Location: Dal Lake, Srinagar, Kashmir, India (34° 5′ 24″ N, 74° 47′ 24″ E)
Date: 18 August 2009 6.15am
Camera: Canon 400D with Sigma 17-70/f2.8-4.5
Srinagar is well known for its produce- fruits and vegetables. It is supposedly also well-know for flower cultivation. There is a daily floating market in the morning, selling vegetables mainly. It is on Dal Lake and is just a normal affair for locals but attracts a fair number of curious tourists, like yours truly. Actually, it is not much of a big deal but rather a little novella bit like the floating markets in places like Bangkok but smaller. Nevertheless, I still enjoy watching the local people going about their own way of life, which has not changed for decades. In fact, what I enjoy most was not so much the market but the nuances of the people, such as the friendliness, the bargaining and the most interestingly the lack of females in the market; Srinagar is mainly Sunni but is not dogmatic or fundamental.
To get to the floating market on Dal Lake, one needs to start early- preferably around 5.30am. It takes about 30-45 minutes for the shikara to get to the market from the Dal Gate area. You should budget to spend between 1½ to 2 hours for this activity. It is advisable to make your arrangements the day before with the shikara owner on the timing and rendezvous place. Of course, you should have negotiated and agreed on a price. The price varies depending on the duration and the season of the year. I paid 200 INR for 2 hours in August.
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