Paradise on Earth - II

Read Part I yet? Do it please. I'm compulsive about order and suchlike :P Now, onwards.

We stayed on a quaint houseboat on Nigeen (Diamond) Lake which was surprisingly opulent with full-length carpets and woodworked ceilings. A day-trip around Dal Lake and the local attractions made us happy to have chosen this non-crowded quiet lake with its well spaced out houseboats. It felt like mini-National Geographic to check out the birds hunting for their fish every day... I suspect on Dal you'd see boys hunting for fransip instead.

While I'm happy checking out a garden or two just to marvel at how the Mughals managed to construct them years ago, seeing one garden is like seeing any other, and so we decided to check out a couple of the dargahs instead of doing five gardens in a row. Again - lovely experience with everyone going out of their way to make us feel at home. The cutest was two kids who accompanied us around the mosque, telling us solemnly 'Hindu-Muslim bhai bhai.' And the dargah itself - the interiors are incredibly detailed and so very very rich, it's breathtaking. 

That's the awesome thing really - Kashmir's a very poor state, in that the chief occupations of people are agriculture and (maaaaybe) tourism. And yet, everyone has succulent meat & dishes to eat because they cultivate both animals and cash crops; and it's a lovely self-contained system.

We also spent a couple of very satisfying days telling the locals that we wouldn't ride their horses and their sleds because that'd be cruel, and that we could really do 5-6kms in the hills on foot, no problem. While the local 'salesmen' are everywhere thrusting their wares on you via shikhara, horse, and on foot, it must be admitted that they charge very cheap rates, and if you're the kind that doesn't enjoy treking it, you'd still have an easy time of it. 

But us being us - we kept making it our mission to go where no one else was around, which meant we got to see some really cool views (respect to the cows for making it up all the way there, I was huffing and puffing but they looked totally cozy), including a spectacular End-of-the-World horizon at Gulmarg. And 9000 feet up at Sonamarg*, where it was still twenty six degrees celsius out, we finally found snow. That's right - Srinagar in September still sees weather touching thirty one degrees or so on average. What can I say, it happens only in India :)

*I just have to say this - we were nine. thousand. feet. high. And the husband still looked around before putting his hand around me. And we're married. Another thing that happens only in India.

Paradise on Earth - I

Three honeymoons in as many months, and I just realized I haven't even done a proper post on any of them. Let's start with Kashmir. It's always been on my list of must-do places, and it was the perfect antidote to our summer beaches overdose. 

The people (women in burqas included!) are super extroverted and friendly, and the burqa seems to be a local costume more than any form of restriction. I'm inclined to believe the locals who told us that strife and terror are very much a part of the past... the kids wandering around unsupervised are a definite indication that all's very well indeed.

This was one place where I actually felt kids would have a great time growing up - they have ponds with easy-to-catch fish which they freely dive into, as well as hills with sheep that don't mind playing tag, and horses which are allowed to run wild when it's not their turn to lug someone uphill.

I'm torn between being glad tourists haven't cottoned on to how safe and lovely it is, and being sad that the locals earn so little. The prices for most things are still very 80's... you can easily have a full meal for 80 bucks or so. Except, of course, when they make it Kashmiri style, and then you pay for the kesar and the badam and the bucketloads of raisins - well worth it. I could continue with this post but my eyes tend to cross over if I read posts that are too long, so I'll end this here and do a more detailed breakdown in the next.

Quarter-life Non-Crisis

I never tire of hearing how the husband and I don't look or act married, because, well, no one wants to look like a wife, much less an Indian wife. 

But I must say the charm wears off when it's followed up with one or the other variation of 'Are you old enough to be married then?' 

We even got that comment from a eleven year old, what fresh horror. 

On the bright side, this makes me the only person on the planet so completely okay with turning twenty five. Hey if the rest of the world won't believe it, how can I possibly take turning older seriously?