5/5 Shnila P. 1 year ago on Google
Seven
years
ago,
I
visited
Kashmir
with
friends
and
stayed
at
New
Jacqueline
Heritage
Houseboat
for
a
couple
of
days.
Two
years
of
COVID-19
had
me
craving
for
a
trip.
My
last
trip
to
Kashmir
was
very
touristy
so
I
wanted
this
one
to
be
solo
and
not
the
usual
kind.
I
had
remembered
the
wonderful
experience
from
last
time
and
immediately
knew
that
I
should
get
in
touch
in
Sami,
the
owner
of
New
Jacqueline
Heritage
Houseboats.
Sami
created
the
most
wonderful
itinerary
for
my
trip
and
took
it
upon
himself
to
arrange
every
minute
detail
of
my
8
days
stay.
The
main
highlight
of
the
trip
was
2
days
fishing
expedition
in
Duksum.
For
someone
who
is
completely
unaware
about
trout
fish
or
fly
fishing,
I
had
no
idea
that
the
experience
would
be
so
extraordinarily
wonderful.
The
joy
of
catching
trouts
along
the
beautiful
banks
of
Bringi
stream
embellished
with
thousands
of
flowers
and
backdrop
of
breathtaking
mountains
is
literally
unmatched.
For
rest
of
the
days,
I
stayed
at
the
houseboat
and
made
day
trips
to
Doodh
Patri,
Yousmarg
and
Sonmarg.
New
Jacqueline
Heritage
Houseboats
are
perched
at
the
quiet
shores
of
beautiful
Nigeen
lake,
unlike
the
hustle
bustle
of
other
lakes.
My
stay
at
houseboats
felt
nothing
less
than
the
luxury
of
top
end
hotels.
They
have
accolades
to
show
for
it,
rated
amongst
top
1%
hotels
internationally.
Listening
to
Sami’s
impassioned
account
of
his
journey
with
the
boats
makes
you
realize
how
carefully
every
nook
and
corner
of
the
boats
have
been
decorated
and
equipped
with
the
most
modern
facilities.
The
room
I
stayed
at
also
had
a
Jacuzzi!
The
aesthetics
of
the
boats
are
only
matched
by
the
service
of
the
staff,
which
is
par
excellence.
You
will
find
the
caretakers
readily
available
for
all
your
needs
with
an
unceasing
smile
on
their
faces.
Be
it
your
demand
for
repeated
servings
of
Kahwa
or
your
whimsical
desire
to
learn
how
to
row
a
Shikara,
you
will
always
find
them
ready
to
help
you
with
everything.
Each
one
of
them
Iliyas,
Bilal,
Akbar,
Asif,
Amir
and
Umar
bhai
are
so
nice
and
considerate.
If
this
was
not
enough
already,
the
food
blew
away
my
mind
every
single
day.
Younis
bhai
at
the
houseboat
cooks
the
most
delectable
course
of
meals
with
so
many
varieties
of
veg
and
non-veg
that
I
did
not
feel
like
eating
any
of
my
meals
outside.
Even
though
this
was
a
solo
trip
but
the
vigour,
ingenuity
and
affection
with
which
Sami
and
his
team
curated
my
trip,
it
felt
as
if
I
was
nowhere
else
but
home.
As
they
say
you
can
never
fully
explore
Kashmir,
I
would
love
to
go
back
for
more
of
this
amazing
experience.
