Showing posts with label Kashmir. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kashmir. Show all posts

31 May - 07 Jun 2011 Srinagar






South Asia
Republic of Incredible India, the world's biggest democrazy
Jammu & Kashmir
Kashmir Valley
Dal Lake (c. 1,730 m above sea level)
Srinagar
Houseboat “Poppy Day” +919906739539
Spotlessly clean aft double cabin of a traditional houseboat for INR 1,000.- or US$ 22.70 per night, including unlimited 24/7 ferry service.
Beer: 650-ml bottles of chilled but non-halal Carlsberg “Palone 8”, Kashmir's x-tra strong premium beer (8 % alc./vol.), available for INR 80.- or US$ 1.80 from our friendly and non-jihadist Muslim host family, cheers!
Click below for an interactive road map of the houseboat "Poppy Day" in Srinagar, which we would highly recommend, and for directions:




  




 Hanging out on the the porch of our traditional houseboat HB “Poppy Day”, firmly anchored in the idyllic Lotus Garden of the (hyper-)eutrophic Dal Lake, having a non-halal jar, getting slowly drunk and miscounting the clouds and the stars in the sky over Kashmir, nevertheless (i) enjoying the incredible beauty of the snow-covered peaks of the Pir Panjal Range, (ii) saluting both (a) local folks, e.g. the floating baker, the floating greengrocer, the floating flower man, the floating spice merchant (who sells saffron, the most expensive spice in the world) and the floating junk dealer (who sells Kashmiri silver jewellery, cashmere pashmina and shahtoosh shawls and lacquered papier-mâché boxes) as well as (b) domestic holidaymakers from all over India who criss-cross the scenic Dal Lake on elfin shikaras, which are the only means of transport between the shore and the house-boats on the lake, and (iii) rendezvousing with our close Swiss friend and seasoned globetrotter Oliver (La Grande Vadrouille Asiatique).



Exploring the evidently peaceful and friendly summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir, the town of Srinagar (elevation c. 1,730 m above sea level, prettified with sandbag bunkers and razor wire), enjoying its typical Central Asian flair, its labyrinthine back lanes and waterways and its old and dilapidated wooden architecture, with overhanging houses out of whose upper storeys the Kashmiri ladies could lean towards one another until their noses almost touched each other and exchange gossip, and hiking up on Shankaracharya Hill from where we savour the most exhilarating eagle's eye views of the 6-km long and 4-km wide Dal Lake with its plethora of wooden houseboats of all shapes and sizes.



Birdwatching from the quarterdeck of our houseboat and spotting against a background of blue-green water and ice-blue skies: (i) colourful common kingfishers (Alcedo atthis), (ii) hovering pied kingfishers (Ceryle rudis), (iii) cute little grebes (Tachybaptus ruficollis), (iv) majestic pariah kites (Milvus migrans), (v) nosy house crows (Corvus splendens), (vi) bold common mynas (Acridotheres tristis), (vii) elegant barn swallows (Hirundo rustica), (viii) hunching Indian pond herons (Ardeola grayii), (ix) black common moorhens (Gallinula chloropus) and (x) attractive little egrets (Egretta garzetta).



Hiring a cosy shikara (two hours for INR 300.- or US$ 6.80), a gay affair of flowered-patterned curtains and canopy, with soft cushions to match, conjuring up memories from our trip to Venice in 2003 CE and touring leisurely the scenic Dal Lake and its willow-covered islands, thus (i) exploring the rows of old houseboats, the colourful floating landmarks of Srinagar, first built by the British, when the Maharaja forbade them to buy land and to build houses, (ii) visiting the floating/stilt villages with their peculiar floating beds of vegetables and flowers, shielded cleverly with weeds to make them less obtrusive, and (iii) noticing that both locals and tourists do use the raw water from the lake and brew strong tea from their own unfiltered but slightly diluted piss (...wait, wait, wait, that's not beer).



Strolling through the famous 1632 CE Nishat Bagh (Gardens of Bliss, admission: INR 10.- per person), a terraced Mughal garden with cascading fountains and beautiful flower beds, sandwiched between the Zabarwan Mountains and Dal Lake, and enjoying the magnificent sight of the lake and the Pir Panjal Range which stands far away to the west of the Vale of Kashmir.
"Inheriting the Greek love of order and logic, Islamic gardens - like their buildings - are regimented into lines of perfect symmetry; balance and design is all; nothing is left to impulse or chance. With these qualities, the Mughal gardens dotted around the subcontinent are as alien to the Indian environment as the Brighton Pavilion is to the English south coast, or the Chinese Pagoda to Kew. Outside the garden, all is delightful chaos; inside, reflecting the central concept of Islam, spontaneity is crushed by submission to a higher order."


Leaving Srinagar’s tour-selling Kashmiri partisans and gun-toting Hindustani soldiers, buying two tickets (436 km, two days with a compulsory overnight stop in Kargil, INR 800.- or US$ 17.80 plus INR 50.- baksheesh/bribe per person for the coveted front seats) for the J.K.S.R.T.C. (Jammu & Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation) bus to Leh, one of the most fascinating and spectacular bus journeys in the world as it negotiates high passes and fragile mountainsides (in a heavily militarised border country with mile after mile of barbed wire fencing, guarded sandbag bunkers and long columns of brand-new army trucks so numberless that they acquired the local name of “locusts”, according to Salman Rushdie), and enjoying the first leg of an exciting ride (204 km of winding, narrow roads with many hairpin bends and numerous police/military checkpoints, 11 hours) from Srinagar/Kashmir over the steep 3,530-m high Zoji-La Pass (traversing the Greater Himalayan Range) to Kargil/Ladakh, located at a junction linking the classic Silk Road with caravan roads from China, Afghanistan and the Indian plains.








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30 May - 31 May 2011 Khanarbal






South Asia
Republic of Incredible India, the world's biggest democrazy
Jammu & Kashmir
Kashmir Valley
Khanarbal
Hotel Friends' Plaza +919858711473
Adequate and clean double room for only INR 400.- or US$ 9.10 per night.
Friendly staff.

Click below for an interactive road map of the Hotel Friends' Plaza in Khanarbal and for directions:









Overnighting and exploring the non-descript village of Khanarbal, feasting on fresh and delicate Kashmiri cherries and learning from the locals about the modern history of the Vale of Kashmir, the contested jewel of South Asia’s northernmost region, with its very obvious police/military presence and frequent acts of violence, whose lakes, fertile valleys and remote, snow-covered peaks have remained the single most important cause of the Kashmir conflict between Pakistan and India ever since 1949 CE (including some nuclear sabre rattling), while arguments for Kashmir’s autonomy have periodically dominated the political agenda and the aspirations of the hospitable local people, and demands like “Go, India, Go!” or “We Want Freedom!” could be seen written in white paint onto the road.



Taking a rugged regional bus from Khanarbal's bus stop to Srinagar’s dirty, dusty and heavily polluted Batmaloo General Bus Stand (60 km, 2 ½ hours, INR 35.- per person), spotting en-route (i) beautiful women clad in colourful kameez and churidars tending the fields, (ii) ordinary men clad in cheapish banker’s outfit publicly urinating without any sense of shame and (iii) grumpy Indian soldiers clad in primitive flak jackets guarding the Kashmiri people against Delhi’s invisible enemies, jumping thereafter in a city bus (INR 12.- per person) bound for Lake Dal, witnessing Srinagar’s rampant urbanisation and bumping eventually into tout and boatman Farooq +919797011459 with his elegant water taxi aka shikara “Phool Aur Pather” (INR 100.- for one hour) who reliably helps us to find a suitable and cheap houseboat for a week.



Click below for more blog posts with images of snapped cops
27 Jun - 11 Jul 2013 Kota Kinabalu
03 Jul - 31 Jul 2013 Beijing
24 Oct - 26 Nov 2011 Kuah
08 Jun - 18 Jun 2011 Leh
16 Feb - 17 Feb 2011 Colombo

Click below for a summary of this year's travels
2011 Map Konni & Matt

 Visit the Konni & Matt Online Albums and order high-res travel photos


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Destination: , ,

25 May - 30 May 2011 Bhadarwah






South Asia
Republic of Incredible India, the world's biggest democrazy
Jammu & Kashmir
Bhadarwah aka Nagon Ki Bhoomi or Place of Snakes 
Hotel Broadway +919419224585
Adequate double room with private balcony for INR 500.- or US$ 11.40 per night.
Friendly and helpful staff; very good English.
Beer: 500-ml cans of chilled Haywards 5,000 Super Strong Beer (c. 8.5 % alc./vol.) for INR 60.- or US$ 1.20 per large can from the town's only bottle store.


Click below for an interactive road map of the Hotel Broadway in Bhadarwah and for directions:










 Exploring the sleepy but beautiful mountain town Bhadarwah (touted as “Little Kashmir Valley”) with its friendly, mixed Muslim and Hindu community, meeting our friend Kalyan from the Bhadarwah Development Authority (“Bhadarwah - Heaven Untouched”) +919419169216 who invites us to visit Bhadarwah’s annual cultural festival (crudely politicised with patriotic pro-Hindu overtones and interspersed with nationalistic propaganda speeches by some big wigs, but still authentic enough, with us being the only foreign visitors amongst hundreds of excited locals), shrugging off the heavy police/military presence and enjoying the cultural shows: (i) applauding the brilliant folk dancers perform ecstatically the local dhakku and ghurai dances, (ii) resonating to the rhythm of dhols and bells, (iii) watching the Kashmiri wrestling contest which happens 35 km away from the untouched heaven in the picturesque and remote Jai Green Valley at the breathtaking altitude of 2,500 m above sea level, (iv) listening to sweet Chaista and many other talented singers and folk musicians at the local song contest and (v) visualising Abdullah Noman and his bhand pather from the razed village of Pachigam "...where Boonyi danced and Shivshankar sang and Shalimar the clown walked the tightrope as if treading upon air..."

“The inevitable triumph of illusion over reality
that was the single most obvious truth about the history of the human race.” 



Hiking the scenic environs (i) south of Bhadarwah near the majestic, snow-covered Kailash Kund peak (altitude: 3,980 m) and (ii) north of Bhadarwah above Chabra, a traditional mountain village surrounded by thick deodar-cedar forests on very steep slopes, and learning that the storage rooms for meat and food grains in the local houses are made from untreated deodar wood, due to its natural anti fungal and insect-repellent properties.



Taking the worn Bee Tee Gupta bus from Bhadarwah to the small town Batote (80 km, 2 ½ hours, INR 70.- per person), located on the National Highway and famous for its firm kidney beans (!), thereafter a crowded local no-name bus from Batote to Ramban (30 km, 1 hour, INR 20.- per person), famous for nothing, thereafter another local no-name bus from Ramban to Banihal (30 km, 1 ½ hours, INR 30.- per person) and sharing eventually a 4x4 Tata Sumo for the final leg from Banihal through the 2,500-m long strategic Jawahar Tunnel, the longest road tunnel in India, to Khanarbal near Anantnag (70 km, 2 hours, INR 100.- per person), already located inside the once beautiful but increasingly pockmarked Kashmir Valley: (i) ugly and messy construction areas, (ii) unfinished road works, (iii) heavy truck traffic on narrow mountain roads, (iv) litter, dirt and neglicence everywhere and (v) countless sinister police and military facilities with “... fences and barbed wire and sandbags and latrines ... Brasso and spit and canvas and metal and the smell of semen in the bunkhouses…”, at least according to Salman Rushdie.


Click below for more blog posts about Asian folklore festivals
Recommended books - click below for your Amazon order from the United Kingdom:

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