Monday, 31 January 2011
Meadow of Flowers
Somehow we survived the night without frost bites or being frozen to death. And somehow we managed to sleep despite the overwhelming winter cold.
We decided to go to Gulmarg (gul means flower and marg means meadow) today instead of the next day as scheduled. Gulmarg is located 56 km away and is 2,730 m above sea level. The journey took close to two hours as the road conditions were not ideal. Along the way, we passed small villages and farms. There were always men in the village shops and along the road, either gazing blankly at the ground or staring vacantly into space. Most of them wore phiran, a type of Kashmiri poncho.
We stopped at the base of Gulmarg and got down to rent boots (I also rented a fur coat. Boots cost Rp100 while fur coat cost Rp50) before driving up the winding road. We stopped at a restaurant to have lunch and performed prayers first before walking to the gondola (cable car) about one km away and took the gondola up to Kongdori (altitude 3050m). We stopped there for close to an hour. For Rp350, you can get a ski instructor to teach you how to ski and spend time skiing on your own. I wasn’t inclined and was content to just sit and watch. Despite the altitude, it was not much colder as there was no wind and the sun was more intense up there. That explains why people get tanned on ski trips. Also you ought to protect your eyes with sunglasses; the glare from the snow can be blinding and harmful to your eyes.
From Kongdori, you can also enjoy a view of the Himalayas in the far distance (if the day is clear). It seemed almost surreal to view the magnificent peaks.
We took the gondola back down and went back to the parking space near the restaurant where we had lunch. You can rent a sledge and have someone pull you but I was happy to exercise my legs.
We made our journey down to the base, returned the boots and fur coat, drove back to Srinagar and spent the rest of the evening indoors.
Meadow of Flowers
Somehow we survived the night without frost bites or being frozen to death. And somehow we managed to sleep despite the overwhelming winter cold.
We decided to go to Gulmarg (gul means flower and marg means meadow) today instead of the next day as scheduled. Gulmarg is located 56 km away and is 2,730 m above sea level. The journey took close to two hours as the road conditions were not ideal. Along the way, we passed small villages and farms. There were always men in the village shops and along the road, either gazing blankly at the ground or staring vacantly into space. Most of them wore phiran, a type of Kashmiri poncho.
We stopped at the base of Gulmarg and got down to rent boots (I also rented a fur coat. Boots cost Rp100 while fur coat cost Rp50) before driving up the winding road. We stopped at a restaurant to have lunch and performed prayers first before walking to the gondola (cable car) about one km away and took the gondola up to Kongdori (altitude 3050m). We stopped there for close to an hour. For Rp350, you can get a ski instructor to teach you how to ski and spend time skiing on your own. I wasn’t inclined and was content to just sit and watch. Despite the altitude, it was not much colder as there was no wind and the sun was more intense up there. That explains why people get tanned on ski trips. Also you ought to protect your eyes with sunglasses; the glare from the snow can be blinding and harmful to your eyes.
From Kongdori, you can also enjoy a view of the Himalayas in the far distance (if the day is clear). It seemed almost surreal to view the magnificent peaks.
We took the gondola back down and went back to the parking space near the restaurant where we had lunch. You can rent a sledge and have someone pull you but I was happy to exercise my legs.
We made our journey down to the base, returned the boots and fur coat, drove back to Srinagar and spent the rest of the evening indoors.
Be careful so this doesn’t happen to you!
Well, I didn’t use much of makeup there anyway but you do need to moisturise and drink a lot to keep yourself hydrated as it’s very dry there
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Somehow I found the previous night not as cold as the night before and remarked so to my mate. I don’t think she agreed with me though.
After breakfast, we left at 10 am and went to the Mughal Heritage Gardens Nishat and Shalimar. Such a pity that it was wintertime as otherwise we could have enjoyed blooming flowers in the gardens. After the gardens, we went to Sara Cottage Industries, a kind of factory shop that specialises in carpets. I didn’t want to buy any more carpets, thank you, although of course Kashmiri carpets are lovely and finely woven. We spent considerable time there and left at 1. Back to the houseboat for prayers and lunch.
We left at 2.45 pm and drove to the Old City. We visited the Jamia Masjid (the largest and one of the oldest in Kashmir), a large building supported by 370 wooden pillars around a courtyard. Then we walked along the city bazaar. I found the Kashmiri architecture interesting and snapped a lot of photos of buildings in the Old City. We also visited Badshah Tomb, a tomb built for the mother of Zain Ul-Abidin who was also the wife of Sultan Sikandar. Our last stop was Masjid Syed Shah Hamdan Sahib (or shrine of Shah-e-Hamdan?).
We returned back but before riding the Shikara back to the boathouse, we walked around the Boulevard Road to find some souvenir shops. Dinner was had at the boathouse and we retired to our rooms after dinner. I stayed up finishing a novel I picked up at the boathouse.
To be continued
Somehow I found the previous night not as cold as the night before and remarked so to my mate. I don’t think she agreed with me though.
After breakfast, we left at 10 am and went to the Mughal Heritage Gardens Nishat and Shalimar. Such a pity that it was wintertime as otherwise we could have enjoyed blooming flowers in the gardens. After the gardens, we went to Sara Cottage Industries, a kind of factory shop that specialises in carpets. I didn’t want to buy any more carpets, thank you, although of course Kashmiri carpets are lovely and finely woven. We spent considerable time there and left at 1. Back to the houseboat for prayers and lunch.
We left at 2.45 pm and drove to the Old City. We visited the Jamia Masjid (the largest and one of the oldest in Kashmir), a large building supported by 370 wooden pillars around a courtyard. Then we walked along the city bazaar. I found the Kashmiri architecture interesting and snapped a lot of photos of buildings in the Old City. We also visited Badshah Tomb, a tomb built for the mother of Zain Ul-Abidin who was also the wife of Sultan Sikandar. Our last stop was Masjid Syed Shah Hamdan Sahib (or shrine of Shah-e-Hamdan?).
We returned back but before riding the Shikara back to the boathouse, we walked around the Boulevard Road to find some souvenir shops. Dinner was had at the boathouse and we retired to our rooms after dinner. I stayed up finishing a novel I picked up at the boathouse.
To be continued
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