What is the floating houseboat in Srinagar?

Srinagar in Indian-controlled Kashmir is unique, with beautiful mountains and clear waters. At the same time, because of the cool climate, it used to be a summer resort for British nobles, but now it has become a holiday resort for the rich in India, and naturally there are hotels of all sizes, such as water boathouses.

These boathouses are long boats, which are moored on the surface of Lake Dahl in turn. These boathouses were previously the water residences of British nobles at that time. It is said that at that time, the princes did not allow the British to build houses on land, so the British had to choose to build houses on ships. After the British left, they left these boathouses, which were eventually used as tourist resources by the clever Srinagar people, attracting a large number of Indian and foreign tourists to come to the summer.

Most ships look brand-new, but most of them are old-fashioned. They are almost family heirlooms handed down from generation to generation, but the appearance and interior have been carefully maintained by shipowners of different ages, and there are some minor repairs every once in a while, so the appearance is almost out of date.

Each boathouse will have its own boat, which is specially used to pick up and drop off guests living in the boathouse for free. There are also some private boats at the pier to attract tourists and provide cruise services. One hour, two hours, there is a price tag on the dock, which is clear at a glance and will not be deceived. Of course, some boatmen charge too much, as long as tourists bargain according to the price list. Generally, the boatmen here will smile and answer, and even negotiate a lower price than the price list. At that time, we agreed to surround the lake at 800 rupees (it should be 1000 rupees), go to the water market at six in the morning, and then visit the water community and boathouses for almost two hours.

On the cruise, we also boarded a boathouse hotel that looked ordinary. The boathouse hotel here is also the home of the operators. All people, old and young, live here, even for generations. We learned from chatting with the small owner of this shop and a Muslim girl who is studying in a university that almost all the boathouses here are run by Muslims, and there are thousands of them in the whole Lake Dahl. This figure is quite amazing. Almost all the boat owners here are relatives and friends.

The beautiful little boss told me that her grandfather had two boats, and the big one was given to her youngest son, that is, her uncle, and her father only had this boat. The price of a ship was equivalent to about RMB 30,000 a few years ago. This ship looks very warm and comfortable, and the price is very close to the people, as long as 600 rupees (equivalent to about RMB 60 yuan), so the business is ok.

Unfortunately, their boat is too small to provide only two rooms and a small living room, while her uncle's boat is much bigger, with four luxurious rooms and a spacious living room and dining room, and she invited me to have a look.

The boats here are all connected back and forth, and the connecting passages are all boards built outside, but only one of them is so connected, but it is not far from other boathouses, and most of them are closely adjacent.

There is another boat between the two brothers' boats, which is their aunt's boat. The family is watching TV.

Two steps forward, it is the boathouse of Uncle Boss Xiao. Uncle Xiao, the boss, is cleaning the boathouse diligently. Seeing our arrival, he greeted us warmly and happily.

It's really a luxurious boathouse, and the doors are so beautifully carved and domineering.

Walk into the spacious Muslim hall, clean and tidy, full of exotic atmosphere. Unexpectedly, even the living room walls are carved, and the living room TV is very old.

After walking through the carved wooden screen, I entered the restaurant. The tall wood-carved tables and chairs are very distinctive. It looks like an old object at first glance. These old objects are exquisite works of art.

Go ahead, this corridor is the housekeeping department. The floor is covered with elegant Persian carpet and the wooden walls on both sides are very new. You can't see that this is an old ship from previous decades.

This is one of the rooms, and the price is 3000 rupees a night, that is, 300 yuan a night, which is really much more beautiful than the 60 yuan room and the former boss's house.

This room is about the same, 300 yuan RMB, the same as the one just now.

There is also a family room, which is more expensive, because there is a living room outside, which is equivalent to RMB 450 yuan for one night.

However, the bathroom of this luxury family room can only be haha. It is said that the bathroom in the boathouse is basically so simple, which is similar to the previous 60 yuan.

Finally, I took a group photo with my cousins. The blue one is Boss Xiao, and the black one is the daughter of Uncle Xiao. She is tall but just turned 13 years old. I wish them a prosperous boathouse business.