Srinagar

We couldn't leave Kashmir without staying for a night or two in Srinagar. Srinagar is pretty gloomy this time of year, kind of like Victoria in November: cloudy, foggy, wet, and rainy. The architecture made the place sort of reminiscent of an old eastern bloc country. In the summer, when all the trees and flowers are in bloom and the views of the mountains aren't blocked by clouds, Srinagar is supposed to be amazing. However, the one advantage of being here in off-season was that prices were low and there was definitely no lack of cheap shikaras to take you around the lake. That being said because there weren't many tourists around, Kiersten and I stuck out and were often bombarded by floating salesmen stopping by our houseboat.

We opted to stay in one of the thousands of houseboats scattered along Dal lake. A few friends from Gulmarg recommended a couple boats so we just ended up staying in one of them. Nick, a friend we met in Gulmarg, came along with us and we let him do the houseboat bargaining because he spoke Urdu. He convinced the houseboat owners that he was a guide and he was setting up accommodation for us. Nick, however declined the commission the houseboat owners offered him for bringing us to their boat. We think he should have taken it.

There's not too much to do around Srinagar in the off-season. All the famous gardens aren't worth going to because nothing is in bloom so we spent our time roaming around town, going to Mosques, and riding around Dal lake on Shikaras. The most gruesome surprise of the visit was stumbling upon dead body right outside of a sweet-shop that we were going to. We didn't even notice what was going on at first. We just saw a big group of people crowded around something outside the sweet shop. Not really thinking about it, we walked through the crowd and quickly noticed what they were all looking at. It looked like cause of death was either the cold or alcohol. We felt sorry for the guy regardless.

We were happy that got to see Srinagar but now we both want to return in the summer to see it when everything is in bloom. When we return the tentative plan is to ride motorcycles from Ladakh to Srinagar, it's supposed to be rad.

Market in Srinagar

Many many shikaras to choose from in the off-season

Kiersten in front of our houseboat the "New Melbourne"

Indian sweets make Nick happy

Interior of the houseboat

Like most places we've been to in India, Kiersten was popular

Houseboats on Dal Lake

At least the chicken here is refrigerated

Srinagar

When you walk anywhere in India, you are bound to stumble upon some cricket games

The houseboat owners

Mosque