Accidental Srinagar
Dusk at Dal Lake, Srinagar, Kashmir.
Date: Oct 2005
Location: From the boat house, the view of Dal Lake at Srinagar.
The sun has just set. Late autumn evening is getting colder by the minute. Dal Lake is as calm as it can be, but can’t say the same to Srinagar, the Summer Capital of Kashmir – the disputed state that has multiple blasts that killed and injured many, before and after my visit. Srinagar is so beautiful at this time, it must be amazing during the Spring time when the flowers blossom. I wish I would have chance to revisit the place again, in Spring. I hope.
Arriving at Srinagar was spontaneous, totally unplanned. We’re checking out day tours in one of the many travel agents in New Delhi, and were persuaded to come visit Srinagar after hours of bombardment by the agent. The photos shown to us were heavenly – Srinagar IS beautiful. We paid USD160 for a one-way ticket to reach Srinagar, and were subsequently forced to fork out few hundred US Dollars each for the accommodation (boat house) and tours in Srinagar.
Sound familiar? Yea, this is exactly what Lonely Planet India specifically advices travelers not to get conned and sign up for this type of Srinagar arrangement in New Delhi. Basically, as foreigners, we can’t walk around the city by ourselves – it is just too dangerous, and the gun-holding army personnel can be seen every 50meter along the roads. There is no way we can get out of the boat house and go anywhere if we don’t sign up for the bloated super expensive “Srinagar Tour”, arranged by the boat house operator.
Of course, my Srinagar visit gets more interesting when a lone Korean lady checks into the boat house the second day when we were there. It was not romance, but personal safety is on the stake. I would not elaborate more, but the whole trip makes me grow as a person, and to see the evil part of some rich and powerful people in Srinagar.
Srinagar is really beautiful. The photo above alone cannot do the justice. We went to see the glacier and the snow capped mountains, tour the majestic Dal Lake, walk the city, and eventually go from Srinagar to Jammu in a minivan – the scenery of the winding journey is breathtaking – and take the train back to New Delhi.
We wouldn’t have seen Srinagar if we read the Lonely Planet – I love Lonely Planet, but it is not my Bible of travel. Dal Lake looked so peaceful, but not Srinagar. Things are not what they seem to be in Srinagar. And this apply to a handful of evil and greedy people there too. Don’t get me wrong, we met a lot of great and nice people in Kashmir, too, but in our case, the one evil out shined the rest of the good people, unfortunately.
May peace arrives in Kashmir.
I recently went and had a tour of Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonmarg and made my mind to write a travelogue on my trip. I’m a writer from India. Loved reading your point of view on Srinagar, Kashmir. Keep writing!