Blogs from Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India, Asia - page 4

Kashmir ~ Paradise on Earth. One of our business associates opened a hotel in Srinagar recently and I had the golden opportunity to attend the inauguration and visit Kashmir, a place I would otherwise never visit on my own. I can now say confidently that this lovely place is safe to travel and the reason why it is out of the tourism radar is simply because of the media. Cops and armed forces are everywhere, thus making it very safe for tourist. I went around the city on an auto and not even for a second, did I feel threatened or intimidated . Srinagar The summer capital is a small city with very few interest points for tourists. It lacks history but is made up for it by its natural beauty. It is hard to ... read more

We started on 22nd Morning from Delhi domestic airport. We got a good deal from yatra.com of return tickets for Srinagar at Rs12500 for 2 persons. We were going in GoAir flight (it was Airbus 320). This was budget airlines, so one would not get free food inside. I had given my seat preference on the phone earlier for left side seat in the fron side of plane. I assumed that this was the best place to see mountains from air. I was right: you do not get sun in eyes (morning flights) and get to see north side of Srinagar near landing. Just before reaching Srinagar you could see ranges of snow clad mountains all around srinagar. There was a layer of white clouds over it. It was beautiful (check photos). Plane descended ... read more

Yesterday I finally cruised down from the Himilayas on an overnight bus from Manali, and now I am back where I started in the Pahar Ganj area of New Delhi. It is extremely hot and filthy. I think I stayed in one of the most rundown guesthouses in all of New Delhi last night. Very cheap. It was really more of a cell on the third floor of a dilapidated, empty building that reeked of burning garbage and was seemingly designed with the intention of inducing suicide. It had a solid fan though, and in Delhi a good fan is priceless! It feels like its been forever since I have been in the thick of polluted, overpopulated, congested India. Its good to be back! I just finished a couple of weeks in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, ... read more

Kashmir is in real sense “Paradise on Earth”. At first glance you will fall in love with the serenity of this place. It seems as if god created each and every leaf of life on this mesmerizing heaven with his own hands. My trip to Kashmir not only proved to be a rejuvenating, it also taught me to be thrift and plan a wonderful holiday in limited budget. With the commencement of the internet it has become so easy to book your hotels, houseboats and whatever you would like for your trip. In a serendipitous discovery I found a site named GoHoto.in which was a key to the treasure of hotels. I plugged in the cities of Kashmir and there they were on one page showing me all the possible hotels and the great news was ... read more

My brain grappled with the apparent oxymoron, “Skiing in India” but as my source elaborated, my eyes adjusted. A picture of paradise was sketched, of vast untouched mountains descending into pristine valleys of conifers and snow leopards. It was the first time I’d heard of Gulmarg, nestled in the flank of Mount Apherwat in Indian Administered Kashmir and the first time I’d learnt of Skiing in India. The only familiar sound was the brutally gentle “Kashmir”; connotations of the finest wool sweater clashed with the memory that Bill Clinton once labelled the area the most dangerous region on earth. Kashmir was once a rich man’s playground, a mountainous haven where the Raj could escape the searing heat of the Indian plains. Srinigar’s Dal Lake houseboats remain, stagnant and stunning against the bleak wintry landscape, martyrs of ... read more