To read the series from the start please click here.

Houses and Hotels of Kashmir

One of the most unique things of Kashmir is their houses  and hotels. The walls of the houses are made of normal one layer of bricks or pure pine tree wood in many places. Roofs are made of  thick sheets of Asbestos or thin metal. They are generally sloppy so that ice does not remain on them and falls down. Floors are generally made of cement and plain  tiles , but each and every room is covered with famous Kashmiri Carpet called Ghalicha. Each bed is covered with huge and thick double bed sheet or you can say Rajaai which protects from sheer cold. The other good feature is the rooms of  budget hotels are very large and have attached washroom unlike the budget hotels in other tourist places where they are relatively small and washrooms may be common or private depending upon pockets and choice.

The best quality which I liked is that the rooms does not have fans at least in Pahalgam because of two reasons. One is that the weather is almost cool and pleasant for all 12 months and hence fans are not required. Second thing is the houses have lot of windows in a single room. The ventilation is of ace quality. There are at least 3 windows in one room in each and every house . You won’t see any single room with single window in it. Three is minimum figure. Secondly they don’t have metal grills inside the windows as we have in our cities specially to protect from thieves.Everything window is open everywhere. I guess there aren’t any thieves or robbers in Kashmir or crime related to robbery may be nil now. Continuous cool and pleasant breeze blows in summer and chilled winds in winter. To have privacy all you have is thick and colorful curtains. Also in budget Hotels they provide cupboard, TV, dustbin, geysar good and clean washrrooms.

They have hall but in that they don’t have tables, sofas or chairs. All they have is a huge Kashmiri Carpet on the floor surrounded by pillows on the walls. One can have a good time with family and friends sitting on that carpet. The outer walls of the House and Hotels are painted in light as well as bright colours depends on the individuals choice.

Majority of the houses have only one floor i.e. ground floor . In some cases one floor plus ground floor  and in rare cases two floors. All majority hotels have two  floors and only some have three floors.

I am going to show you pictures having all these qualities below.

One thing which I found very unpleasant was that each and every room may have smell of cigarette inside. And specially Kashmiri people are very addictive to cigarette. I didn’t see a single Kashmiri person in my whole tour who doesn’t smoke and they smoke anywhere they want. The owner comes in the room with lighted cigarette. So each and every room has odor of cigarette. Be sure to carry a room freshener.

Now below is my hotel which looks quite shabby and restaurant  from outside , but the real thing was from inside. The Hotel is located in Pahalgam Village in Chandanwadi road near Pahalgam Village Masjid.

My Hotel Sahiba Palace

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My actual Amarnath Yatra has started in this post, because I will reach the destination here which is called Pahalgam which is quite important as far as yatra is concerned . I will tell you its importance as we proceed. Hence from here I have named this series as Amarnath Yatra.

Patnitop to Jawahar Tunnel

After enjoying around 30 good minutes in Patnitop we marched forward towards our journey to Pahalgam. After Patnitop we again had to climb down the ghat around 1000 meters and entered Chenab Valley.Rivers between mountains always fascinate me and I have only one wish that is to bath in it. But not the right time. Right time will come in this tour. But right now just look at the colour of Chenab river ( light green). Again heat started to build up from here and from here our journey was terrible . Around 2-3 hours I was soaked in the sun . I felt like a worker working near open furnace continuously for 3 hours with sun right on the top of the head. And there was no AC in the car. I had never imagined that I would felt something like this in Jammu and Kashmir 1000 m above sea level. Even in Sahyadris Maharashtra , Lonavla ( 600 m) near Mumbai  is always pleasant. This was too much for me. Each each minute was going like an hour.

Ramban, a very noisy and crowded town came in between and thereafter we again started to climb up. Just before Ramban , we had lunch in one of the Vaishno Dhabas. The lunch was fantastic. But after the lunch my driver wasted some time in repairing his spare tyre which was punctured . He wasted around 45 minutes more here in Ramban which was adding to frustration due to heat. And then afterwards while driving we came to know that he was waiting for his friend to come in another car with another set of passengers  to Srinagar. Now I can’t understand mentality of drivers here why they wanted to meet and go together. They were not going to talk as they were in different cars. The destinations were different ours was Pahalgam and their was Srinagar, then why our driver waited for his friend I still don’t know. Till Anantnag our cars were together and then we parted ways from there. No sense here but we wasted a good 45 minutes in this .

Chenab River near Ramban :- The colour of Chenab river was greensish brown

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29th July 2012, Sunday

At Amritsar railway station

Before going through the post, please once again go through the date I have mentioned above, It will be understood in the next part of the post. Our train was scheduled to arrive at Amritsar Junction at 00.50 AM and depart at 01.10 AM a halt of 20 minutes. We left our hotel at 00.15 AM went to the station which was just on the opposite side at a distance of 5 minutes. We reached on the platform 4 where train was supposed to come and waited at a bench where our bogie was supposed to come. Still at 00.30 AM  at night again in open airy space I was feeling terrific heat . I found one water cooler nearby and more postively it was in working condition , so the water there was really cold. Again and again I used to pour that cold water on my head soaking all my hair and some water on my back in side my T shirt  to relieve myself from that terrible heat. I had never experienced this sort of heat at mid night anyhwere. So this experience of feeling heat  was all new to me. All of sudden there was anouncement that the train was late and I supposed to arrive at 01.45 am one hour late. That added to misery which we were feeling due to heat. We didn’t had option but to wait.

Sonali’s verbal fight with  arrogant and egotistic travelors.

Our train arrived one hour late and we all were set to rush inside as our train entered the platform. We had lot of luggage ( 5 nos. = 2 big suit cases and 3 travelling bags ) so it was decided that my father in law will stand with luggage outside the bogie. I with one bag will go in the the train first with Sonali and Aarya , make them sit in reserved seats and then again come back to take bags. As  soon as our bogie came near us , I was first one to catch the door backed by Sonali and Aarya. We went inside and I kept one bag below the berth and made Sonali and Aarya sit on our reserved seats.  Also my compartment was in the middle so I had to travel all the way in the rush to go out. 4 bags were still remaining. While I went out one of the passengers came in our compartment and said that the berths on which Sonali and Aarya were sitting were his berths and started talking with Sonali. I was not aware when did it started because I was out of the bogie to take my remaining bags. When I came back with one of my bag in the second turn the conversation was something like this.

Arrogant Fat Travellor :- मेडम यह हमारी सीट है . हमारा यहाँ पर reservation है. आप यहाँ से उठो .( Madam This is our reserved seat, please get up)

Sonali :- ज़रा एक मिनिट रूकिये. यह सीट  हमारी है  हमारा भी reservation है. मेरे पापा जो बहार खड़े है उनके पास टिकिट है. वे आ रहे है. ( Just a minute, even we have reservation in these seats. My father standing outside has tickets. He is coming.)

Arrogant Fat Travellor in a harsh voice:- नहीं आप अभी उठिए . यह हमारी सीट है. S -4 में  33 ,34 , 35 हमारी सीट है. मेरे पास reserved टिकिट है . यह देखिये. ( Not you please get up . This seat is mine . S – 4 coach seat no. 33,34 and 35 . I have reserved ticket, See this )

Sonali :- एक मिनिट रुको मैंने बोला ना. ( I told you to wait for the moment)

He was not willing to understand.

I told him :- भाई साहब ज़रा एक मिनिट ठहरे मैं ज़रा टिकिट लेके आ रहा हूँ. ( Dude please wait I am coming with the ticket ) (more…)

Kashmir was once called Heaven on Earth, and one of the most beautiful places in the world. However, in last couple of years, terrorism has faded its charm – A place home to Himalayan Ranges. Yet the previous year, Kashmir recorded the maximum number of tourists ever. The alluring beauty of Kashmir gives you a reason to live and visit this place again and again.  The famous Dal lake where you can stay in houseboats, a five star luxury beyond the hotels that offers you the options to choose your cuisine according to your own taste and enjoy your meals while looking at the hustle and bustle of the Dal. The Shikaras, Kashmiri handicrafts like shawls, woodcarvings, dried fruits, saffron and the Kashmiri Culture are some of the attractions.
Here are the top reasons to visit Kashmir:

1. Beauty:  Needless to say, Kashmir offers such breath taking views that it becomes extremely difficult for one to go back home! From the very beautiful Tulip, Nishat, Chashma Shahi and Mughal Gardens to the marvelous hill stations like Gulmarg, Pahalgam & Sonamarg; Kashmir has it all.

Dal Lake

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Hello Ghumakkars

We had spent three days in Kashmir and had covered Gulmarg and Sonamarg. If you still haven’t read the previous posts then click here. Moving on, next day was our fourth day in Srinagar. According to the itinerary, we had to leave for Pahalgam. We woke up around 7:30 AM, had our breakfast, and were all set by 9:00 AM. Mr. Rouf was waiting for us on the other side of the lake. I was somewhere very excited to discover Pahalgam, but I wasn’t happy, as this was the last day in Kashmir. :( Anyway, I cheered up, and we were then taken by a shikara to the other side of the lake.

The Green Tunnel

Mr. Rouf told us that Pahalgam is a town and a notified area committee in  Anantnag district. It is 76 kms from Srinagar and 55 kms from Anantnag. He also told us the on our way, we would pass through the Green Tunnel, Saffron Fields and shops. We had to buy some dry fruits and Saffron on the way. He also told us that Pahalgam is a world famous hill station located on the banks of river Lidder at an altitude of 7200 ft. and was once a humble shepherd’s village with breathtaking views.

Pahalgam is an ideal place for an adventure sports enthusiast. It offers wonderful treks, skiing, mountaineering and camping sites. Facilities for roller-skating, table tennis, badminton and cards are available at the Pahalgam Club. One can take a temporary membership at the Pahalgam natural golf course.

Some famous spots, which Pahalgam offers, are:

i). Chandanwari (16km* : 2,923m): famous for its snow bridge.

ii). Baisaran (5 km* : 2,438m): Pine forests dot this meadow which presents a picturesque view of the snow-clad mountains.

iii). Aru (11 km* : 2,408m) – This charming meadow can be reached by walking along a mountain path. The river Lidder disappears at Gur Khumb and reappears after 27 mts.

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