CONT'D from HERE


I think all of us were getting severe headache and feel like vomiting, probably because of the twist and turns of hilly route on the way back from Sonamarg to our houseboat. And when we reached Lily of Nageen, Fana vomited. Tsk. Thank god I didn't throw up but my headache remains for few hours and as usual I ALWAYS forget to bring any medicine while travelling and had to request panadol from Fana that night.


We had chicken curry for dinner and it was cooked to perfection and also served with finely chopped coriander leaves. I gave in finally hahaha tried to eat a bit and walllahhhh it was GOOD! Sooo sooo good! Bertambah-tambah nasik siap, yumss. Hehe. Perhaps blogging this at midnight isn't such a good idea because I'm terribly missing Kashmiri curry.

We were all then decided to take shower at night rather than in the morning. I mean how often should you shower during winter, kan? Sekali sehari sudah hiks. And plus we smell soooo bad that day, need to take shower ASAP. Bau kuda sangat! Sooo bushuk. Haha. Well, the horse riding was fun but the smell is a bit euwww. Bertabah je lah, nak naik kuda sangat kan.



The next morning, we eventually got up, washy-washy, prayed, and dressed properly. Lesson well learned yesterday, when the weather gets cold, you need to learn how to dress for winter. And the easiest way of course; to wear layers.

Our brekfast as usual was okay. Bread, butter, Kashmiri tea and there's always omelette on the dining table. We had to quickly rush after brekkie because the distance from Srinagar to Pahalgam is about 100km and it takes maybe 2 hours plus to reach the destination.




On our way to Pahalgam, the drive was particularly scenic. We passed through local shops and almost all men dressed in their traditional firan (full length coat mostly worn during winter) and the girls with scarves tied tightly to their heads.











Sometimes the bright sun came up above the white clouds as if telling us we were at the right place. And here is where raw beauty is at its best. We strolled for quite some time capturing this beautiful moment.





After almost 30 minutes we spent our time in Baisaran valley, its time go back. And going down again was another adventure. Haha. The steepness slightly terrified than before. And as result, Fana fell off a pony. Hahaha. I was ahead of her and straight away looking back, what hepenggg girl? How comeeeee. Hehe. Another half of the journey was easiest, alhamdulillah.

As we said our goodbyes, Rahman asked us when we would be visiting again. And we said next year (but we have not visited yet, tsk). He was just smiling. Their hospitality surpassed anything I had ever imagined. Can't help but to help them a bit, if you know what I mean.



So yes, sometimes the people you randomly meet on the road give you an impact. Actually before I went to India, I was telling myself, I won't be giving any tips to anyone (kedeks at first), but... end up I had to call CIMB from Jaipur just to activate my overseas withdrawal. Haha. Cashless.


To be continued.

Occasionally the housekeeper of the boat would drop in to ask us if we wanted more tea or what we would like for dinner, but for the rest of the time we were just together, resting under the duvet, stayed warm and watching TV.

That peaceful moment was however interrupted. There was a man rowed to our doorstep offering us Kashmiri souvenirs of which mostly pashmina shawl and some wooden fridge magnets and handicrafts. We could take a bit of Kashmir back with us home, he said.

So my friend Nini, bought the magnets and pashmina but I didn't buy any of those. Just because I thought I can find the magnets later somewhere else. However, truth to be told the fridge magnet was nowhere to be found haha. Lesson learned! Beli je lah kalau dah jumpa, just buy one at least. Hehe.

He was soon joined by another boat filled with handmade leather jackets and gloves. After so much consideration of the activities for tomorrow, I was thinking that I might need the gloves because I left mine at home. Sobs. So here you go, another unnecessary spending.

That night, all of my friends had the leftover lunch (Hyderabad biryani) for dinner and I was just eating nasi impit with sambal ikan bilis my mom packed for me. Hehe. Pure bliss.

When I got back to our room, I changed my clothes to legging and jumper, tried to sleep but couldn't. Sobs. Started thinking what if something happened to us and was this houseboat haunted or not. Tsk tsk. But anyhow, I managed to sleep and I can still remember I got up once that night to pee and had to kejut my friend to accompany me. Hehe.

I woke up the next day with a minor headache, probably because of the cold or maybe because of not getting enough sleep.


Our breakfast was just bread and omelette but I've had zero appetite and felt so dizzy this morning. So I've requested cereal and milk and a cup of Kashmiri tea for my breakfast. We then left for Sonamarg an hour later, located approximately 80km and about an hour and a half drive from Srinagar.





The route from Srinagar to Sonamarg is beautiful. But the weather and scenery changing all the time, especially during winter. And we were lucky enough to have bright sunshine and views like these. Can't stop myself from taking pictures with my phone. Then lepastu terus rasa nak muntah. Haha. Car-sickness! You know some people they can read or even playing with the phone in moving cars, but definitely not me. Hehe.


And the above is a very common sight of Kashmir. No photograph can actually bring out what it really feels like to see those mountains in the setting sun. So breathtaking. I was told by my friends that Sonamarg is also the place where the famous Hindi movie Bajrangi Bhaijan was shot. Haha. And at that point of time, I haven't watched this movie yet, so I was not that excited. Nyesal tak tengok awal-awal, Bajrangi Bhaijan is such a good Hindi movie. Hehe. And now I'm wondering if there is any part of Kashmir left untouched for Bollywood movies.



We then stopped for a while at the road side to take this picture. Those small houses and the mountains at the back, they are sooo gorgeous. We spent for almost 5 to 10 minutes just by looking at this beautiful scenery.


And suddenly a young Kashmiri boy rushed towards us, he didn't say anything but just look at us silently. And sometimes I think, immediate surrounding like this that drew our attention more. What do you want little boy? We then gave him some money before we left him to continue our journey. Sedekah :)






We were driving through the mountains in Srinagar-Sonamarg route, listening to local music and our driver Nadeem turns out to be soo cheesy. He said, he likes my eyes. Hahaha. Pengsan. He was asking if the colour of my eyes is real. Ahaks. Well of course not! Grrr. Haha. I 've been wearing pure hazel coloured contacts, FYI, trying to blend in with the locals. Hiks.



There came to a point which Nadeem informed us we couldn’t go any further by car. We either had to ride a horse or walk. There's one guy came along which Nadeem seemed to know him very well, I assumed. He offered us very large coats, almost two sizes large and boots, for rent. I was not really keen to rent the coat at first, entah siapa-siapa la yang pernah pakai sebelum ni haha but next thing I knew, eventually I still put the coat on.





But before that, we I need a toilet break! Haha. That structure in red is the public restroom, they said. It was in a semi-acceptable state but I need to go regardless. Sobs.





The sky suddenly looks all dramatic. At every turn , the river gave us company but the background kept changing. Sometimes it was the snow-covered mountain as a background and at other times, it filled with pine trees.






Hehe. To be honest we were all first timers, and we never ridden a horse before. But horse riding is fun, no matter what the climate is. So don't worry so much, just try and have fun.

In a region where everything has been associated by every actor known to Bollywood, it came as no surprise to me that the horses would also take the names of Raja and Rani. Hahaha. They seemed to fall in love and it was quite difficult to handle them. Asyik melekat sajork dua ekor. Tskk. Kuda pun ada pasangan, kauuuuu? Sedih.







We were told that the horses will take us someplace where there’s a river which they called Point B. And we stopped there for a while and took some pictures. It was cold seriously. Sejuksssss sangat, our noses turned red, our toes were freezing and our faces looked pale! Masa ni semua orang rasa macam weng and we quickly decided to go back. Still need to ride a horse for about 30 minutes, though. haha. Rasain.




And these are some pictures taken whilst riding a horse.







To be continued.