Floating
on a postcard lake in one of Kashmir's famous houseboats is the way to see
how this place earned the name, "The Venice of the East".
Water - powered peddlers sell everything from saffron to paper mache deer to
the houseboat door.
Ride a Shikara - a Kashmiri gondola - to the
watery vegetable markets and see the mountains mirrored in the lakes.
You
can directly book a fleet of houseboats on Dal or Nagin Lake in Srinagar,
Kashmir's capital.
The
houseboats are grand with hand - carved furniture and rich Kashmiri carpets.
A
houseboat boy is always on call and three meals are served daily from a menu
of western, Kashmiri or Indian cuisine.
Luxury
living with the world's tallest mountains rising up at the back door.
