217. Kashmir Visit – Once in a lifetime tour
My 25th marriage anniversary was coming up and I wanted to celebrate it with going somewhere where I had never been to. I was toying with many options, even overseas. I almost finalized Maldives in October last year. The prices that I was getting for the whole tour was reasonable. But the only hitch was the Corona virus. In case another wave came, all the advances would have been forfeited and the flight charges too would have been lost. So, I waited till end January to make the bookings. With Corona spreading outside India at a pace faster than India, the location was finalized as India. It finally stopped at a 6-7 days Rajasthan tour. When I enquired about the quote from Makemytrip, they sent me the details and also suggested Kashmir tour for the same time-period and rates. That made me finalise Kashmir as the final choice. They then sent me the itinerary and the price details. I had some queries and sent them an email. However, there was response. The itinerary they sent also was very sparse with half day everyday being spent in the hotel itself, to do whatever we want on our own😊!!
I started googling for other vendors and it was by pure chance that I stumbled upon Kashmir Port. I saw that they were based in Srinagar, unlike other sites who were based elsewhere. Being based in Kashmir, I felt they would be better suitable to advise on what sites to visit at various places. I got the number from their website and called them. I told them of the places that I wanted to visit – Srinagar local tour, Sonmarg, Gulmarg and Pahalgam. Within an hour’s time, I received a beautiful proposal in pdf format, with the sites that we would be seeing and also the hotels where we would be staying. The proposal also had the day-wise schedule and also the name and the photographs of the hotel where we would be staying. It also contained what all was included in the trip and what were not. They also added some complimentary stuff that were chargeable at other vendors. The pricing was quite reasonable and much cheaper than what I was getting from other vendors. They were asking for 25% advance and the balance on landing in Srinagar. The tour included breakfast and dinner for all the days, while the others were providing only the breakfast. Obviously, they could not offer lunch as we would be visiting various places during the day.
Being Covid season, I also asked them what will happen if the trip gets cancelled due to Covid. They assured me that the advance given by me will be valid for 1 year and I can do the trip any time in the next one year too. Within a day or two, I confirmed the trip and paid the advance. The flights were booked by me and this was the major risk. Also, the guideline for Srinagar Airport had Covid full certification as well as RT-PCR Test negative criteria. So, with bated breath, I had the RT-PCR test done for me and my wife. Luckily, we both tested negative😊!
I had not informed my wife and family as to where we were going. Since it was the 25th, I wanted to keep it as a surprise. I just told my wife to keep 14th Feb to 20th Feb free and not book any classes during that time. I had scheduled the trip from 14th Feb night to 19th Feb night. 20th was our anniversary date. 19th evening was our flight from Delhi to Hyderabad. I had last met my college friends in 2019 and most of them were in Delhi. So, I called my friend Sunil and asked him if we can do another meet on 20th Feb and this time, with our spouses. He readily agreed and I then booked my flight back to Hyderabad for 20th night. Even this Delhi trip was not shared with my wife😊!! She knew of the Kashmir trip at Delhi airport when we flew Hyderabad-Delhi-Srinagar and knew of the Delhi trip just 2 days before the meet😊!!
The trip was super excellent. We got picked up from the airport and got dropped at the airport at the end of the tour. The vehicle and the driver were with us throughout the tour. The entire trip was done as per the itinerary shared by them. The hotels (3, including one houseboat) were luxurious and had all the necessary amenities. One hotel also upgraded our room to an executive suite as I asked them to give me the room in the 1st floor instead of the 3rd floor.
We had a lovely time and you can visit the movie on Kashmir that I made here – https://youtu.be/prIoer3cEfo
There are some other videos, created by me, which you can watch here…
Winch trip from Gulmarg to Kongdori – https://youtu.be/QY-HPFuaSS8
Winch trip from Kongdori to Gulmarg – https://youtu.be/zpcNtCHCwKU
Road trip from Betaab Valley to Pahalgam – https://youtu.be/w7FkY5S3t5w
Shikara Ride on Dal Lake – https://youtu.be/JjEyMyCvArI
The entire trip was so fabulous that by the end of the trip, we had seen so much snow that it will suffice for this lifetime😊 (I am not including overseas snow destinations😊)!! We had a lot of good time there and really enjoyed the trip.
I have still not met Mr Inayat from Kashmir Port and have only talked to him on phone. He and one more person who interacted with me, were so nice and courteous on the phone that I would always recommend anyone going for a trip to Kashmir to go with Kashmir Port only. When I asked other people in Srinagar about Kashmir Port, I was told that they were No 1 in Kashmir in tours and travel. And the way we were treated throughout the trip in various hotels, substantiated the claim. And being a local travels company, will always be an added advantage. They did not call me for the balance amount, till the 2nd last day, even though I was supposed to pay them the balance on landing at Srinagar. They called me on the 2nd last day (night) as the final day had only one item on the agenda – Pahalgam to Srinagar airport😊. I had tried to call Inayat the day before to pay the money, but somehow his line was always coming as busy or no response.
One more important thing to note, prepaid mobiles don’t work in Kashmir. Only post-paid mobiles work. This resulted in both me and my wife’s mobile getting non-operational there from 15th Feb. I had to go for a new BSNL connection and it got operational from 16th Feb.
In case anyone wants to tour Kashmir, do contact me and I can share you the Kashmir Port’s contact details. Visiting Kashmir is a must and should be included in the bucket list of every individual😊. Even after living in Delhi for 30 years, I could not visit Kashmir earlier. I am happy that this item is now ticked off from my bucket list!!
Cheers till next time😊!!
Daffy Definition
College Professor – A guy who is paid to study the sleeping habits of students😊!
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