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By Patricia Nunan
Srinigar, Kashmir
10 May 2006
watch Kashmir Tourism report
Srinigar's Dal Lake
Kashmir, the disputed border region between India and Pakistan has long been considered off limits to all but the most adventurous1 of tourists.
In recent years that's begun to change. Now, officials say, more and more tourists are taking advantage of the two powers' push toward peace to reach a beguiling2 holiday destination. VOA's Patricia Nunan has more from Srinigar, in Indian-held Kashmir.
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Srinigar's Dal Lake - an oasis3 of tranquility on a weekend afternoon.
It's long been a spot popular with Kashmiris, who ply4 the lake's waters in traditional wooden boats. Now, increasing numbers, including foreign tourists, come to stay in some of the 1,200 houseboats moored5 here - charming reminders6 of India's colonial past.
Azim Tuzman
Azim Tuzman, is head of Kashmir’s Houseboat Owners' Association says houseboats are important for the tourism industry, "Houseboats have served as the backbone7 of the tourism industry in Kashmir for the last 140 years -- when Kashmir was introduced to Britishers as as holiday resort."
Officials say that between 2003 and 2005, the number of tourists coming to the Kashmir Valley has nearly tripled - and is expected to reach more than a million in 2006.
The houseboats, Tuman says, are a large part of the appeal. "You live in concrete blocks - back home, in the hotels and everywhere. You do not get, you know, the freshness and fragrance8 of cedarwood. And then you know, living in a
houseboat is equal to living in a bird sanctuary9. And you are living away from hustle10 and bustleand the soaking smell of cement. That's why houseboats are very, very popular."
But they haven't been as popular as they could be.
For the past 17 years, India has fought an Islamic insurgency11 in the two-thirds of Kashmir it controls. Militants12 want independence for Kashmir, or for it to merge13 with Pakistan, which controls Kashmir's remaining third. The militants have carried out terrorist attacks in the heart of Srinigar.
And that's not all.
Since British colonial rulers left the sub-continent in 1947, India and Pakistan have gone to war over Kashmir twice, and came close to a third time in 2002. Each of the nuclear-armed rivals wants full ownership of Kashmir, and each has forged its national identity in part, by decades of resistance to the other.
That means Dal Lake, and the communities, which make their living on it, have remained largely hidden to all but the most adventurous - and the friends with whom they share their stories - like these Singaporeans who commented, "We have some friends who also came back from Kashmir not long ago. They said it's safe to go."
Saleem Beg is Kashmir's Director General for Tourism. The problem with Kashmir's tourism industry, he says, is not safety - but infrastructure14. "Things have to happen locally first. If the place for locals, it becomes safe for national tourists. If the place is safe and secure for national tourists, it carries a message internationally. Until last year we didn't have a very good air capacity for Kashmir This only happened in the last four months that about seven airlines coming to Kashmir. Last year it was four. And it was jampacked during the season when tourists used to come."
Recently, India and Pakistan have agreed to a series of measures to ease tensions between them, as a step towards an eventual15 resolution of the Kashmir conflict. Right now, Kashmir remains16 largely a hidden treasure. But perhaps not for long.
1 adventurous | |
adj.爱冒险的;惊心动魄的,惊险的,刺激的 | |
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2 beguiling | |
adj.欺骗的,诱人的v.欺骗( beguile的现在分词 );使陶醉;使高兴;消磨(时间等) | |
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3 oasis | |
n.(沙漠中的)绿洲,宜人的地方 | |
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4 ply | |
v.(搬运工等)等候顾客,弯曲 | |
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5 moored | |
adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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6 reminders | |
n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 );提醒…的东西;(告知该做某事的)通知单;提示信 | |
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7 backbone | |
n.脊骨,脊柱,骨干;刚毅,骨气 | |
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8 fragrance | |
n.芬芳,香味,香气 | |
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9 sanctuary | |
n.圣所,圣堂,寺庙;禁猎区,保护区 | |
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10 hustle | |
v.推搡;竭力兜售或获取;催促;n.奔忙(碌) | |
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11 insurgency | |
n.起义;暴动;叛变 | |
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12 militants | |
激进分子,好斗分子( militant的名词复数 ) | |
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13 merge | |
v.(使)结合,(使)合并,(使)合为一体 | |
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14 infrastructure | |
n.下部构造,下部组织,基础结构,基础设施 | |
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15 eventual | |
adj.最后的,结局的,最终的 | |
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16 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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