Wonderful Kashmir!

Saturday, Aug. 11, 2007--Srinagar

Kashmir is a honeymoon destination for India. The couples come here to stay in the houseboats, traveling to/from the shore on the small shikara boats. It would be romantic for someone in love. It's also a destination in August for Hindu pilgrims coming to a nearby cave. Tourism was strong in June and July, I understand, but everyone tells me it is down this month. My hotel had a few Hindu tourists Friday night and fewer seem to still be around tonight. There aren't many guests besides me.

Juneed's father wanted to take me on a tour of the Old Town this morning. I met him at 10:30 and he drove us in his car. We stopped at the Jamma Masjid, the main old mosque here in town--about 650 years old. It is huge and built in a quadrangle with four halls around a grass courtyard with a fountain in the middle. The architecture is simple and elegant. There are interesting towers on top of the building that are representative, I think, of this mountain culture--more like something from Tibet than something from the rest of India. There are no onion domes as are seen on modern mosques here. There is simple woodwork inside that is attractive. And there are many huge pillars, each made from a single tree trunk, holding up the two-story roof. From there, he stopped at his son-in-law's carpet shop for a short visit. The shop sells mainly wholesale and his son-in-law does not speak English; therefore, there was no talk of me considering the purchase of a carpet. I was glad for that. He drove me by the old cemetery, and he pointed out the old buildings along the route. We were back at the hotel after about 2 hours.

I was surprised by the good broadband connection for the computer when I went to the Internet cafe. It's a better connection than any of the ones I had in Indonesia, including the ones in Jakarta. And the rate is decent--75 cents per hour.

I rested during the hottest part of the afternoon. Yes, it is hot here. The temperatures are probably close to 30 C (in the upper 80s F). And the sun is close and, therefore, strong when it hits you. Then, around 16:00, I went out wandering. I made a big loop that took me through an old part of town, past the soccer field where a game was being played, through the more modern part of town, past another soccer field where another game was being played, and out past part of Dal Lake. I made that last leg to go by the Indian Airlines office to ask about flights to Leh. They fly only on Wednesdays and the fare is about $118. I think I will buy a ticket rather than make a 2-day bus trip (with an overnight stop). I would love to see the scenery, but I think a two-day trip would be totally exhausting. I'll return tomorrow and buy a ticket.

I was very tired and hot when I got back to my room. I watched the news on Aljazeera, on BBC, and on CNN. BBC is the best overall, I think. But Aljazeera has coverage of places that BBC and CNN just don't have. By the way, since CNN's movement toward being more interactive and entertaining has changed it for the worse in my opinion, I think Aljazeera has a much more professional and informative newscast.

I went back out only briefly to eat. I had mutton shishkebab. I ordered two of them. They came with flat bread and 3 sauces for dipping. I was full, but I probably could have eaten a third one! Later, in the room, I ate some cookies I had purchased at a bakery when out in the afternoon. I had stopped there to buy a cake to take to Juneed's father in thanks for the tour in the morning.