I read something beautiful on a LinkedIn post sometime back. Yes, miracles do happen.
उन्हें कामयाबी में सुकून नजर आया तो वो दौड़ते गए,
हमें सुकून में कामयाबी दिखी तो हम ठहर गए !
Not that I had scaled some Himalayan peak of success, but the first line fits my 30s, and the second, my 40s. The underlying mindsets are different, and so are the journeys that give me joy. But it took the larger life journey and the choices of my past self to get here.
You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.
We missed our flight! In more than two decades of travel, this was a first, and needed to be documented. The good news is that it didn’t derail us much, and we landed in Kashmir a couple of hours later than planned.
Srinagar
The one-hour drive from the airport was made pleasant by an unexpected but lovely sunset at Dal Lake. We go chasing sunsets when we travel, so this was a lovely surprise.
Stay
We stayed at The Dewan, and quite amazingly were the youngest guests! I think the hotel had been attacked by a bus full of elderly tourists, many of whom appeared to be from Bangalore. Decent rooms, and we were there only for a night. This is away from the centre, but close to Shalimar and Nishat. Our plan was to visit at least one of these soon as we landed, but we couldn’t thanks to the delay.
On our last night in Kashmir, we stayed at Sukoon houseboat. On Dal Lake, this is likely the best one. You could also check the options at Nigeen Lake, which apparently is even more quieter.
But we loved Sukoon. Excellent, comfortable rooms though I found them a little anti-national because there were no jetsprays in the toilet.
Callback to an old era. Just like the books in the reception lounge area.
There are some excellent vantage points. This is at the entrance.
…and this is on the roof.
This is the fantastic view in the morning.
…and this one is towards the end of the day.
See/Do
A shikara ride was part of our package, and we did this around sunset. ‘Sukoon’ is the perfect way to describe it. It really gives you a great feel of a way of a way of life.
We saw some other pretty houseboats…
…a full fledged market
and mobile stores for everything from flowers
to fruits
..and desserts!
The Tulip Festival was what we had timed this trip for. Thankfully, the tulips behaved well and were in full bloom… Expect the place to be packed, though the queue per se wasn’t bad at all. It didn’t help that our visit coincided with the day after Eid.
After you’ve had your fill of tulips, walk around and enjoy the vista too.
In a toss up between Nishat and Shalimar, we chose the former. Very pretty, but it’s sad how we trash the place. The staff were busy picking up plastic in the morning. 😐
It provides a lovely view of Dal Lake.
At Pari Mahal, people tend to do the ‘I believe I can fly’ pose (top left)…
I have to admit, it’d be a great view if we could fly!
The burning question for me as we climbed up to the Shankaracharya temple was how he managed to do it without thermals. Even if he visited in summer…
Anyway, the view from the temple is just breathtaking.
Eat
What’s a visit to Kashmir without the wazwan? We were lucky enough to have a delicious version of it at a friend’s home, and then Ahdoos went and created a benchmark on how a gastronomic experience should be. As is par for the course, we did spend some time waiting in a queue, but the ambience, the involvement of the service staff (history, context, how-to, all in commentary, and adding stuff gratis just so we enjoyed the experience) and the delectable food – presentation and taste, all make it an absolute must-visit. Cannot recommend it enough.
Le Delice was a great suggestion from my friend, and we visited one of their outlets in City Mall, which, I have to mention, does not have escalators going down!
Since we had a multi-hop return flight, we packed ourselves a marble cake and a walnut brownie. Both excellent. Sigh.
Our best meal though was the one we had with a school friend of mine. Though he is Kashmiri, he has lived more in Kerala and Bangalore! 🙂 We had a lovely time with his family who fed us way more than our capacity. It continues to amaze me how we can quickly form a lifetime bond with people we have never met before, and whose affection makes our best memories from the trip.
Sonamarg
Our first stop was Sonamarg, and the route was all postcards.
The mountains got snowier and closer as we drove along.
We even saw the remains of an avalanche!
Sonmarg, or at least the part that is in the must-see list was insanely crowded. Thajiwas Glacier is the thing to see here, and you have multiple ways of reaching it – snow bike and sleds. A combination of the crowd, the incessant pitches by touts, and the Bajrangi Bhaijaan association ensured that we skipped it.
Stay
Instead we drove on to a place aptly titled for the context – Village Retreat – where we planned to stay. Very comfortable, though you might want to ask for a room with a view if you’re so inclined. But if you don’t get those, don’t worry, you can sit on those chairs outside their restaurant…
…and you’ll have this view. We sat there as the temperature dropped to a little below zero, but there was no snowfall. Peaceful and serene.
A mutton Biryani and a fiery Kashmiri Chicken lunch at the restaurant kept us full for the rest of the day.
We pecked at a Chicken Kanti (listed as a local favourite everywhere) for dinner.
This was part of a week-long trip to Kashmir. The remaining days were in Gulmarg and Pahalgam, and that’s what the next post will be about.
