We were picked up at the airport and brought to Dal lake, where we would be living on a house boat for the time we stayed in the city. They brought us and the luggage to the house boat in a shikara (small boat used for transport).

Here we finally met Omer again, that charismatic guy who back in Delhi had convinced us to take this specific route through Northern India. Omer suggested we take a trip on Dal lake in a shikara while there was still light out, so we did.

The boat ride brought us to what almost looked like a street with a long line of houses on each side with kiosks, stores and a restaurant, except in the middle it was only water. Further along you could see that the locals were living right up against the water, and their gardens were very lush and green.

Back at the houseboat, Omer's family had prepared a tasty meal that Boye and I heartily devoured.

Srinagar is a quite large city with its 1.7 million inhabitants, but just a 15-20 minute drive away from the city, on the the other side of the Dal lake, the area is mostly green and there is more nature than constructions.

We had driven here with Omer, and he showed us one of the mighty old Mughal gardens that is located on this side of Dal lake.

In the next picture slide you see Boye and Omer walking down a somewhat typical street in Srinagar. The wiring up above is always an absolute mess, and India's typical street dogs roam about. Lots of small stores usually protrude out from the surrounding buildings, making the streets feel bustling and alive, something which is hard to find back home in Norway where all the stores are indoors. Last picture shows the river that runs through parts of the central city.

The longer stay in Srinagar gave us some time to recuperate. Most of the trip we had been on the move to a new place after 3-4 days and doing things every day. While in the Ashram we stayed in one place for two weeks, but spent the time exercising a lot and we often went out on day trips with other students. In the houseboat I remember Boye and I just sitting down for a few days and relaxing and enjoying the serenity of the Dal lake houseboat area.

As it happens we were at the houseboat in Srinagar as the Muslim Eid celebration came upon us, at the end of Ramadan. Omer bought us some traditional dresses to wear for the occasion and we partook in the festivities (we also partook in the fast for the last few days of Ramadan). Here are some pictures from the event.

Around this time we also visited Gulmarg, a mountainous area West of Srinagar, but the weather was not too great, and I don’t have many great pictures from the trip.

After staying for something like 2 weeks in Srinagar we went to visit Aru valley near Pahalgam, and later a trip to Naranag, each of which lasted between 3-4 days. But these trips I’ll leave for another time.

I also want to talk this time about the fact that I’m actually back in India now. Currently as I write I’m sitting in a hotel room in Srinagar. Here follows a few pictures from my road trip from Delhi to Srinagar together with Omer, who I joined up with in Delhi.

That’s it for this time, until next time. Cheers!