Day1. We left MacLeod Ganj about 9:00am and drove through the mountains down to the plains of the Punjab. It was stiff ling hot and as we cross a vast river we saw many water buffalo to their necks in the river (1). I wished I had the time and courage to enter the river and immerse myself as such. We drove a bit further and took a short cut which took us through farm lands and up into the mountains again into the district of Kashmir/Jammu. Along the road we came across a man walking his camel, a sight Im told is uncommon to the area (2), more like something out of Rajasthan. By late afternoon we get back to the main road, which winds around mountains to the north heading toward Shrinagar. We overnight in a quaint government guesthouse get a late dinner and are up at 5:00 a.m. in order to get to Shrinagar by 11:00.

Day 2. Early in the morning we watch the sun warm up the mountains and river valley below. (3) We make our way to the top of a mountain where we wait to go through a 3-kilometer long tunnel. The tunnel is closed at night and we have to wait 40 minutes or so before we are allowed through. There are military men everywhere and we have to go through a checkpoint to go through the tunnel. Felizatas says that the tunnel can be difficult (not any ventilation) to go through. As it turns out since we were the third car through that day it was finea single lane of traffic with a few light bulbs hung here and there. I was grateful that the electricity didnt go out.

Coming out the other side we looked down upon Kashmir valley, a beautiful, large green plain, settlements here and there and rice paddies everywhere. We drove through this plain to Shrinagar along with military transports and truckers crowding the roads.

Shrinagar is an amazing city. It has been dealing with war for over 12 years and with tourism as its main economic base its population is really struggling. Our house manager says things have been much better in the last two years. The architecture is British influenced, two story buildings with hand carved wooden shutters line the streets. Things are in disrepair due to the poverty.

Since Felizatas had to pick up three Austrians at the airport, the rest of the tour group, so she took us directly to the houseboat. As a group we needed two houseboats. The main houseboat was where we all took meals and met to see the local market come into our sitting room. (4) We stayed on the smaller of two lakes in Shrinagar, Nagil Lake and as we look across the lake we can see Akbars fort, majestically sitting on the hill overlooking the city (5). After lunch we are transport in luxury by water taxi to our houseboat, 10 minutes down the lakeshore (6).

When people arrive at the houseboats, word goes out to venders of local products-jewelers, candy makers, florists (7), and men selling shawls, hand embroidered shirts, Kashmir scarves, and paper mache products. These people are eager to sell to tourists and line up in small boats, shikaras, to get the opportunity to come in and sell their wares. We were there for three days and the morning we left both the shawl salesman and paper mache salesman came in hopes of making one more sale.

After a restful afternoon we are taken back to the main houseboat where we spend a little time looking at jewelry then we load into three shikaras and take a boat ride up Nageen lake, under a bridge, to Dal Lake where we are given a short tour (8-9). As we travel along a wind picks up and by the end of the tour it is raining. The boats are covered with a brightly colored cloth awning, which does a good job of protecting us from the rain (10). There are amazing floating gardens on the lake where people tie together grasses and gradually are able to grow vegetables.

Day 3. This is the day for sight seeing in Shrinagar. We have made arrangements to meet, Gulam Rasool, the father of a Faroz, a shopkeeper we know in MacLeod Ganj. Rasool is an older gentleman, owner of a beautiful houseboat on Dal Lake, who later showed us his family guest book, which went back to the British Raj. It was amazing, having notes from all kinds of guests, from missionaries attesting to the honesty of the owner to high-ranking military officers there on leave to go into the mountains hunting. Rasool was our guide in the morning to the Hindu temple, Shankaracharya, which was most impressive to us for the view over the Kashmir Valley. Next we go to the Moghal gardens, Nishat Bagh (11-12). They are massive green areas with huge fountains, which flow high up at the base of the mountains down to the lake below. The gardens have not been cared for properly due to the political turmoil but nonetheless they are impressive and one can easily imagine the grandeur of the Moghal period. In the afternoon we visit two mosques: Jamia Masjid and Shan Hamdan (13-18).

We arrive home exhausted, deal with a few more venders at the houseboat, and have a wonderful dinner prepared by the hosts sister, Rosie, and mother. They live in a houseboat just behind the guest house and are amazing cooks. (10).

Day 4. Today we leave Shrinagar and head to Kargil. Kargil is close to the Pakistan and is a sensitive area. The road to Kargil is well traveled by military and carefully guarded. We want to leave early in order to get to a station on the road where the traffic is checked. Traffic is only allowed to travel in one direction so is one is late they are not allowed through until the next day.

On the way to the pass we travel through beautiful farmland (19) and along a river valley. We arrive at the station in time and wait with many other people. We decide to use the time for lunch. The military are very interesting to observe. They are from many parts of India and wear a variety of hats (20-21). The road is rough, mostly gravel and in some places very narrow with an abyss off to the side (22). The land changes dramatically on the other side of the pass.(23) We continue to Kargil which turns out to be a long trip, arriving about 9:30 p.m.

Well enough for now. This article will be written in three parts. Next part is the Zanscar Valley, full of ancient Tibetan Buddhist sites.