We're willing to look past the fact that you still haven't gotten to the greens in Vietnam. But the, ahem, forefront of the golf scene is no longer Southeast Asia. To truly impress your buddies, book those clubs through to Kashmir.
There are already four courses in the region, and a fifth is set to open this year. Says The New York Times:
The golf-loving chief minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Ghulam Nabi Azad, has spoken of his desire to see the region become an "international golfing hub."
"There is a need to mobilize golfers across the world to come and play the game here," he told reporters recently, in something of an understatement.
It would probably help if the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office didn't warn "against all travel to, or through rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir other than Ladakh." After all, says the Director of Tourism for Kashmir:
People are going to Sri Lanka. People are going to Israel and Lebanon. But why not Kashmir? It's safer here than New York...In 18 years of trouble, we have had only 25 tourist victims.
Only!
Related Stories:
· Kashmir Says Come On In, the Tee Times Are Safe [NYT]
· FCO: India Travel Summary [Official Site]
· Golf Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: prakhar]]]>