Day 2:

Continued from Day 1

This is going to be a very long blog as the journey was long and we had so many new experiences which I don't feel like not documenting.

Today we woke up pretty early as our next destination was Gurez which would take around 6-7 hours from Srinagar. This was the beginning of the real journey to the offbeat areas of Kashmir. There was not much reference articles available on the net when I was researching on the place before booking. But the few images and blog I came across told me that it was immensely beautiful. So I was pretty excited when I woke up. 

In summers in Kashmir I noticed an interesting thing - the daylight would be there for long in the evening around 7 - 7.30 PM and the sunrise would happen pretty early around 5 AM. Usually in any of the mountainous regions I have visited, the sunset would happen early around 5 or 6 and then the sunrise would happen early too. But Kashmir had longer days and shorter nights which makes it a very ideal place to travel. With the additional hours you get in the daylight you can cover more areas unlike other hill stations. 

We got ready by 7.30 AM and finished our breakfast by 8 AM. Our driver Khursheed Bhai was supposed to meet us at the hotel around 8AM. We checked out of our room and came down to the reception area. The reception area was the only part of the hotel which was actually well kept and nice traditional upholstery. While waiting at the lobby I was speaking to the manager at the reception. He asked me where are we headed next. When I told him it was Gurez he gave me a confused expression and then asked "wo kaha hain? (where is that?)". I smiled and said, he was the local person here, I should have asked him about Gurez instead of he wanting to know about the place. After I gave him some details, he said he will check with Shabir Bhai (our tour operator) on how the place was as he wanted to send some of his relatives there. He also took my number and told me that he will call me later to know about my experience. 

Soon we got to know Khursheed bhai was running late and would reach in half an hour. So we spent sometime in the lobby and then in front of the hotel taking pictures. We noticed an armyman inside the army bunker opposite to the hotel. I was actually curious why there was a bunker stationed at such a harmless less crowded looking road with very little number of houses. But I didn't get a chance to check that with anybody in the hotel. Soon our car arrived and we loaded our bags and headed out. 

The road from the hotel looked prettier in the morning. It was still cold but not as much as it was in the night. I think all roads and neighborhoods look pretty in Kashmir because there is no random littering or garbage on the roads. Everything looks very neat and clean. And touchwood I hope this remains the same way in future too, because when there is a lot of tourist influx in any place it turns to get dirty due to random littering. 

On way we stopped by a small grocery Shop and got some green apple juice from Druke, a few packets of lays chips/crisps (these flavors I did not find in Pune) and Bisleri water bottles. This was the first time when in the entire trip I picked up bottled water from shops instead of having the water in hotels and found it actually cost effective. Also during most of the travel period we had cold weather so the water consumption was also less and we could make do with the occasional purchase of good branded water bottles. 

We also saw various types of breads being sold in the grocery stores early morning. Some of them had very interesting textures. Usually the freshly baked local breads are sold at kaander waan or  kandur(the local baker’s shop).The kandur forms an intrinsic part of the social life in Kashmir and every locality has their own local kandur from which the people purchase their daily quota of breads. But these grocery stores also have a selection of local breads which are sold for morning breakfast. The most common bread we saw in the grocery shops was Tchot or Girda. Tchot is one of the traditional Kashmiri breakfast flatbread, sort of a naan in looks but a little more harder. They have a crisp crust with chewy inside and best eaten fresh out of the tandoor. I did have a plan to taste them during my time back in Srinagar but some how we missed it. 

The Shikara Ride at Dal Lake

We reached Ghat no 18 by 8.50 AM which had a very big parking space just opposite to the ghat. It is a paid parking area. But if you are in a packaged tour like we were then you don't need to pay these additional tolls, its included in the package. We parked our vehicle and then Khursheed bhai and me walked down to the ghat to see if we got a better price that what we heard last evening. There were only one or two tourist I could see around. Most of the shikaras were stationed at the ghats with the boatmen resting at the ghat or in their boats. I was determined that if now again they would say its 3500 for a one hour ride I would totally give up the idea of doing a shikara ride in Kashmir. I was not going to get fleeced knowingly. Fortunately this time the tout who was managing the boats agreed at Rs 800 for a one hour ride. If I wanted I would have bargained further and brought it down to 700 or lesser but I was in no mood to get into all that first thing in the morning. So I agreed to it and called my mom to come down. 

All this time I was wondering if the ride would be worth all the hype around it or would be just like an overrated thing you witness at popular tourist destinations. Also since sunset Shikara rides is the most recommended experience, I was also wondering whether doing the same during the day would feel good or not. The point is I did not have a very high expectation from this ride before I went for it, it was more like checking off a checklist item while in Kashmir. 

Since it was very early in the day, the tourists who are interested in the morning floating market were already gone (till 6.30 AM) and the ones who wanted to do it for Instagram pictures were still not there ( major tourist influx starts at late afternoon). So I felt this was the leanest time to go on a ride. But that proved to be a blessing in disguise. 

The Dal lake is a world in its own. You cannot fathom it just from the fringes, you need to be in the middle of it to feel the real vibe. And a Shikara ride is the best way to enjoy the lifestyle up close. The name of our Shikara was Dilbar Firdaus and our boatman was Javed Bhai. Shikaras are considered to be the cultural representation of Kashmir just like the Venetian gondolas. They are also the lifeline of Dal Lake. They are made of deodar tree wood having a length of almost 4.6 meters or 15 feet with pointed ends on both sides and with colorful canopies over the seating area. These usually have 2 sets of seat, one which is wider and more like a tiny bed and the one opposite to it is leaner with only seating space for 2 people. A shikara can easily accommodate 4 adults. 

The shikaras are anchored very close to the ghat steps and the boatman helps you get into the boat. Now While I don't think that a lady holding the hand of a man is that common in the culture of Kashmir, but in the given situation we had to hold on to the hand of our boatman to get in safely without falling flat into the water. The boat shook a bit but we made it safely to the broader seats and settled down. The boatman was very nimble on his feet and precariously balanced himself while hanging on to the fringes of the boat and get past to the other end of the boat. It almost looked like a stunt scene straight out of a movie. After we all settled down, he started rowing and we pushed forward across the placid waters of Dal.

To my surprise even if the temperature under the sun was pretty high, inside the Shikara and on the Dal lake it didn't feel warm at all even at that time of the day. And contrary to my doubts, I actually started to enjoy the feel of sailing on the waters of this beautiful lake almost immediately. There was very limited numbers of boats with tourist. Mostly it was locals who was going about their day. We saw a mother and her small kid on a small boat nearby. The kid was hardly 5-6 years of age but even he was rowing. Javed Bhai told us it was usually at this age when the kids are introduced to rowing here. 

It felt absolutely surreal while just sitting there and enjoying the cool morning air, water splashing by the boat and in the backdrop the Zabarwan mountains standing like a sentinel. But soon our sense of tranquility was broken by the approach of a jewellery salesperson. This is a very common affair in Dal lake, while you are sitting in your boat all these mobile salesperson would approach you with different items like jewellery, food, decorative items etc. and would bug you till you buy something from them. This guy started showing us different jewelleries even when we said we are not interested. They are very persuasive and if you are bad in bargaining like us, you will be fleeced for good. We tried to do a very feeble kind of bargaining to which the guy agreed and I finally bought a ring just to get rid of him. Afterwards we told Javed Bhai to not let these salespeople come and bug us, we were not interested in buying anything, we just wanted to enjoy the ride. He did exactly the same and kept them at bay. 

Soon we entered the Meena bazar area. Since it was still early morning the shopkeepers were just opening their stores. Many were also closed. We also saw a mobile hospital somewhere. As we entered into the water lanes of Meena Bazar, I could only imagine how vibrant and bustling this place would look during the evenings. It is a paradise for shopaholics. Even at that time of the day, we were fancied by the beautiful shawls, suits, sarees and handicraft floating shops that adorned both the sides of these canals. We had no intention of buying anything so it was more like a window shopping thing for us, at least to start with! And Javed Bhai understood that as well so he was not pushing us to do shopping.

A little while into these shops there was one shop which had a saree which caught my mom's fancy. We asked Javed bhai to move closer to the shop as she wanted to enquire about it. But no sooner we came closer, the shopkeepers convinced my mom and then me to step out of the boat and have a look inside. I was hesitant at first but eventually gave in. From outside you can only see these mannequins on a platform donning all these traditional dresses. But once you step in, they would lead you behind through a obscure door which would lead to a huge area stuffed with clothes. I was amazed at the size of the place, which I had no idea of from outside. We sat down on the cushions on the floor as the shopkeeper kept pulling out various shawls from his stock. It was a fascinating experience to see such beautiful hand woven works. Some of the finest pashminas were really amazing to hold. They were as expected extremely pricy. Without having any intention of buying anything here we ended up getting 3 shawls and 2 sarees for a whooping 13K. And they might have coaxed us further if we hadn't put our foot down finally! We left with a sack like package filled with all these. One more thing to mention here is, I asked them if there was a washroom around, and the shopkeeper told me I could use their personal washroom which was behind this selling area. I was further amazed how big the interiors of this floating place was, because it seemed like a complete house in itself.

While I might not recommend you to purchase expensive clothes form the Meena bazar if you have time and energy to visit Lal chowk and do a due diligence. But if you don't then you can try stopping by at these floating shops. You might not get the most authentic stuffs at most competitive prices but the ones that we got were pretty good for ourselves as well as gifting purpose.

We finished our little shopping stint and were off on the waters again. One thing I had not expected was that our Shikara ride would also become a birding experience. We saw so many different varieties of birds on the water. Dal lake usually gets a lot of migratory birds every year and its fascinating to stroll on the water while watching these beautiful birds. The tiny baby birds were the most charming ones. I don't know their names, if anyone of you know do let me know in the comments. Also, I think you should definitely carry your binoculars if you are a birding enthusiast. 

We moved out of the Meena bazar main area and kept floating through the backwaters of the lake. Javed bhai was telling us many stories about his experience and all. The backwaters looked more untouched and serene. We also saw homes of people on the banks of the lake. And their primary mode of transport was the small boats. There were some patches where it was only us, trees, vegetation patches and silence. I think because we were doing this early in the morning we could feel the calmness and serenity of the place in its fullest. 

Soon we came across a small pier where an old uncle was sitting with a samovar and setting up his shop. As our shikara passed him, he beckoned us to have tea. I asked him if he had Kehwa and he said yes. So we immediately ordered it. While he went back to get the kehwa, the shopkeeper adjacent to this shop came down and began persuading us to visit his wooden handicraft store. After much persuasion I walked down with him through the narrow pier to his shop. From outside we actually couldn't gauge the kind of massive beautiful wooden artwork he had inside. I had no intention of buying anything from there as my home is already fully setup. But the point is if you love woodwork you might really find these places fascinating. The prices are very steep but if you can differentiate a genuine work then I'm sure its worth it. He also showed me a small wooden box which had a hidden lock for opening it. After spending about 5-10 minutes in this shop I came out. by that time our Kehwa was already served in the boat. It was one of the best Kehwa I have ever tasted. It had a pale golden colour and pieces of nuts in it. The flavor and the mild heat really refreshed us. We though we will come back for round 2 but didn't get time. 

As we passed more floating vegetation Javed bhai told us that if you stand on these vegetation you wont sink. And he also gave us a quick demo by standing on it. We also saw Nehru Park on our way back. We didn't  get down in the park as we were already running late. We thought we will cover the park on our last day in Kashmir when we will be back once again in Srinagar.

We were a little sad when our ride got over. We thanked Javed bhai for being so generous and promised him that we will be again riding with him the day we get back. 

Intercepted by the Traffic Police

The ride in the lake was such a great start to our morning. We drove out of the parking lot discussing about our experience. It was not even 2 minutes into the road when we were stopped by the Traffic policemen. Khursheed bhai tried to talk to them from the car but they insisted he stepped out. So he parked the car and went out. Now this was really not anticipated. We could see from the car that there was some heated discussion happening. After some 15 minutes Khursheed bhai finally came back and told us that when they could not find any issue with the papers they asked him to pay Rs 500 penalty for not being in uniform. Only after he paid them they let him go. So basically its the same everywhere be it any other city or Kashmir where often tourist cars are stopped and their drivers harassed for some or other reason. We hoped that we didn't have any other situation like this for the rest of the day.

On the way

Before leaving Srinagar we stopped at one of those small fruit shops on the roadside to pickup some cherries. They looked absolutely yummy from a distance. I asked mom to get down and buy them as she was a better judge of the quality. Soon she was back with a box of cherries which cost Rs 200 and had a good amount of cherries, almost 1/2 kg I think. Mom always says fruits are best enjoyed with a pinch of salt. These cherries were somewhere between sweet and tart. Fortunately for us, the loot we had collected form our Air India flight also had a small packet of salt and pepper. So we dipped the cherries in the salt and enjoyed.

Today was going to be the longest stretch of travel on the road. Srinagar to Gurez was about 140 KM roughly and we would be crossing over Bandipora, which is one of the major towns on this route. For travelers who do not have their own car or do not want to do this long journey in one go, usually stop over at Bandipora before heading further. We got to know there are budget hotels as well in bandipora for a short stop over.

We took the following route Srinagar-> Shadi Pora -> Sumbal -> Nasbal -> Safa Pora ->Bazipora -> Gamroo ->Phalwan Pora (Bandipora)-> Manrigam -> Razdan Pass-> Kazalwan -> Dawar (Gurez).

The total journey takes about 7-8 hours depending on how many times you stop (you will feel like stopping everywhere because of the beautiful scenery), your speed, weather conditions, queue at the check posts etc. Hence it is recommended that you start from Srinagar at least by 10 AM so that you can reach at a decent time in Gurez. But unfortunately we got a little late due to the Shikara ride and left Srinagar at about 12 PM. 

It was a bright and lovely day.  The road runs flat all the way from Srinagar to Bandipora. We found very less traffic on the road hence the ride was enjoyable. On the way the first lake that we cross is the Manasbal lake. I have read references of this lake in Satyajit Ray's Feluda Story (Bhusorgo Bhoyonkar) where he had described this as a beautiful lake. I think if you have time you can stop over at the lake. We didn't, so we moved on. We also noticed many farming lands on the way including paddy fields. 

Stopping for lunch

It was past noon and we were already feeling hungry. I asked Khursheed bhai to stop at some nearby restaurant where we can have lunch. We reached a small town Safapora and stopped to look for a restaurant which looked decent. Unfortunately till that point we didn't have a good experience with food in Kashmir so we didn't expect much, just a clean place to eat. Just across the road, on the main chowk there was a restaurant called Taj Restaurant which looked okay. We wanted to grab a quick lunch and be back on the roads. 

The restaurant had a tandoor station outside and seating space inside. It was small but neat and clean. We took the table adjacent to the tandoor section by the door as the seating space inside was mainly occupied by men. The menu had a lot of option but we were looking for something which would be quick. We checked with the boy who was tending the tables and ordered tawa naan and one plate each of mutton and chicken kanti. Me and my mother's food choices are pretty different. While I was very focused on trying out the different mutton dishes while being in Kashmir she preferred to stick to chicken most of the times. We have been seeing this Kanti thing on the menu from yesterday so I thought to give it a try. Its also interesting to note that even in small restaurants all over Kashmir they have Wazwan dishes which are very elaborate preparations.

While we waited for our food, I asked the person at the main counter if there was any washroom around. The man said there is something at a distance outside. We were a little disappointed that there was nothing inhouse, but just then the guy who was manning our table came forward and told me to follow him. He led me through the seating space towards the back of the restaurant. We entered a place which looked like someone's house. He told me that he is letting me use his own home's washroom. I was so very touched by this gesture. He opened the washroom door for me and left. Leaving a stranger inside the house unattended showed how much faith they had on humanity in general. It was rather surprising for me. I don't think I have seen such a gesture anywhere else be it in the cities or in any tourist place. The washroom was very nice and clean. After finishing my business I came back and gave mom the directions to the washroom. When she was gone for a long time I got a little worried. My mother's sense of direction was not exactly excellent always so I thought maybe she had lost her way back. Our food arrived by then and just as I was thinking whether to go looking for her, she popped out of the backdoor. 

Mom then told me while she was coming back she met the lady of the house, the mother of the guy who had led us in. And this lady was a Bengali who had married a Kashmiri and left Bengal more than 2 decade ago. My mom and the lady talked about a lot of things which was the reason of delay. It was again surprising how in this far away land we met a Bengali lady out of the blue. The lady also latter popped form behind the doors and gave a smile to me. The hotel was run by her sons, one of the son was the guy who was manning our table. The hotel had started recently last year in October. 

The food was not good not bad, since I was very hungry I enjoyed it. The mutton kanti seemed to be coated pieces of mutton stir fried with with capsicum and onions, something very similar to chilli chicken. I like the mutton kanti better than the chicken one. Mom could not finish the chicken , so we took the leftover in a tissue which we later fed to a stray dog instead of throwing it away. we thanked the folks for the food and resumed our journey.

Wular lake

The next lake we came across was the Wular lake. Wular Lake, also known as Wolar in Kashmiri, is one of the largest fresh water lakes in South Asia. It is approximately 40KM from Srinagar situated between the towns of Bandipora and Sopore in the foothills of Haramuk Mountain.. The Lake lies at an altitude of 1,580 m, spreading over an area of 200 sq KM. The lake basin was formed as a result of tectonic activity and is fed by the Jhelum River and the stream named Madhumati. We saw the lake from a vantage point on the road. The lake looked never ending, it was really massive! We saw some kids playing cricket on the banks, boats floating in the water, and people going about their daily lives. There were willow plantations along the lake and I heard that there is also some park in the lake vicinity for tourists. It took us about roughly  2.5 hours to reach this point (including the lunch break we took for 30 minutes). I had read more about Wular lake later in a Blog and it seemed like a nice place if you wanted to sleepover for the night to enjoy the lake.

Stopping at Bandipora (Phalwan Pora)

No sooner we left the restaurant, Khursheed bhai was seen speaking to someone in Kashmiri and getting some directions. I did no get curious about it as I thought it might be someone he knows. The Wular lake kept us company all along the Bandipora Sumbal road. The color of the sky was a magnificent powder blue and the mountains embracing the lake looked stunning. Soon we saw boards with signs Welcoming tourists in Bandipora. We crossed a small checkpoint but we didn't need to produce any documents. The Madhumari looked more like a river than a mere stream as we progressed towards Bandipora. After reaching bandipora, Khursheed bhai suddenly took a right turn into some small lane. Now I felt was the right time to ask some questions, as we were clearly going off road. I asked him where are we going and he didn't give a clear answer at first. Then he stopped by the side of the road in front of a shop cum house. When I asked again what were we doing there, he just smiled and got out of the car saying, "Kuch chai shai pi lo (have some tea here)".  

Obviously we were a little confused. Maybe it was a friend's shop, I thought. I was speculating whether to get down, when we saw 3-4 kids and a gentleman coming out of the shop. He walked to our car and with a wide smile said, "Please aayiyen and kuch chai pijiye (Please come and have tea)".  We were still not sure what exactly was happening but because of the way the man invited us, we stepped out. We walked inside the small shop in the first floor just across the road.  The kids looked at us curiously, and blushed when we smiled back.