The Froggies pulled the van over so we could enjoy this first scenic overlook into the stunning Vale of Kashmir!

October 10      Amritsar to Srinagar, Kashmir:  The French guys were up and ready to roll before we were—we were really exhausted and enjoyed a good night of sleep.  I got Cath tea in bed and we hustled down to the van and headed north to Kashmir.  We stopped and the French guys served us petit dejeuner (French bread with jam and coffee) at a scenic overlook along our climb into the foothills of the Himalayas.  The entire trip was just 250 miles but took us 15 hours climbing through several passes including the highest once which was 8,000 feet.  The French guys stopped a couple of times for Chai and toilet breaks but we pushed quite hard.  Our first view of the magical Vale of Kashmir began as we emerged from a long tunnel—we were in complete awe of the beauty before us framed by huge mountains.  As the sun was setting, our driver just sped up and we pushed on to the camping area on the edge of Srinigar that the French guys planned to stay at.  It was dark but we were mobbed by locals at the tourist information kiosk at the campsite.  They tried to sell us things and offered hotels and houseboat accommodations and hash.  We were exhausted and didn’t feel that we wanted to make any decisions about where to stay in Srinigar until daylight.  Cath and I borrowed a minimalist tent from someone and paid for a tent campsite overnight.  We found a great Chai shop that served omelettes and had a communal water pipe.  We then headed to our tent.  Cath summarized it:  “Spent a freezing cold night in a TENT!” 

The next morning was so beautiful in every way.  It was the beginning of two of the most magical and wonderful weeks of the entire trip.  Kashmir truly seemed like Shangri-la to us on every level.    We figured out that we were in the northwestern part of Srinagar next to Nagin Lake which was famous for having inexpensive houseboat lodging.  We spent a long time just marveling at the stunning lakes and lush gardens across Srinagar with all of it ringed by towering ranges of the Himalayas on all sides.  Srinagar valley is 5,200 feet.  It warmed up quickly and we knew that Srinagar has a temperate subtropical climate with hot summers and cool winters which we were beginning to experience. 

Srinagar was built around three lakes and was a popular holiday destination for wealthy Indians.  The lakes were connected by canals. Each lake had numerous houseboats to accommodate visitors.  Some of the houseboats were quite large and luxurious dating back to the days of the Raj when the British came in large numbers to escape the heat of the Indian plains.  The British were not allowed to own land, so they built houseboats.

Shopping for a Houseboat: After a nice breakfast with eggs and chai, we somehow picked one boatman out of the mob who offered to take us on a tour of houseboat options on Nagin Lake.  We looked at several houseboats and the boatman explained in broken English all the amenities on the Lake and in the area.  We sat in his shikara—a small wooden boat that he paddled and steered from the back with a single heart-shaped paddle.  He pointed out several larger boats that were restaurants and swim boats where we could spend the day swimming.  Periodically, large shikara boats with canopies pulled up to us and the boatman on board was a merchant selling either groceries or flowers or housewares or all of the above.  The merchant boats plied the calm waters of Nagin Lake day and night offering good for sale to families living on houseboats and, especially, to their western guests.  April to October is considered prime time to visit Srinagar and we had absolutely beautiful weather and calm days our entire visit. 

Nagin Lake looked cleaner than it probably was.  The water was very clear and there were a lot of lily pads and water flowers and vegetation but also many areas of clear open water.  The lake reflected the unblemished beauty of the entire valley and of the surrounding Himalayas.  Everything smelled clean and fresh around the lake even though one instinctively understood that sanitation on a lake full of primitive houseboats had to produce a lot of bacteria.  Of course, the shikara boatman offered us hash to enhance our tour and we were infatuated with everything about Nagin Lake and Srinagar.

We looked at a couple of houseboats and stopped at a few where we were welcomed by the family that owned the boat and were promised kindness and hospitality if we chose to stay with them.  We quickly learned that any inquiry about the cost for lodging and food quickly turned into a very polite and indirect negotiation in which we alternated checking each other out with the “absorb, reframe, and reoffer” endless negotiation we had become used to in Asia.  Once negotiations began, it was always pretty awkward to bring them to an end because every time we would try to leave the owner would lower his price to his “best price” even though it may be the third time he offered us decreasing best prices.  Furthermore, it wasn’t like we could just walk away, we had to convince our shikara boatman (who clearly got a cut on any tourist business he delivered to a houseboat) that we really had decided to look further and we wanted to get back in the shikara and move on.

Finally, the shikara boatman had a good idea how little we really wanted to spend for lodging and he said he knew the perfect boat and host family for us—the Houseboat Whoopee.  Abdul Afandy and his beautiful family (Salim, Mustaya, and Fayouz) became the closest friends either Cath or I made with locals on our entire trips.  A very traditional Muslim Kashmiri man, Abdul was a gentleman and a marvelous host.  We liked him when we first met him though we thought the houseboat was pretty sketchy on the whole.  At the same time, a Danish woman named Line was already a long-term guest and she gave us glowing reports that Abdul’s family made delicious vegetarian food options and kept Line’s chillum full of hash which was a priority for Line.  Abdul cut to the chase and offered us a nice room that had mats and quilts on the floor plus shared use of the huge rooftop sundeck for 5 rupees per night.  Food and extras varied in price but we ultimately just trusted and depended on Abdul to buy whatever we needed, to handle any negotiations, and to run a tab that we periodically settled up with him during our stay. 

For days, we just stayed on Houseboat Whoopee and borrowed Abdul’s shikara so I could paddle Cath and Line around the huge lake and canals to visit the beautiful gardens and parks and sites.  We also hired very comfortable shikara “taxis” for longer trips. The birds and fish were so abundant:  kingfisher’s were everywhere along with large birds and many species of ducks and schools of fish. 

Cath described our third day:  “Lazy morning and breakfast.  Hired shikara to Dal Lake and visit to beautiful Sarmian gardens.  Line remembered it was her 36^th birthday.  We celebrated with chillums, walnuts, beer, followed by coffee and cookies.  The fountains and gardens on Golden Island were unbelievable.  Water lilies rushes, and kingfishers are all around us.  It is hallucinogenic at times.  Peanut brittle.  Trailed feet in the water.  Mountains….watched sunset on the deck, wrote home and talked with Line.  Peaceful.”

Planning the Trek: That evening, we talked about the mountains with Abdul and he offered to arrange a spectacular week long trek that included food, lodging, three horses and three horsemen all for 600 rupees each or about $75.  I was immediately totally in.  Cath wanted to go but was about out of money and concluded that she would miss Delhi and Nepal if she did the trek and she really couldn’t just hang around Srinagar for seven days waiting for my return.  Abdul said the trek was 1,200 rupees if just one of us went. I quickly agreed.

The trek decisions made it clear that Cath and I just had a couple more days together.  We were both ok with that and both were actually somewhat relieved that our futures were clear.  Our communication became pretty limited as I was largely focused on what I needed for the trek since most of the details were a mystery—nothing was written down, there was no brochure, and the trek was something Abdul was pulling together on the fly and he would lead it.  Abdul showed me generally where we were going on a map that was pretty large scale so I knew were were going over a high pass but otherwise just trusted Abdul that it would be an amazing experience.  I asked if I needed a tent or special gear.  I had schlepped my hiking boots, hat, gloves, and jacket for my planned trek in Nepal across the scorching desert from Istanbul to Srinagar, so Abdul said I had everything I needed and “don’t worry”. 

Cath wrote about the several days before I left on the trek:  “Fayaz (Abdul’s son) took us in shikara to papier mâché factory.  Beautiful designs.  3 boxes for 60 rupees plus a free bracelet.  Sunsets and pink clouds with the fort on the hillside.  Idle evenings paddling on shikara.  Moonlight chillums.  Carpet salesman came to houseboat.  Great curries, yogurt and cookies.  Visits with Abdul and visited Abdul’s father in law and talked about “In the time of the British….”  She ended by quoting Abdul’s favorite saying to us: “You never forget Abdul I can hope.”

October 14:  Abdul was busy in the morning as he was saying goodbye to Cath and Line and settling up with them though Abdul never pressured us or cheated us in any way.  Cath started packing as she was heading for Jammu the next day on her own and then on to Delhi.  Cath noted that our parting was cordial but that our travel partnership had run its course:  “Trek starts today.  Jon is REALLY ready…won’t be sorry to be alone for a while. Said he would buy me dinner in Dehli.  Jon and Abdul loaded up on a scooter.  Our farewells were not very sad.”