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Old 29th April 2025, 21:17   #16
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Re: The Kashmir Trip - That was not to be

A 15-year old's thoughts:

#1 Kashmir is a beautiful region. However, it is these kind of political tensions that destroy the tourism there. Afterall, a tourist spot is not just about the scenic location but also about the innocent people who work hard to make visitors happy. The ones in the BHPians Swarnava.ch's post is among them. Owing to forum rules, I choose not to speak about the political tensions

#2 As much as we are happily enjoying our moments, we also tend to get a little careless. Kudos for the cancellation of the trip. Remember, we are investing time and money to keep ourself happy but that happiness must also not affect you in the long term. Also for the sake of safety, it is better to research on the status of violent activities before planning such trips.

#3 Never ever form biased opinions towards people of a certain region or ethnic group. They are also human beings just like us. We don't what struggles they may be going through. As much as there are heartless people in the world or in a particular community, there are lot more who are the polar opposite.

#4 Always prepare your trips such that there is a room to come back home in case of emergencies. Also, don't travel too far into remote areas. Some will hate me for this. 'Then, what is the point!', 'Boring guy', 'It is all about adventure', etc, they say. A balance between fun and safety, I say. A controversial point: Be extra cautious in areas under political disputes, whether active, or negligent (at the time of travel). Being safe is better than sorrow

My condolences to the departed soles. I am also pleased to know that Swarnava.Ch and his family is safe.

Regards,
BHPian Xpresstrainfast

Last edited by Xpresstrainfast : 29th April 2025 at 21:18.
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Old 30th April 2025, 11:23   #17
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Re: The Kashmir Trip - That was not to be

Quote:
2. What happened at Pehalgam could have happened anywhere else. The place where we went Doodhpatri was exactly like the meadow in Pehalgam.
Doodhpatri is easy to access and vehicle reach till the spot. However, Pehalgam's Baisaran valley is so disconnected that you need to take a horse ride through a very difficult terrain for almost 90 minutes to reach the place. There is no road connectivity and even trekking through the muddy hilly terrain is very difficult. No wonder why the terrorist chose the place for the attack.
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Old 30th April 2025, 17:30   #18
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Re: The Kashmir Trip - That was not to be

We visited Kashmir 4 weeks back, We were group 6 people. Me , my wife, 12 yr old son, our 3 parents of age 70+ years. Our initial 1-week plan was to cover Srinagar, Kargil, Sonamarg, Gulmarg , Pahalgam and back to Srinagar. But due to Zojila pass closure we had to drop Kargil and spend more time in Sonamarg and Srinagar.

Below are our observations about Kashmir and Kashmiris based on our personal experience
  • Srinagar unlike capital cities of other Indian states is quite small with very narrow roads. Roads were always crowded.
  • Though its very unusual to see so many armed guards all over the city it gave us sense of security and never felt unsafe. But after seeing the recent attack in Pahalgam , I feel how luck we were to escape such a tragedy.
  • People are not as conservative as they were shown in the movies. But at the same time, though it is not a dry state, alcohol is not easily available, but smoking is very common in public places.
  • Local people at all places show great hospitality. They are always polite and friendly with their guests. In whole trip I didn’t see any arguments or fights between locals and tourists. They are very genuine when they ask if we like their food or service.
  • Having said that, every where from hotel to , Shikara ride to pony ride etc.. vendors demand Tips / Bhakshis openly. Which is quite unusual initially for us . Here usually people give hint wont openly request for tips. But from second day we got used to it .
  • Coming driving, people here honk like crazy. But its not out of frustration or anger. This is their way of asking the way. But their driving is not aggressive. In traffic jam they show the maturity by give path to other drivers release the block, which you can never expect in Bangalore.
  • But like any other tourist places, you have to bargain a lot with local vendors while shopping or hiring any rides like pony, slides, snow mobile etc. Sometimes you will have to bargain up to 80%.
  • When we had discussions with our driver and other hotel employees without getting into any political topics we came to know that they are really happy about tourists return to the valley which is giving them lots of job opportunities and earn good money. During off season / winter many of them shift to other places for work. They mentioned that situation has changed a lot in a good way in last 7 – 8 years. Some of them feel all the violence are games played by politicians to keep themselves busy or not to go jobless. But not sure which regional politicians they were talking about.
In summary, no local likes violence in the valley as this would take them back by 10 – 15 years. It is really sad to see so many innocent people are suffering due to some anti-social and anti-national elements .
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Old 3rd May 2025, 08:53   #19
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Re: The Kashmir Trip - That was not to be

It's absolutely atrocious as to what happened in Pahalgam. Om Shanti to all of our countrymen who lost their lives. You took absolutely the right decision by cutting short your trip. It's very important for the country that the entire J&K gets back to normalcy and the Indian government should take proactive steps to ensure that people from other states are able to easily go and settle in Kashmir without any fear.
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Old 3rd May 2025, 13:31   #20
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Re: The Kashmir Trip - That was not to be

Without getting into the current issue, I just went back and read my own post from 2023 on a fantastic travelogue on TBHP itself. Citing it here again. As good as Kashmir is for scenic beauty, the peace it offers to ones mind and the kind of Kashmiri hospitality, the practical scenario is altogether different.

Link to Post (Unseen Kashmir: The LoC drive)
Quote:
Good to hear that.

However, having known the areas as good as the back of my hand, I can pragmatically say that its a big error if it is so. The areas are prone to uncontrollable fatal situations at any given point in time. The undercurrent in those densely, densely forested areas is always suspectible to highly adverse conditions.

Even foreign tourists flocked areas in loads till many years back. Much before covid. Those areas are breeding grounds for adversity. Heavy presence of the forces is but inadequate in those areas given the terrain, altitude, flora and fauna. Not to mention the bad guys, internal and external.

The other side is much more free for their civilians. Their side of altitude is also much higher. It is more beautiful to put simply. Neverthless, the risk persists 24*7. But things happen periodically. And there are logical reasons to why our side is restricted while the neighbours roam freely on their side.

For a small example, Bangus looks beautiful. It definitely is. An approx 60 sq km plot of heaven, no less. But only to a normal civilian. From Bangus till TMG or even from Mawar till TMG there is nothing but 16 kms of pure heaven. Heavily densed forests. During the snow, when the wind blows it shapes the snowfall on those big rocks like a work of art. Reshwari or even the Dak Bungalow before it would deem hard to abandon for a nature lover.

It will be decades before the areas could be properly cleared for tourism from a responsible side like ours. Having said that, efforts for restraint, peace and promotion of toursim are always welcome.

I'd never advise even a dare devil friend of mine to spend time there. When the night sky lights up with unwanted things, it is quite scenic for a person looking at it from say Handwara, it is altogether a different story for locations upwards of say Mawar, Reshwari though. The earth trembles at the first whim of pressing a button. If you know what i mean.

Similar examples can be quoted for Uri, Teetwal, Keran etc. I'd never visit those areas in personal capacity nor would advice any friend/family.
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Old 3rd May 2025, 14:54   #21
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Re: The Kashmir Trip - That was not to be

Really sad to see what has happened in Kashmir. For several years, we avoided going to the Valley - since my view was “why go to a place which is risky on a vacation”. Finally, late last June, after most of our friends had done Kashmir trips, we found the courage to go. And I must say it was really beautiful - and the service we received in every interaction was outstanding.

It being late June, the Amarnath Yatra was about to begin (it started a day after we reached Pahalgam which was our last destination), and perhaps because of that security was super tight. You had armed troops on alert every 100 m on all the highways, and groups of troops amidst the fir trees even on the way to Baisaran. Entering Pahalgam, we went through airport style security checks. Evidently, the government is unable to sustain that level of security presence through the year - and you have this outcome.

No easy solutions here. The fact is that the perpetrators are free and armed even today - which implies that at least this tourist season is a wash out. I feel gutted at what happened to the victims of the attack, and also sorry for the losses that the friendly Kashmiris who served us wherever we stayed will incur. But I suspect my last year’s trip to Kashmir could well be our first and last visit there - since the fundamental logic that you don’t want to spend a vacation in a location where there is even a small minority that wants to kill you still applies.
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Old 3rd May 2025, 15:46   #22
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Re: The Kashmir Trip - That was not to be

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Originally Posted by Hayek View Post
Really sad to see what has happened in Kashmir. For several years, we avoided going to the Valley - since my view was “why go to a place which is risky on a vacation”.
It is not just a risky place, it has been a war zone for decades. It will remain so for a long time to come.
It is not about a small minority, it is about a zone that has many stakeholders willing to play games for as long as possible. I could write more but as the rules do not permit, I would again risk my profile getting banned. I just got it back and do not want to lose it permanently.

As another person has posted, it is wiser to visit other heavens on earth and leave this one, specially with loved ones. People who know, know. A normal person, who could read news everyday, can also understand the situation there.

One of my friends was there exactly 1 week back before the incident at exactly the same spot. He went there with his whole family despite being advised against it. Another friend was there last year. Both families are now regretting (just a little bit) not listening to advices.
Again, in the valley anything is possible at any given time. The perpetrators dictate any incident. The forces can only follow up afterwards.

People die everyday there. Read the news everyday. Sensible locals who have the means, send their children away for education, career or business. Even relocate entirely. But tourists keep on coming. Defies all logic.

If one could gather data for foreigners visiting the valley (country wise or continent wise), it is evident that those foreigners have been avoiding tours here. But our citizens started visiting in gradual but greater numbers in the last few years.

One couple, when encountered by a killer, initially thought they were being pranked. Sorry to say but in the absence of reading news, reading books or just talking with real people, such mindset is natural. People really thought everything was fine there.

People who got out should be really thankful to god. Any future visits must be thoroughly thought out. Is it really so beautiful to visit to risk lives?

One could find locals easily who have lived their whole lives near 'tourist' spots yet never been there owing to their own awareness about what it is like to be there.
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Old 10th May 2025, 20:08   #23
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Re: The Kashmir Trip - That was not to be

Looking back, it is difficult to ascertain whether the terrorists had imagined that their mindless act would lead to a full scale armed conflict or whether they had carried out the heinous crime precisely to instigate such an escalation. With lives lost, livelihoods compromised and ways of life going wayward, the Pahalgam massacre has proved to be a turning point in the nation's history.

While Operation Sindoor was the right step towards avenging the deaths of our innocent countrymen, I would like to see the planners and perpetrators of this tragedy brought to book and to their knees, at the earliest. Providing a proper closure to the mothers, sisters and wives of the departed souls is the least that we, as a nation must be doing. Might sound too filmy, but unless we teach the monsters the real keemat of sindoor, we will not have done complete justice.
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