After continous travel and sightseeing in Kashmir for the last two days ,I was like now I want to relax a little bit .Does it happen to you also ?I do not know if it is called “budapa” lol. But nowadays I also like to enjoy the place where I am staying.This time it was a houseboat.Lying in the beds till 11am and then having a little breakfast at the boat only ,this is called relaxing.
Day2:Staying in the boat,shopping and exploring the Dal Lake neighbourhood
Cafe Winterfell
In the afternoon ,hunger made us stop at a restaurant named “Kashmir diaries”.We asked for a menu and they said they do not have any .We then ordered a kashmir special biryani which costs us around 900 Rs for a single item.We were shocked ,that restaurant was a total fraud.But things happen.
After getting disappointed, we landed at a cafe named “Winterfell” as it was at a walking distance .And it was worth the visit,I mean the whole vibe ,food and everything about it was amazing.We felt good after finally finding a place.It was built on the ‘Games of Thrones’ theme .Everywhere there were photos,books ,decoration pieces all related to that theme .There were beautiful songs playing in the background.What else anybody would want.
Shikara Ride Of Kashmir
It was dark when we left the cafe .After taking some grocery items,we left for the houseboat.Our caretaker already prepared the common room for sitting by firing the heaters.There was a jwellery seller waiting for us there.We sat and started watching the items .Then the next day we planned to take a shikara ride for the entire Dal Lake.The shikara rider suggested us that there is no point in going for the Char Chinar or Mughal gardens. At this time of year , there will be snow all around without any greenary Both of these places are visited from the shikara only.
Nehru Park
So we started by visiting the Nehru Park .It was a normal park covered with snow, the only good thing about it were the views around .It was built on the lake only with mountains all around everything white.So we stopped there for some capture.There was a beautiful bridge also for photography.But we booked Shikara only for 1 hour so we left without wasting any more time.
Floating Market
Then we enjoyed riding the shikara through the floating market .You know the best part is riding the shikara and not stopping or visiting any shop.The rider was suggesting us to have a look at the shops but we were not interested.We took a Kahwa on our way from another shikara rider only. Other than this, there was floating barbeque ,photography in Kashmiri dress, vegetables sold on the shikara only.
We had a little time left and we were hungry.So we left for the Nathu’s sweets for some chole bhature. That is a good food option on the ghat .Prices are normal also.Then we went again for our place,yes the winterfell cafe .This time we almost completed trying each and every item from their menu.The two men among the four of us became huge fans of the throne chair placed there.They took a whole hour just in photographing.We two girls just sat and enjoyed reading some books.
Shopping
If you are wondering about reading on a trip, yes I love reading while traveling.Then again we were welcomed by a pashmina seller at the boat.We took two shawls but they were not original pashmina.The reason I did not buy inspite of the fact that they were costly, was they were not worth spending.Firstly we wear shawls less and they were not eye-catching.Then there was a coat seller.We loved his coats all made from sheep.They were warm in reality and quite cheap.Three of us bought a coat from him. We loved them ,even we wore it for our next day in Pahalgam. If you are not interested in purchasing any item,you can say no.They are happy to just showcase their art .Then we booked our car for Pahalgam .We decided to leave early for the next day so we just slept.
Explore Kashmir -Part-1 here
