Kashmir - Paradise on Earth

[AhMah]

Kashmir - Paradise on Earth

Paradise on earth?..Well, that's the tag-line promoted by the tourism authorities of Kashmir.
Not sure if it's paradise or not, but I personally like what I see and feel of Srinagar and Gulmarg in Kashmir during my trip last month.

Some tips to share, when you get into Srinagar airport, do not take any pictures of the airport facitlities/planes. They seem to be paranoid of security issues at these areas. Getting in and out of the airport can be quite a hassle, just make sure you allow min 3 hours to get thru security checks..many rounds of them!

But don't let this stop you from visiting Kashmir, it's really beautiful and the people are friendly.

Some pictures to share:

Srinagar is built around the Dal lake, with mountain ranges as backdrop

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/7025/dsc0220gd9.jpg

The lake is quite shallow, with marshes overgrown at the edges
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/7643/dsc0384pa8.jpg

Villages are built along the water edges, and the waterways serve as roads

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/9716/dsc0367ca7.jpg
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/3135/dsc0364ys5.jpg
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/4764/dsc1131ax0.jpg

They even do some farming here..no problem with irrigation!

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/7697/dsc0292fn6.jpg

[joyce]

Wow...I dun mind waking up with mountain ranges as my backdrop everyday :P

I like the way you capture the human subjects :)

What other tips for those who wants to visit there? E.g food, places to visit, time needed, things to look out for...would be great if you can input on the above :)

[Alan_drg]

Wow, lovely place to visit

[ShaolinTiger]

Always wanted to go to Kashmir but since the civil war a bit dubious about going there.

[nfariz8]

great set.. :D

[noruazumi]

these are great! love every single shots.

[swleong]

you've presented the peaceful side of Kashmir, nice! :)

[ikelah]

Very nice pictures that reminded my of my visit to the kashmir valley with the white snow covered peaks, yellowish zafron flowers blooming along the mountains circling the valley.

love to revisit sri nagar valley again. love the scenery around pahalgam and along the river jhelum to gulmarg. missed my old friend mr noor muhammad who had a boat house at dal lake. wish i had gone to ladakh at that time.

Is the chinar trees still standing along the moain road? :)

It was indeed a 'paradise'.

[AhMah]

Wow...I dun mind waking up with mountain ranges as my backdrop everyday

I like the way you capture the human subjects :)

What other tips for those who wants to visit there? E.g food, places to visit, time needed, things to look out for...would be great if you can input on the above

Will try to cover these as I go along posting more pix.

Yeah..it’s bliss waking up to these:

The tranquility
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6761/dsc1843av8.jpg

Greet a neighbour on the way out to town

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/8308/dsc1103mb1.jpg

Envy this duckie,.... life seems so carefree
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/3286/dsc1085ot8.jpg


Wow, lovely place to visit

Always wanted to go to Kashmir but since the civil war a bit dubious about going there.

I, too was apprehensive initially, but on checking with several sources, felt it was safe. Our guide said the civil war is officially over for many years now. However, they are still not letting their guard down. Few days after our return, there were news of a bomb blast in Srinagar. While we were there, didn’t feel any security threat. In fact the heavy presence of security forces was kind of assuring. Except for the airport, the security personnel were extremely friendly!


They will even pose for you
http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/4931/dsc1229en7.jpg

Security on the highway

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/3250/dsc0592xg6.jpg

Convoys of them
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/6713/dsc1272da9.jpg



great set..

these are great! love every single shots.

you've presented the peaceful side of Kashmir, nice! :)

Thanks for kind words!

Very nice pictures that reminded my of my visit to the kashmir valley with the white snow covered peaks, yellowish zafron flowers blooming along the mountains circling the valley.

love to revisit sri nagar valley again. love the scenery around pahalgam and along the river jhelum to gulmarg. missed my old friend mr noor muhammad who had a boat house at dal lake. wish i had gone to ladakh at that time.

Is the chinar trees still standing along the moain road? :)

It was indeed a 'paradise'.

The yellow flowers were just showing a little on the mountain slope up Gulmarg. It must have been lovely when they are in their full glory!!

There are many huge trees along the water edges as well as the main roads ..not sure if those are the ones you are referring to. See the big tree in the pix above?

Most of the people I met in Kashmir were so gracious and gentle. I’m sure your house boat owner is one of them.!

Our houseboat captain , Mr Goolam who takes care of all our needs on the boat. Greeted us when we came back from an outing and sent us off each time that we set out. Made us feel like maharajas and maharanis!

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/2101/dsc0198dg2.jpg

Mr Shakeel, Captain of the other boat our group was staying in. Speaks English that will put many of us to shame! And he had not been to formal school!

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/9853/dsc0199jk0.jpg

We even have our personal cook, who takes our order for every meal and never fail to ask for feedback on his cooking. We requested for Kashmiri food which we found to our liking. Lots of similarity to north indian cuisine, not so spicy..lots of lamb and paneer( cheese)
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/4354/dsc0482su0.jpg

Our boat men who brings us in/out of the houseboat to the mainland
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/8528/dsc0496tg9.jpg
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/1369/dsc0231lr6.jpg

It is our encounter with all these people who make the trip so memorable.
Their counterpart in North India have much to learn from them.

[noordin]

It's indeed a 'haven'. For photographers!

Such breathtaking landscapes and street scenes not found anywhere else. I have to visit Kashmir sometime in the future.

[ikelah]

It's indeed a 'haven'. For photographers!

Such breathtaking landscapes and street scenes not found anywhere else. I have to visit Kashmir sometime in the future.

Brother Noordin, you have to. dont forget the wide lens and lots of clothings for extended stay. ;)

i was with this Qantas steward who claimed that it was the most beautiful place in the world he had ever been.
i met a couple who extended their stay up to 2 years renting a simple village house at pahalgam, kashmir. the beauty beyond imagination(at that time, 20+ years ago ;) ).

[MangBeng]

I never realize this piece of troubled land is amazing scenic!

You are really adventurous mate. Glad you conquered this land.

[AhMah]

I never realize this piece of troubled land is amazing scenic!

You are really adventurous mate. Glad you conquered this land.

Yes..this land is indeed scenic..haha ot much of 'conquering' to be done by me...just a passive tourist aje!

Thanks for viewing !

[csjian]

Ah Mah.....nice series...love it....:)

[AhMah]

Ah Mah.....nice series...love it....:)

Glad u like it.

Accommodation

One of the major attractions of Kashmir is the house boats. In days of old, the locals in trying to protect land ownership, does not allow non Kashmiris to own land. The British who were the then colonial masters love the summer resort so much that they resorted to living in boats that were basically living quarters. A typical house boat looks like this

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/2091/dsc0454cz2.jpg

Like hotels,there are different classes of house-boats, differing in size,facilities and level of furnishing and services. Most of these boats are found on Dal Lake. Generally, the quality of the boats gets better as one gets further away from the jetty where the shikaras stop


It's got a verandah where one can spend hours enjoying the view of the lake. This is also where local traders(with permission from the house captain) will wait with their wares in the evening, trying to make tourists part with their money.

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/5032/dsc1926vv0.jpg


Living room. Sipping tea and home-made cookies here is such a delight as travellers share stories of their journey. The deluxe boats are intricately carved, with Kashmiri carpets on the floor and Kashmiri embroidery works for curtains and bed covers. Staying on a house boat is like living in a live art/cultural gallery of sorts. The metal thingy that sticks out of place is the heater which will be dismantled and stashed away when the weather gets warmer. Incidentally, heating charges are payable during the colder months. No air-conditioning is avialable in the Kashmir valley.

http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/3426/dsc1924eg8.jpg

The dining room is seen here beyond the archway. The boat also houses a kitchen.

[valenlim]

wow...u shot those women....

did u get their permission?

[zaidridzuan]

Kashmir was the popular location for 1960s and 70s Hindi films. The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful with Himalayas on the background. It was also one of the location for the 1984 David Lean's A Passage to India, where Mr Richard Fieldings manages to track down Dr Abdul Aziz after the latter merajuk and bawak diri to become true Indian.

[AhMah]

wow...u shot those women....

did u get their permission?

yes..explicitly and/or indicatively. If they are are a distance away, i usually will gesture to them that i would like to take a shot with them in it. Normally don't have problem in most places that i travel too, with the exception of Tibetians in Schuan. Most are very pleased to be photographed ..i usually send copies of their pix back to them after i return. Maybe, they don't feel so threatened with an 'ahmah' photographer???:)


Kashmir was the popular location for 1960s and 70s Hindi films. The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful with Himalayas on the background. It was also one of the location for the 1984 David Lean's A Passage to India, where Mr Richard Fieldings manages to track down Dr Abdul Aziz after the latter merajuk and bawak diri to become true Indian.

There's this 'magical' feel about Kashmir that i can't really describe. Have to be there to experience it. So sad, that unrest has disrupted visitor flow into Kashmir again :(..The people really need the tourist dollars to boost their economic condition. When fights erupted few months back,it was reported that visitors arrival into Kashmir went from 10,000 per day to 0!

[chelleinc]

soooo lovely, so sayang a very nice place on earth being disrupted by war. thank GOD the war is over, but still can see the scar on the villagers face.

[chuah406]

lovely set of pictures...certainly a place worth visiting!