Kashmir Solo - Day 7 - Srinagar

Srinagar

I left Gulmarg after breakfast. In the Gulmarg main area, you can find taxi/bus stand - lots of vehicles such that you don’t miss them. I boarded a shared taxi to Tangmarg for Rs 30/-. There were no halts in between and reached Tangmarg in 30 minutes.

At Tangmarg, just outside the stand, a Tavera was waiting for passengers to Srinagar. I got into it for Rs 80/-. I was dropped at Batamaloo Stand.

I took a bus from there to Dal Gate for Rs 10/- as I was supposed to stay in a house boat that night and the following night. Dal Gate is the main entrance to Dal Lake.

I reached Dal Gate, which was near to the tourist information centre.

I wandered around the lake. The lake has a huge perimeter and a sizeable walkway.

Ice breaking

Shikhara ride to houseboats are free because houseboat owners pay them a good amount every month as per my house boat owner. The free ride is only via the big shikharas not the small ones you see there.

I took a 1 hour lake tour ride for around Rs 200/-. Dal lake was frozen. One can hear the crackling sound of ice while the shikhara navigates the lake.

He showed me the withered floating farm, which thrives in summer and monsoon.

The next day morning, the thick ice sheets were more prominent.

My friend came with his car and took me for a city tour. We ate early morning haleem from a very famous but inconspicuous and a nondescript shop. This place was an ancient one frequented by locals.

We visited beautiful mosques.

The one below is the Jamia Masjid.

We tried to reach Pari Mahal, within Srinagar, but our car could not get traction on the frozen slippery road and skidded. I was driving and the locals helped return us to safety.

I fell down too. The effects of the intense cold can be seen on my palm.

Next day morning, I had to catch a 8:30 AM flight back home from Srinagar. We thought of leaving at 5:30 AM from the house boat given the time to break the thick ice sheets and arrive at the shore. The house boat helper was dead asleep and I had to wake him up. It was 5:40AM when he was ready.

We hopped on to the smaller boat which was parked next to the houseboat. He could not single handedly break the ice. He was tiring out. So, I asked him for an oar and we together strenuously broke the ice sheets and rowed to the shore. It was a very tense moment and an enervating task.

Before all this, I had a tough time connecting to the cab operator. The taxi guy finally took my call and promised me that he would be on time. He didn’t renege on his word. He was there. It was an Innova. The drop was priced at Rs 1000/-. I don’t suggest anyone to stay in a house boat in winter if you have an early morning drop to the airport.

I reached the airport in time. Before the entrance, there was a security check where I had to drop my baggage for screening, and a body frisking. Cab driver told me that he would park at the building’s side. Do not allow your cab to leave you at this point. Ask them to wait because it is a good walk again to the airport from this location, and a cab, if available, will cost you Rs 100/- for the small stretch. The first check was thus completed. I hopped on to the cab and he dropped me at the entrance of the airport.

There was another baggage check and after screening and frisking, we can collect it from the baggage collectors present. Clearly, tell them which one has to be checked in. A tag will be pasted on those. Next hurdle of this rigmarole was the luggage drop at the check-in counter. Then came the security check. The queues at all these 4 bottle necks were long.

I hopped on to the flight. While at Gulmarg, I was notified that the connection flight from Del to Hyd was cancelled and I had to schedule another flight. Anyways, I got the connecting flight for the same day. I survived 2 to and fro flight cancellations - thanks to the winter!

I reached home at night with the goodies that I purchased.

The trip thus came to an end with the cherished memories of an eventful and a wonderful trip.

The to and fro insurances that I took were of no use. They were all a sham!