Kashmir with no regrets
My friends at IBM India helped me put together my travel itinerary for the rest of my trip in India. They all agreed on one thing - there is no place more beautiful than Kashmir, but going there might be the last thing I’ll ever do. Kashmir has a long history of violence and unrest. What was once the jewel of India has now been marred by constant bomb explosions and killings.
Nonetheless, this is my only trip to India. I decided to toss the advice given by my friends, The Lonely Planet tour book, and others aside. Foolish? Yes, but I wasn’t going to regret it and I booked a trip.
Flying into Srinagar is like flying into a military compound. Granted, the weekend I flew in was India’s Independence weekend, so the troops were out in full force. There were over 700,000 troops on the ground and were literally spaced at least one soldier for every 10 meters on most roads. Vehicle checkpoints are positioned throughout the city and cars are inspected at gunpoint. Once you get out of Srinagar, things get a little less scary, but the troops are still around no matter how far into the countryside you go.
I stayed in a houseboat on Dal Lake. I had beautiful accommodations and the food was among the best I had tasted in all of India. I took trips to see Gulmarg and Sonamarg mountains. The Mogul Gardens were also very pretty and I enjoyed the boat rides through the floating vegetable gardens. While in Kashmir, I purchased a kilo of tea as it was the best tea I have ever tasted. The secret is to boil the tea leaves with cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and saffron, which I also purchased. Kashmir’s rugs are known as the best in the world and I bought a few as presents and a personal souvenir.
As much as I would like to, I can’t recommend any one going to Srinagar. However, if you do go, you will have a great time and see some beautiful sites you just won’t see anywhere else in India. It is a personal decision that every person will have to make themselves. I spoke at lengths with the residents about the situation and it is clear that if one thing can fix Kashmir, it is more tourism and independence. Their situation is better off with India than with Pakistan, that to me is clear. However, India is not treating Kashmir with the respect it deserves and I would have to agree that Kashmir might be best as its own country. Then again, I am not a very political person and there is really no reason that Kashmir should not be able to function within India. India has worlds of opportunities and Kashmir could only benefit from these if India were to loosen the military control it has placed on Kashmir.