of pigeons

Flying pigeons but I was worried with the bird-drops.

Lovely and colourful paintings.

 Next, we headed to Lal Chowk. Actually, we have insisted to visit Lol Chowk on our 2nd day in Srinagar. But we were not brought here as something fishy business happened. We were glad that we had time to spend in Lal Chowk because eventually we knew why the trip organizer was so reluctant to bring us here. He didn't want us to find out that everything sold in Lal Chowk was far much cheaper after he assured us the sellers came to our houseboat in the last 2 days sold much cheaper items. He claimed that manufacturer/producer sold much cheaper item and much better quality. That was not true.

For God sake, can't you just stop the whole scamming thing? You have oppressed us with an in-exorbitant trip package, and now you wanted to squeeze us by making money from our shopping?!! Seriously, if anyone plans to go to Srinagar, look no further than Lal Chowk if you want to get the best value for your money. I would have bought more papier mache and embroideries if I didn't spend it on the stuffs sold by his friends and relatives. Geezzz.....but lesson well learnt.

Lal Chowk is such a big shopping area but one needs to know where to head to. Normally, visitors would want to buy local Kashmiri product especially papier mache and embroideries so you can try asking around. Sometimes there would be someone who has already knew what you were up to and he would lead you to the right shop. But I was not so sure if he was given a commission when bringing in customers. All I knew was the goods sold were extremely cheap.

The shop owner in Lal Chowk. He has nice items sold in his shop but I bought on papier mache.

Finally, after the bargaining and purchasing, we went off to the airport for our flight to New Delhi.
Most people said that the security in Kashmir airport is really tough. It was really and I didn't like the experience. I had to dig out every single thing from my knapsack and I felt just like an idiot. Do I look like as if I'm a relative of Osama bin Laden? Or do I look like a cousin of a Pakistani terrorist? Screw you people!! But nevermind, other than being scammed and scrutinized, I just flooded my mind with the beautiful memories in Kashmir. I would come again, and perhaps the next time, no more shopping but merely enjoying the wonderful sceneries. Srinagar to Leh to Ladakh, that's where I will go.

Next stop, New Delhi. 

Srinagar - Pahalgam & Dal Lake Boat Ride

Another rainy day in Srinagar, no signs of the sun is going to show up and obviously, another cold day for two Malaysians. Today we would be heading to Pahalgam, a place which is regarded as Switzerland of Asia (not sure how true this is) for its beautiful landscapes and serenity. Pahalgam is a long way drive to Srinagar. It took almost 4 hours to reach there but I thought Adil made it much earlier. At least the road was not winding and a little better the day before. 

There is nothing much to be written when it comes to a long road trip. However, every year in October, Saffrons will bloom into into beautiful purple flowers. It doesn't really have a distinct tree, like other flowers do, which I think makes this plant is unique. It is as if the flowers emerge from the ground. This only takes place in Pampore which most vehicles heading to Pahalgam will pass through this area. And while every traveller and tourist alike love not to be conned over and over again, there is a famous shop selling original saffron. Noor Mohd Bhat. This shop sells various dried fruits, nuts and of course, the saffron.Try to avoid buying saffron in Srinagar as I doubt the quality and originality. And on top of that, the price is much cheaper, which is Rps 200 per 10 gram.

Saffron is a type of spice taken from the saffron flower itself. The stamens taken from the flowers are properly dried, which can be used in various cooking and tea. And someone said it is good for the skin and brain too. 

I bought a packet of almond which was really crunchy and tasty. And my buddy bought a packet of raisin. Based on my experience buying nuts/dried fruit when travelling abroad, freshness is guaranteed only before returning to Malaysia. Freshness gone, tastes gone due to high humidity in Malaysia, unless they are kept in air-tight containers.

The trip was really a mind boggling one. I was sleepy but then I refused to sleep as I might miss interesting views. But due to the prolonged rain and it got heavier, nothing could be seen at all. But we were glad that the rain was subsiding as Adil drove  uphill. It was amazing to see the beautiful valleys below with yellow golder hue of the mustard plants.

After a moment, we reached Pahalgam, precisely to the horse-riding provider. It was still raining and both of us thought it would be foolish to go for a ride in a rainy day. I don't mind if it was just very light drizzle. But if you can easily get wet in a matter of few minutes, that is a disaster. And guess what, the promoter tried to convince us that it was OK and not that bad. He said that each of us would get a poncho but he forgot that our cameras would not work well in rain. And unlike horse-riding service in Sonamarg, it is really expensive in Pahalgam. After several declinations, the promoter finally gave-up and we headed to the town to get something to eat. I had another paneer and paratha which made my day better after series of disappointment.

Without the horse-riding, we did nothing in Pahalgam. But we just had quick photo stops near Pahalgam town. The views here were stunning and even much prettier with a touch of blue sky and sunlight.

When we reached the flat land, the views were superb. I was a little confused for a moment. The autumn foliage dominated the view when it should be spring by now. Or did it actually the natural colours of the plants all year round? But whatever it was, I was so in love with the views and wished we could have stayed in one of the houses here. Adil seemed to know what we wanted and without us having to request, he pulled over the car and let us have some fun with our cameras.

Adil, the Michael Schumacher junior.

We arrived Srinagar around 4.30 and returned to our houseboat. We rested and had our late lunch. Later, we were brought on a shikara to check-out around Dal Lake. The trip was nice though there were time where I felt like throwing up when the shikara passed through the backyards of the residential area. They shikara rider voiced his concern about the sustenance and maintenance of Dal Lake, and how long can Dal Lake last with current condition. Domestic wastes and sewage were dumped directly into the lake. I saw several billboards with "Save Dal Lake" but I could not see any efforts to work on it. I know I should not say that but the shikara rider himself told us nothing much was done to improve. My personal opinion is, the permanent residents of Dal Lake should be moved to the land side but I know, that would mean increment in cost (for the government) and more time consuming, which by then, Dal Lake has already 'dead'. I think the scenario is something like, take it, or leave it. Unless the Kashmiris unite and do the work rather than talking, things may change abruptly. Do question is, will they do it? I hope something will be done or else, Kashmir will lost its important piece of gem.

After the shikara ride, we returned to the houseboat, warmed up ourselves and did all the obligations. We could hardly believe that this was our last night in Kashmir. But the fun did not end here.

As the last night spent, we were served with Kashmiri pulov (it is actually Kashmiri brown rice), lentils and mixed vegetables. We ate a lot but we could not finish the meals-for-4 which was such a waste. But alhamdulillah, it felt a lot better after dinner. Before we went off to bed, we checked our email and copied the pictures into our external hard drive. We went to bed early as we have to wake up at 4.30 for another shikara ride to the morning market.

Amazing India - A Day In The Golden Meadow, Sonamarg

Freezing!! That was what we felt the moment we woke up to see another beautiful day in Kashmir.

It was quite tough for us especially when we need to perform the ablution with the extremely cold tap water. There was hot water but it took some time become hot enough. The same thing happened when we were bathing but at least things became better when the hot water started to function normally. 

Spending time in a very cold weather just speeds up the hunger and we were craving for hot Milo so much. The day seemed gloomy and grey, which was definitely not a good start for the day. Deep in our heart, we keep on hoping and praying the weather would be sunny, or at least no heavy down pour.

Our breakfast was something Kashmiri. We had Kashmiri bread with strawberry jam & butter, Kashmiri style scrambled egg, and Kashmiri saffron tea. I love the tea, but the bread was gristly, almost impossible to be chewed. We thought that we have to dunk it in our Kahsmiri tea, so we did that, and it became soft and really nice to be eaten. 

Breakfast

After breakfast, we got ready for our day trip to Sonamarg. I would say this day trip was far beyond our expectation and did not turn out as what we had in mind earlier. We left Srinagar around 8.30 and our little driver drove us to Sonamarg. It took around 3 hours to reach Sonamarg.
It was all wet along the way but there were several area where the land was all yellow when the mustard flowers bloom. Taking pictures of these beautiful sceneries from a moving vehicle was not a practical way to get nice pictures. So we requested Adil to stop by the road side  for couple of minutes. I felt good to be surrounded by thousand, or maybe millions, of tiny yellow flowers.

The route to Sonamarg was not really a smooth and comfortable one. Pot holes, narrow streets, hair-pin corners and several unpaved roads were nearly got my heart stopped beating for a moment. I guess the Kashmiri should learn to drive calmly rather than driving as if they drive military tanks. But I blame Michael Schumacher for being their inspiration. Though with their way of drivings, accidents seem to be very uncommon here.

It was really difficult to have a quick nap along the way because the views were stunning enough and eye-catching. As the driver drove further and towards uphill, the views gradually changed. We could see snow-capped mountains and hills which I have never expected it, given that it was the third week of April and I though the spring is already in the air. And it came to my mind to ask from Adil on the best month to visit Kashmir. And this young fellow said it is rainy season during March and April. Pffftttt...that's what I thought!! Initially, I thought of bright, glorious sun shine with flawless blue sky but I knew I have dreamt a lot.

Snowy mountains as a backdrop

Mustards here and there

Loving this view a lot

Before the updill driving began, we stopped by at a tea shop. We had milk-tea with a touch of salt (they call it chai here) and it was nice to have hot drinks in a cold weather. There were also tit-bits and Kashmiri snacks but none of us had it (it wass all about reducing expenses for we have another 18 days to go).

The views were becoming whiter, greyer and foggier. As far as I remember, it was quite difficult to adjust the setting to get the desired pictures. Without the clouds and fogs, it would be much easier to snap the pictures, which later I concluded that I need read on photographing in cloudy and foggy day. I did see lots of beautiful pictures taken on the gloomy days, which means it is not impossible to do it.

Approaching Sonamarg

I only know about it until I read this sign.

Flowing river along our way up to Sonamarg

We were getting closer to Sonamarg, but we were still did not think of the views and environment that we might experience. We've seen all the beautiful snow-capped mountains but neither of us have thought of walking (or in our case, horse riding) passing through snow beds. We were told that there would be horse riding but we did not think it was a horse riding in the snow. At first, we decided not to take any horse riding services because we felt that it was expensive and we decided to walk, following the visitors route. Later we were told that it is not impossible to walk as the grounds were muddy (due to the melting snow) and it would take some time to reach the Thajiwas glacier. OK..fine!! We finally changed our mind and opted for the horse riding.

Adil parked the car in the parking area and we got out of the card. It was much colder than what we have expected and my pair of cheeks start to feel numb. But the amazing view of the snow-capped mountain in front of us override the numbing and we could not wait to get closer to the view. We were brought to the horse-riding service provider (most probably friends of Adil) and we bargained on the horse-riding service fee. We got Rps 900 per person which I thought was still expensive. But we kept that aside and got our wind-breaker, a pair Wellington boot and a pony each.

Before the pony ride

It was nice to get on a horse and walk through the snow though we preferred walking. It was a little hard to ensure we would not fall and also to take care of our cameras. But for whatever reasons, it seemed them both of us could not control ourselves taking lots of pictures here and there. Unfortunately, it started to rain lightly and we could not risk our camera being damaged due to rain. I covered my camera with my extra shawl.

I somehow think this pony refuses to carry me on

The view of Thajiwas glacier

Around 25 minutes, we reached an area with several tents.  The moment we arrived there, wind was blowing strong and it was raining pretty heavy. Of course, this worsen the condition where my finger tips start to numb due to the coldness. Like any other touristy places, we were directed into one of the tents, and the gentlemen there offered us some drink (chai or Kashmiri tea). So we thought it was OK to have some hot drink to reduce the freezing air, but as usual, we were asked to pay Rps 60 for a tiny cup of tea/chai. My buddy insisted on paying lesser than that, around Rps 40, and we went off unhappy. Seriously, we did think that the Kashmiris themselves are the ones to smear the name of Kashmir with lots of scams, touts and sucking up tourists money as they like. This is what I hate about Kashmir, otherwise, everything would be perfect and interesting. If there is any plan to come here again, I will always remember to bring my own hot water in a durable flask, rather then spending unnecessarily for the overpriced, ordinary beverage.

To reduce our frustration, we took out our camera and play around with the shutters, enjoying the lovely scenery around the glacier. More tourists were arriving and the place started to overcrowd. When the rain was about to stop, we hoped on our pony and headed back to the starting point. And we considered ourselves lucky for having a good guide. Good in taking care of our back, and good in handling our cameras.

The greens and the whites

We got lost of time and we didn't even know when we arrived Sonamarg and left Sonamarg. I thought that we were already late but we still have 30 minutes before noon. If there was any souvenir shops selling something Kashmiri, I would want to have a look but there is non. And since it was raining heavily again, this was definitely suppressing our mood to spend the time in other nearby areas within Sonamarg. So we decided to leave Sonamarg, and head to Srinagar.

On our way back, we still could not restrain ourselves from taking more pictures. It felt like every single view caught be the eyes was truly impressive that it would be a regret if I did not capture it. The emerald green river flowing along the foot hills was like a gem within the dull rocks and limes.

As a normal human being, our stomach needs to be fed too. And thank you to my buddy for being generous enough and thoughtful enough to bring extra chocolate bars for us, while getting to the proper restaurant to get proper lunch.

After one hour or so, we arrived at vegetarian restaurant. For the first time, my buddy and I tried the Tikka Massala Paneer and paratha bread, which were truly awesome. This was my first having cottage cheese cooked in thick gravy and I'm loving it till today. I love cheese and I love Indian spices which seem to be a perfect combination. If given choices, I would love have paneer for my lunch every alternate days. But I haven't heard anyone recommending good Indian restaurants in Malaysia so I think I need to hold that plan for now.

I was already around 4.30 pm when we reached Srinagar. We were brought to Hazratbal shrine, a place where it is said there a strand of prophet Muhammad's s.a.w hair is placed. At first, everything was full of high expectations and hopes, but later, everything dissolved just like that. Why? Firstly, the Hazratbal shrine was under maintenance, with scaffoldings on the main dome. And secondly, women were not allowed to see the hair display. Is it a discrimination or what? Why didn't they allow women to see it? Too many questions were in my head without any proper explanation due to language barrier. So I was not in mood to take any pictures here but helped my buddy who seemed to have consistency in having photos of hers in every attraction. If only I have that consistency, I would not have to regret for not having pictures of these and those. Hehe...