This morning we made our way to our last destination on this holiday - Srinagar.
On the way we first stopped at the apple orchards we saw on our way to Pahalgam. We walked through the orchards, bought a lot of apples (needless to say they were really juicy and delicious, right off the trees!), entertained a few local little boys who tried to a sell us a few apples and when we did, they looked absolutely on top of the world!
After that short stop, we drove straight to Srinagar. We had been through the outskirts of Srinagar a few times on the way to Gulmarg and Pahalgam and it was like any other Indian city - crowded, dusty, polluted with the constant honk of cars. However as soon as we approached the famous Dal lake - the 18 sq. km big stunning lake with calm, serene waters - the atmosphere was drastically different. The traffic was much less, and there didn't see to be too many buildings around. All we could see was the vast expanse of the water with the quintessentially Kashmiri shikara boats drifting elegantly on them, the marvellous mountains behind, a few far flung pretty fountains in the water, and beautiful chinar trees lining them at the banks. This was the Kashmir we had always seen in the movies and we felt like we were in one!
Our plan was to first check in to our hotel and soon our car took a diversion and went up a hill that continued to offer beautiful views of the Dal lake. There didn't seem much else on the way up the hill and I could sense the confusion the parents were feeling because they had no idea where exactly we were headed to. At the top, we approached a huge gate with a lot of security guards who asked to search the car. Due to the tension across the border in the state, we had been seeing a lot of army vehicles and men over the last few days but we never had to go through any checking ourselves till now.
"This must be a premium hotel", my mom in law commented, wondering at the formidable gates and the excessive security checks.
Then I thought it was time I broke the well kept secret to them. "We are staying at the Taj!", I exclaimed and added, "SURPRISE!!!"
This was met with wide eyes wonder and joyous exclamations from all the parents, something which I absolutely LOVE to see!
You see, the Taj chain of hotels is probably the most prestigious and luxurious in India and of course, it comes with a rather luxurious bill as well. So it is not the place of stay usually under consideration for my family and myself. But given that we were in Kashmir to celebrate the little one's first birthday, I wanted the so-called finale to be as special as possible. Plus whenever I have the privilege of staying in a 5-star hotel on my business trips, I always think of the parents and how they should also have the same opportunity as me. And this felt like the best time to make that opportunity come by.
So yes, I had booked the place but kept mum about it and revealed it only right there inside the car as it was being screened outside the Taj Vivanta, and was pretty thrilled at the reaction it garnered!
After the check, a very excited bunch of us, were dropped off in front the hotel. We got out of the car and our jaws dropped. The hotel has been constructed on a standalone hill and it offerend magnificent views of the mountains and the valley and the Dal lake all around. It was astounding! I had a general idea from their website that the location was good but nothing prepared me for the beauty that we were facing standing there!
We were warmly welcomed inside and as we waited for the check-in procedures, we were given hot cups of Kashmiri Kehwas. Then we were taken to our rooms - and once again we got astounding views all around! We were also wowed by the facilities in the hotel, especially the infinity pool that seemed to melt into the Dal lake and mountains beyond. Indescribable!
We checked in to our wonderful rooms, each with the same stunning views of the lake and the mountains and also a cute private balcony and garden to walk into. It was so perfect. And the parents' excitement was even more perfect! I felt on top of the world!
After hanging out for a while, we reluctantly left the hotel for the activities of the day. We drove down to the Dal Lake and were met with a representative from my dad's contact's office. He put us in the shikara boats - one couple per shikara - and soon we were being rowed away in the quiet waters of the Dal. It was so peaceful and picture perfect!
As we bobbed along, we were approached by moving shops - i.e. other shikaras selling everything from dry fruit ice cream to expensive wooden handicrafts to well, photography services, but of course. Soon we were licking away ice cream even in that cold, posing to pictures, buying souveniers, and having a ball. We also caught our first sight of rows and rows of the famous houseboats of Kashmir. Unlike the ones in Kerala, these are stagnant and don't move about in the waters, but they were still lovely to look at!
We were taken to the floating market called Mina Bazaar which are basically shops inside houseboats. As the hubby and I waited out in our shikara with the little one, the parents went into one of those shops to check it out. As we waited, we could see the non-motorable villages behind the houseboats and the lives there. Apparently boats are their only mode of transportation and in winter when the Dal Lake freezes over, they can walk across too. What lives!
After Mina Bazaar, we were dropped at the Dawn houseboat where we planned to have dinner. Our dinner orders were placed in advance, since that's the only way to get food in a houseboat if you are not staying there because they don't function as regular restaurants. We were not staying in one but we definitely wanted to visit one and experience it, so a dinner it had to be.
We got to the houseboat earlier than what had been estimated, so we had some time to explore it as the food got ready. And we made the most of it! We walked around and looked at every detail in the houseboat - the Kashmiri carpets and furnishings, the cozy bedrooms, the spacious washrooms, the small library, the games provided, the unique combination of Kashmiri and western crockery, and even the makeshift garden outside. After sufficiently exploring, we sat on the balcony outside and watched the sun set across the Dal lake, reflecting golden rays off the mountain peaks. It was a wonderful experience!
Dinner was a tasty, homely affair in the beautifully furnished dining room. There were both vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes and we were pretty happy with the quality of food as well as the service by the two boys who manned the houseboat. Post dinner, we got back into our shikaras and made our way back to our vehicle across the Dal lake. Interestingly, the photographer from earlier today rowed besides us and handed us our copies - pretty awesome service, I must say!
The sun had completely set by now and the temperature had dipped several points. So we were now on a shikara ride in the pitch dark in the middle of Dal lake - yet another beautiful experience! I hugged myself and looked up at the skies and thanked God for making it possible for me to be right there, right then.
Back at the hotel, we once again marvelled at its magnificence, this time seen with lights.
When I hit the bed an hour later, I was a very, very happy person!
On the way we first stopped at the apple orchards we saw on our way to Pahalgam. We walked through the orchards, bought a lot of apples (needless to say they were really juicy and delicious, right off the trees!), entertained a few local little boys who tried to a sell us a few apples and when we did, they looked absolutely on top of the world!
After that short stop, we drove straight to Srinagar. We had been through the outskirts of Srinagar a few times on the way to Gulmarg and Pahalgam and it was like any other Indian city - crowded, dusty, polluted with the constant honk of cars. However as soon as we approached the famous Dal lake - the 18 sq. km big stunning lake with calm, serene waters - the atmosphere was drastically different. The traffic was much less, and there didn't see to be too many buildings around. All we could see was the vast expanse of the water with the quintessentially Kashmiri shikara boats drifting elegantly on them, the marvellous mountains behind, a few far flung pretty fountains in the water, and beautiful chinar trees lining them at the banks. This was the Kashmir we had always seen in the movies and we felt like we were in one!
Our plan was to first check in to our hotel and soon our car took a diversion and went up a hill that continued to offer beautiful views of the Dal lake. There didn't seem much else on the way up the hill and I could sense the confusion the parents were feeling because they had no idea where exactly we were headed to. At the top, we approached a huge gate with a lot of security guards who asked to search the car. Due to the tension across the border in the state, we had been seeing a lot of army vehicles and men over the last few days but we never had to go through any checking ourselves till now.
"This must be a premium hotel", my mom in law commented, wondering at the formidable gates and the excessive security checks.
Then I thought it was time I broke the well kept secret to them. "We are staying at the Taj!", I exclaimed and added, "SURPRISE!!!"
This was met with wide eyes wonder and joyous exclamations from all the parents, something which I absolutely LOVE to see!
You see, the Taj chain of hotels is probably the most prestigious and luxurious in India and of course, it comes with a rather luxurious bill as well. So it is not the place of stay usually under consideration for my family and myself. But given that we were in Kashmir to celebrate the little one's first birthday, I wanted the so-called finale to be as special as possible. Plus whenever I have the privilege of staying in a 5-star hotel on my business trips, I always think of the parents and how they should also have the same opportunity as me. And this felt like the best time to make that opportunity come by.
So yes, I had booked the place but kept mum about it and revealed it only right there inside the car as it was being screened outside the Taj Vivanta, and was pretty thrilled at the reaction it garnered!
After the check, a very excited bunch of us, were dropped off in front the hotel. We got out of the car and our jaws dropped. The hotel has been constructed on a standalone hill and it offerend magnificent views of the mountains and the valley and the Dal lake all around. It was astounding! I had a general idea from their website that the location was good but nothing prepared me for the beauty that we were facing standing there!
We were warmly welcomed inside and as we waited for the check-in procedures, we were given hot cups of Kashmiri Kehwas. Then we were taken to our rooms - and once again we got astounding views all around! We were also wowed by the facilities in the hotel, especially the infinity pool that seemed to melt into the Dal lake and mountains beyond. Indescribable!
We checked in to our wonderful rooms, each with the same stunning views of the lake and the mountains and also a cute private balcony and garden to walk into. It was so perfect. And the parents' excitement was even more perfect! I felt on top of the world!
After hanging out for a while, we reluctantly left the hotel for the activities of the day. We drove down to the Dal Lake and were met with a representative from my dad's contact's office. He put us in the shikara boats - one couple per shikara - and soon we were being rowed away in the quiet waters of the Dal. It was so peaceful and picture perfect!
As we bobbed along, we were approached by moving shops - i.e. other shikaras selling everything from dry fruit ice cream to expensive wooden handicrafts to well, photography services, but of course. Soon we were licking away ice cream even in that cold, posing to pictures, buying souveniers, and having a ball. We also caught our first sight of rows and rows of the famous houseboats of Kashmir. Unlike the ones in Kerala, these are stagnant and don't move about in the waters, but they were still lovely to look at!
We were taken to the floating market called Mina Bazaar which are basically shops inside houseboats. As the hubby and I waited out in our shikara with the little one, the parents went into one of those shops to check it out. As we waited, we could see the non-motorable villages behind the houseboats and the lives there. Apparently boats are their only mode of transportation and in winter when the Dal Lake freezes over, they can walk across too. What lives!
After Mina Bazaar, we were dropped at the Dawn houseboat where we planned to have dinner. Our dinner orders were placed in advance, since that's the only way to get food in a houseboat if you are not staying there because they don't function as regular restaurants. We were not staying in one but we definitely wanted to visit one and experience it, so a dinner it had to be.
We got to the houseboat earlier than what had been estimated, so we had some time to explore it as the food got ready. And we made the most of it! We walked around and looked at every detail in the houseboat - the Kashmiri carpets and furnishings, the cozy bedrooms, the spacious washrooms, the small library, the games provided, the unique combination of Kashmiri and western crockery, and even the makeshift garden outside. After sufficiently exploring, we sat on the balcony outside and watched the sun set across the Dal lake, reflecting golden rays off the mountain peaks. It was a wonderful experience!
Dinner was a tasty, homely affair in the beautifully furnished dining room. There were both vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes and we were pretty happy with the quality of food as well as the service by the two boys who manned the houseboat. Post dinner, we got back into our shikaras and made our way back to our vehicle across the Dal lake. Interestingly, the photographer from earlier today rowed besides us and handed us our copies - pretty awesome service, I must say!
The sun had completely set by now and the temperature had dipped several points. So we were now on a shikara ride in the pitch dark in the middle of Dal lake - yet another beautiful experience! I hugged myself and looked up at the skies and thanked God for making it possible for me to be right there, right then.
Back at the hotel, we once again marvelled at its magnificence, this time seen with lights.
When I hit the bed an hour later, I was a very, very happy person!
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