Head Count: around 500,000

The Skinny: Srinagar is a large city famous for its luxurious houseboats and British-cultivated hospitality. It has seen its share of warfare in the last few years due to its proximity to Pakistan and the existence of disputing Islamic groups in Kashmir. At the center of the Vale of Kashmir, the town itself is surrounded by beautiful countryside, amazing mountains, and gorgeous green fields.

What Thar Be: Most of the city has been turned into a bit of a warzone, with military troops occupying every major intersection armed and looming in makeshift bunkers. But the lakes of Dal and Nageen are like little havens of peace within this scary scene. Tourism in Kashmir has all but died due to the trouble in the last few years, catering now to the occasional backpacker instead of groups of wealthy western families. It is said, though, that no one would dare cause trouble around the lakes. There are a number of mosques in town worth visiting and easily accessible by boat. The Mughal Gardens are a worthwhile day trip, and can be reached with a very pretty shikara ride through blankets of lotus flower s, and are free to peruse.

Digs: We stayed on the Canada Houseboat, one in a group of boats owned by a friendly family. The interior was wonderfully decorated in 1940s British style with huge airy bedrooms, bathrooms with BATHTUBS, and a back porch complete with lovely sunset views.

Vittles: We paid around 5 dollars a day for accommodations and three meals, served to us the dining room by our trusty helper Mushtaq.

Hooch Factor: Shikaras (long, thin paddle boats) came drifting by every day stocked to the hilt with provisions for a price--Snickers bars, toilet paper (yeah right, we stopped using that a long time ago), crackers, and even rum for a very big price in this strict Muslim land--400R for 750 ml!

Navigability: We stuck to the shikaras to manoeuvre around town, once going for 3 days without setting foot on land. The Canada Houseboat graciously let us use their shikara for free. Some of the waterways were beautiful and serene, while others were filled with garbage--we even saw a floating fetus on one of our outings.

Sliding In and Out: The road from Srinagar out of Kashmir led us over some foothills and through a 2-kilometre tunnel before ending up close to the Punjab border.