Jannat-e-Kashmir

I have been all gaga over the past week, posted my first photo album on facebook & still not stopped yet. Well, reason is simple. I feel a sense of accompolishment that I might be first among my friends to have been to these places. But still, I am really going over the top with this :).

Now for the post below, I am stealing Ishu's template from his latest post. I dont want to give him credit for this, just to annoy him :P

Things I had planned, but could'nt manage to do

• Ride the gondola upto the peak of Mt. Afarwat (some 5000m above sea level, well clear of my previous altitude record)
• Click those pretty flowers in Mughal gardens of Srinagar. They cant be blamed for not flowering in winter
• Convince Kashmiris to give up their independence movement :P
• Complete one full course authentic Kashmiri dinner. yuck! the smell, so non veg like.
• Walking around Srinagar streets, with a kangri (charcoal pot) keeping my belly warm in near freezing weather outside

There were also things I ended up experiencing, despite never intending to

• Kahwa - Kashmiri herbal tea laced with saffron, cinnamon, walnut & pistaschio nuts. Heavenly!
• Spending 2 nights in a room overlooking Lal Chowk (If you havent heard of this before, ask Sushma Swaraj)
• Jet lite flight announcement -Yeh Plane - Mumbai se Srinagar tak jaane wali dheemi local hey. Yah local Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu aur srinagar inhi stanakon par rukhegi. Baaki anya kisibi stannakon par nahi rukhegi. Yeh yatra hum 6 gante aur 20 minit mein poori kijayegi. Aapki sukhad yatra ki kaamna karte hue Dhanyavaaad.
• Srinagar policemen look like straight from one of the GI Joe series. What with all the hi tech armoury,  seen only before in counter strike & like. May be our pot bellied maamus should take a lesson or two.
• Only one thing more beautiful than Kashmir itself, its Kashmiri men & women. Such fair complexion, sharp features with that ubiquitous long slender nose, straight from one of the greek sculptures. Even the women speak hindi in soft yet fast paced accent, that is such melody to the ears.