'Ladies' of the lake

We are the only three foreigners on the flight from Delhi to Srinagar and we're all asked to fill in lengthy immigration documents before we're allowed to set foot on Kashmiri soil. But the formalities are soon completed and we climb into our pre-ordered taxi for Srinagar, the capital of the northernmost Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

I'm surprised at first to see that the streets are deserted but soon learn that Srinagar is under curfew and all shops are shut for the this day.

But while it's quiet, I don't feel scared. There are many places on the planet far more dangerous than here and they rumble on without the serenity of vast lakes, waterways, exotic gardens, wooden architecture and houseboats. How they must envy Srinagar.

The beautiful tradition of houseboats started with Kashmir's first British residents more than 100 years ago. Forbidden by the Maharaja to own land, they set up their residences on the water. Today, the houseboats come in all sizes and styles from tiny floating homes to luxurious floating palaces, and are one of Srinagar's main attractions.

Dal Lake is home to many of these houseboats and 20 years ago, they were all filled with tourists. Due to the ongoing unrest, the competition between owners is quite intense, a fact that hits home when the taxi drops us in front of Houseboat Owners Association on Regency Road and we are faced by crowd a boat owners, guesthouses owners and rickshaw drivers. It turns out that we've instructed the airport taxi to drop us off at the wrong place, although we still have plenty of offers to take us to see three houseboats, including the one we have provisionally chosen from an Indian travel blog. We nonetheless decide to walk to the tourist office opposite to obtain on a city map and soon acquire a helper who loads our backpacks into a free auto-rickshaw for the journey to the jetty where we board a shikara, a small boat similar to a Venetian gondola, to inspect the houseboats.

Dal Lake is comprised of five basins and a number of interlinked channels. The water is crystal clear and it's possible to see the algae beneath the surface.

"Come and see this lovely houseboat," says our new friend, showing us a small, ramshackle houseboat near Nehru Park. It's in a bad location on a busy and narrow waterway leading to the market. My friend jumps into the houseboat and returns before I've even disembarked from the shikara. She's shaking her head in disapproval so we move on.

We have fun looking at the names of the houseboats. I spot the "Bangkok" and am relieved to see that a large Indian family is already in residence. The names are imaginative, obviously based on the owners' dream destinations. We see "Australia", "New York", as well as "Buckingham Palace", "Hollywood" and, surprisingly, "Pakistan", along with some iconic personages, such as "Helen of Troy", "Aristotle" and "Miss America".

We sail further into the open waters of the lake and pull up next to the new "Golden Palace", a houseboat in the super deluxe category. The owner, a pal of our new friend, is waiting to greet us and proudly shows us around. It's very pleasant and definitely an option but we politely insist on seeing the "Tehran", our blogger's choice.

As we drew near, we can see that the balcony of "Tehran" has just been freshly painted but we immediately take to the owner, a savvy old man who cares about his property. "Just let me know what you want, it's not all about money," he says. We explore the three bedrooms, drawing room, dining room and upper deck with a view of the Himalayas and negotiate the price. We have found our holiday home.

The choice of houseboats in Srinagar is plentiful and more than half of them are vacant, though some are rotting and a few are half submerged. Almost all offer cosy interiors with walnut or cedar wood fittings, embroidered native rugs and fabrics, local art and solid Victorian and Edwardian furniture.

Living is still very much centred on the lake, with boats used to travel to the shops or to schools that are themselves perched in the lake. At sunrise, a floating market springs to life with many vegetables for sale. It seems like a tranquil life but away from the lake, the people of Kashmir face an uncertain life. Shutdowns and curfews are frequent and rarely a day passes without an explosion or a gun battle in some part of the valley.

As I sit on the freshly painted balcony, I reflect on how the lake seems to change its mood according to the day of day. The serenity of the morning gives way to liveliness in the afternoon as the vividly coloured shikaras ply their way up and down the water. Beyond my vision, of course, the mood is darker and all I can do is pray for peace to return to this beautiful land.

      if you go ...

Srinagar is a summer destination in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The city is considered safe though the streets still lined with soldiers, sandbags bunker and razor wire. Ironically so much security often results in travellers feeling unsafe.

Many travellers take the train to Jummu, and then catch a taxi or bus to Srinagar. Jet Airways, Kingfisher and other airlines operate direct flights from Delhli and Mumbai to Srinagar. Public buses from Delhi take almost 24 hours to reach Srinagar.