Blogs from Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India, Asia - page 3

Hi everyone, I just wanted to write quickly to say that I am safe and well and enjoying my trekking!!! I have been walking in knee deep snow for 3 days now. So beautiful!!! Happy birthday to Pop on the 16th. I will contact everyone again on the 18th. Love Love Love Internet is only on for 5 mins. Bye Missing you all.... read more

13th May – This is the day it all started. Somehow the day happened to be Friday the 13th and we faced one of the situations in life that we did not like. But rather than being depressed with it, we decided to look at it from a positive point of view. One of the things we did was plan a holiday. We started off with a driving holiday in New Zealand but gave that up since it was likely to be cold and we would have a problem taking 12-14 days off. We tried Greece but faced a similar situation where we could not cover what we wanted to in 6-7 days. That’s when we thought of Kashmir. It was closer to home and we could do a lot over 6-7 days. The only issue ... read more

Got up at 4 am and went to Krishna temple and attended arathi. After aarathi left Udhampur ISKCON at 6:30am enroute to Srinagar. At about 8 am reached Patnikot hill top and sat there and had breakfast which was given to us by ISKCON. After breakfast started riding and within about 30 minutes it started raining and we had to ride with our rain coats on. The entire route was very picturesque with lot of colourful flowers adjacent to the road and in the valleys. The valley along the road was more friendly as compared to the frightening valleys of dharmshala and dalhousie. There were huge rivers in the valleys flowing with water real force and a couple of waterfalls like Anukhee and sharmeele. Though there were a lot of scenic views we couldn’t take much ... read more

Really been neck-deep in work, but I will emerge alive, insyaAllah. Hard to believe that I was in India last December. And oh yes, friends, I will be in Vietnam end of July till end of August, so yes, fantastic entries are underway! So, the previous entry saw us going through Agra, the place which held one of the greatest symbols of love, the Taj Mahal. It's been an eye-opening experience, just one that I know is simply so amazing that I don't think I can ever forget in this lifetime, or in the next, for that matter. I've also chronicled my journey through Jaipur the Pink City, and guess what friends? We are going through Kashmir today, yay to that! Before I left for India, I was initially very skeptical of the various 'dangers' that ... read more

Kashmir gets a bad press. A bone of contention between India and Pakistan since partition; Bill Clinton called it the most dangerous place on earth. The reality is somewhat different. The way of life on Dal Lake seems to be one that has remained unchanged for centuries, beautiful and serene; life on the lake encourages a state of lethargic bliss. Far from feeling under threat, we felt cosseted, comfortable and completely safe. Visiting Srinigar without staying on a houseboat would be like going to Agra without seeing the Taj Mahal. Ayub, owner of the Snow Goose bumped into us as we stepped out of the sumo at the bazaar. We agreed to take a look at his floating villa, and from the moment we saw it we were lost. We stepped into the living room via ... read more