A Ride to "Heaven"

Beauty of a place is left unexplored if you limit yourself to usual activities like skiing, snow biking, sledging and tourist focussed major spots. Therefore to feed my desires of experiencing best of a place, I kept walking to areas that offered peace and untouched snow clad spaces.

Though we couldn't take our eyes off the beautiful valleys of gulmarg, we convinced ourselves to move, further, exploring different facets of kashmir, with a wish deep inside our hearts to visit the place again.

We left for srinagar where a generous lady was waiting to host us on one of her lavish houseboats.

We reached there riding in a well decorated shikara from banks of Nigeen lake. The lake is serene with beautifully structured houseboats standing by the sides and shikaras floating alongside. The wooden architecture, traditional rugs, lamps and kashmir handicrafts gave the houseboat, a royal feeling. We spend the evening sitting at lake facing side of houseboat while experiencing soothing breeze passing by.

The day ended with a delicious and sumptuous dinner graced by light of candles. I have never found candle light dinner, so, romantic, not even when I had one on side of fatehsagar lake in Udaipur. Definitely, I have fallen in love with this style of hospitality.

After a eight hours long warm and relaxing night's sleep, I was awaken to a pleasant morning. Again, I went to my favourite place on houseboat that is lake facing side, where i could see birds taking their day's first flight, flaunting their carefully crafted wings. Surely, wings are an amalgam of art and technology. Life is at peace when you are around no one but nature. Riding in a shikara again we bid adieu to our host for the night and houseboat.

Next, We head towards pahalgam, an epic place and best of kashmir. With Lidder river flowing sideways and snow covered landscapes, passing by, makes it a perfect escapade.

The place where you can rethink about your experiences with life and reinvent the ways, that can make your life better.

"Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better" - Albert Einstein

Starting with Aru valley to Chandanwari to Betaab valley, it felt like time is flying. To me, Kashmir is not just a place, it is an experience, a state of mind.

I wish to stay with my hangover for the beauty of Kashmir, till forever. My strong urge to experience the said heaven, took me to the valley and after experiencing it once, I feel the desire to visit those enchanting landscapes more often, to rethink and reinvent.