Category: Americas and Eurasia and Africa

 

At 5.36pm on 04 May 2024, we were on board a barge, in front of “our” houseboat.

We were about to head out into the quiet, unpopulated part of Dal Lake, well away from houses and houseboats.

Late afternoon light was flattering the houseboats that were directly opposite “ours”.

A few minutes later MV Bulbul (pictured in immediately-preceding post) would fire up, and begin to tow us, very slowly, toward the lake’s more “open” waters.

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What was going on at 6.40 pm on 04 May 2024?

Why were we under tow, on the quieter end of Dal Lake?

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Each image in this post is a candid portrait of a different individual.

All were at Dal Lake’s  Floating market, early in the morning of 06 May 2024.

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More images of Dal Lake’s floating market…

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#15 in this series having delivered us to Dal Lake’s floating market, this chapter’s photos convey what the market looks like in 2024.

I am reliably informed that, as both “key local vegetable market” and as “tourist attraction”, it has become much-diminished over the last several years.

It is, however, still fascinating.

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At 5.46 am on 06 May 2024, we were at Dal Lake’s floating market.

My photo is looking at two strangers – to us – but they were also satisfied customers of the lake’s “tea king”.

Over four days, we floated across parts of Dal Lake on at least eight occasions.

Aside from members of our own party, the pictured couple were the only “Westerners” we saw in a Shakira.

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As with the preceding post, this one’s two images show obviously-different kinds of tourists.

The featured image documents a family group.

The photo below shows a more “laddish” one

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From one “tourist” Shikara to another, the “vibe”/“age demographic”/demeanour can be very different.

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The man in sharp focus is almost certainly a “local”, commuting, at 5.38 pm on 04 May 2024.

His Shikara is modest, undecorated, and he is not trying to sell anything; presumably, therefore, he is not engaged in “the tourist trade”.

Behind, in soft-focus are the category of humans who – “in season”, at least – comprise the majority on Dal Lake.

Even in “soft-focus” the reality of most tourists’ behaviour in 2024 is sadly obvious – their lenses’ focus is not on the various delights of their “holiday destination”.

As you can see, they are taking “selfies”.

That is not the only thing which most Dal Lake tourists currently have in common.

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