Sun 7th June - Vershist, Malani
Manali (pop 4400, elevation 2050m) According to legend, Manu, the Hindi equivalent of Noah, alighted his boat here to re-create human life after floods destroyed the world. Modern Manali is crammed with concrete hotels and based around one street, the mall, a continuation of the highway that runs into town. Two roads run north of Manali along the Beas river - one to Old Manali a hippie travellers hub on the West Bank and one to Vershsit a nearby village where we stayed, and the Rhoang La on the East bank. (Lonely planet)
Vashisht, a nearby and more locally visted village where we stayed was a more peaceful location and had a lot more character, in fact one of my favourite places in India so far. It was a 50 ruppee rickshaw ride from Manali or a nice 30 min walk.
Significant people: A great crowd of 6 hung out together (Anne who I had been travelling with since Udaipur, Israeli Shy, English Neil, and French couple Audrey and Cederic) enjoying the natural hot springs, canyoning, rock climbing, white water rafting, and a 2 day motorbike trip to the Rhotang Pass. not to mention late night oscar-winning movies and chilling in our favourute haunt Rainbow cafe. We ended up staying 9 nights before leaving for Leh but sadly without Neil who had to catch a flight home. I extended mine. Again ;) The only downer was the rain, but was normally predictable early pm for an hour or two and then clearing up again.
Accomodation: 200 ruppees for room with balcony on top floor (lower was 150) Also had great food (try the continental breakfast for 100 ruppees!) and free cold water from the springs. No hot shower, but could collect water from the hot springs for a bucket bath. Problem with flies but in the heart of the action, and no steep steps to climb!
Activities: Himilayan extreme centre. Ran by Fred from France who gave us 20% discount because two of our guys were French but also we made grop bookings and were regular customers!
Internet: Below raindbow cafe, 40 ruppees and hour. No wireless anywhere but did notice one place in Old Manali, more expensive food though.
Well after a predictably bumpy and uncomfortable journey with no sleep! - we arrived at 4.30am, an hour an a half early - unheard of in India! - because the bloody nutty driver wanted to get the journey over and done with which conributed to the significant bumps and lurches that it would not be an exxageration to say resembled an alton towers ride...
We were ripped off by a rickshaw paying 90 ruppes for an otherwise 40 or 50 ruppee journey but at that time in morning, tired and cold and hungry you havnt got much bartering power! Fortunately one of the guest houses opened their kitchen and we ordered a very early breakfast. The roomw were not great for the price, so we spent a significant amount of time trying to find somewhere for 4 people - Neil Shy Anee and I were getting on well and thought it would be nice to stay near each other. Many places were ver reasonable cost (200 ruppees) but were full. Eventually we settled on two different places as nowhere had 3 rooms free especially so early and before check out time. While Anne and I were waiting for our room to be cleaned, I made a visit to the ladies hot springs, less than 10 metres away through the entrance to the temple and enclosed by a high brick wall away from the prying eyes of India men! I absolutely loved the experience. It was quite busy, with ladies in various states of undress either in the plunge pool or squatting or sitting in the running taps. It felt so good to be clean! Anne and I got a couple of hours kip before meeting everone for lunch at Rainbow cafe where we had been warned had great food but miserable service! I ate a Nepali thai (60 ruppee) and leon drink (30 ruppee) and experieced my first 'hello to the queen' with Neil which basically is biscuit and ice cream and sauce and banana TWAS DELICIOUS!
We took a wander to Manali and then Old Manali. Despite the tranquil setting and the beautiful river and mountains, the drivers are really manic and it is extremely stressful hearing beeping almost incessantly and some cars or trucks drive along the road keeping their hands holding their horn in complete faith anything in the way, including us, will soon get out of the way! One drove by so close it clipped Annes hand and would have made contact with me if her scream hadnt alerted my attention to it. The thing is, the beeping is really unnecessary thats whats s annoying. Its just the cultre you beep at anything you see! Im not normally a violent person but really it made me want to punch something!
We ended up in a lovely chilled cafe by the river and a large weeping willow where we had some beers and played arsehole, shithead and uno, and learnt backgammon. It was a good crowd and Im looking forward to hanging out with them more. We walked back into Manali before overcrowding into a taxi to Vershist! I collected water from the hot springs (felt very authentic!) and had a nice buucket bath which really made me feel warm which was amazing as I had been feeling cold all evening.
Vershist is a lovely place, I absolutely love the hot springs, the cows, the ruralness, the chilled vibe and of course the crowd I am hanging out with. Im excited about the sports we have planned just worried about being cold here...Im not at all equipped with the clothes I have. Leh will be even worse!!!
Thought for the day: If you are rich, you have so very much time to feed your neurosis and worry about whether or not you are happy. The poor have many more real problems but they do not have the luxury of being neurotic. They are too busy working for what they will eat today. p 45 City of Joy
Monday 8th June - Waterfalls
I dragged myself out of bed 10ish after several hours of sleep. I went to bed earlier than everyone else yesterday and dropped off while listening to mu music. I was woken by some commotion going on with some french guy that lasted about an hour, he was getting aggressive and swearing - well some things you can just tell even if they are in a foreign language!! There are a couple of didgy characters in a room at the end of our balcony who I am slightly wary of, and hence I am keeping my laptop out of view. I think also there is a big drugs culture here I ve heard about the happy shakes and such like but everywhere you go people are offering you drugs. It seems that being a westerner and drug user go hand in hand although it is not uncommon to see the Indian guys rolling their own spliffs.
I had put so many clothes on I was warm enough, thank goodness and until 7 am when Hindi music started blarring, I had quite a good night. I ordered a nice english breakfast with apple juice and coffee (100 ruppee) and then Anna and I headed down to the hot springs. It was muahc emptier than when I had gone yesterday at a slightly earlier time. It was an abssolute joy getting clean and washing hair, squatting at one of the four running taps. There were two little Indian kids there and we had fun splashing each other and helping wash each other. There's a real feeling of community in this hot spring, women coming together away from the mens gazes (it was surrounded by high brick walls) to bathe under the hot sun. Being a person who loves saunas and steam rooms and such health spa settings, it has been one of my favourite events in India so far, and being mostly visited by locals, a truly authentic experience. The only thing I was suprised at in an otherwise modest country, is how the women bathe topless and often only in their pants. One olf lady was naked, and as she bent over after ascending the steps, a small shild looked up at a suprising view, and we exchanged a look and a giggle, some things transcend the language barrier...!
I am having such a good time and am really happy with the crowd I am hanging out with they are all lovely genuine people and we are going rafting tomorrow! The fench guy met a guy in a shop from the same ski resort as him in France (Val D'Isere) and he's given us a dicount of 600 to 350 if there is a group of 6. Bring it on!!!!
The only problem is I still feel really tired but I have this theroy that exercise will sort it out.
Well I was feeling very lethargic, but once we had embarked on our walk, armed wiith a borrowed fleece! - I had a fantastic time. Anne decided to stay behing so the 5 of us trekked to a waterfall, but all the way were gorgeous views and I excercised my gluteous maximus, and we amused ourselves by learning words of each others languages - although thank good ness Anne wasnt there as I would have got too confused with German thrown into the mix! I think I was the main source of entertainment especially to Shy, the Israeli guy as every time I opened my mouth I attempted to communicate in French, as the French couple were very generous and willing to aid my learning process! I feel I need to stretch my mind as travelling is more about experietial learning not sort of intelectual learning, and I love languages, and the idea of being able to speak something other than English. I just wish I had paid more attention at school as I did French for 5 years for goodness sakes! I never saw the need, and regret it now but its actually amazing how many words I have pulled out of the deepest darkest recesses of my memory... it was quite fun. I even learned 1-10 in Aramaic as Shy is Israeli. Shy was a legend as once we had found the source of the waterfall and Neil had attempted to swim but then wimped out! - he had a camping stove and we took shelter under a huge rock slab and had a couple of cups of Chai. It was a fantastic afternoon and we were discussing going on a 2 or 3 day trek just off our own backs, finding villages to sleep in along the way. What a great crowd. Off to watch The English Patient now....
Wow that was a good film and no hapy ending either which I'm not sure how I feel about! I left after it finished at 10pm to have my hot springs bucket bath and some 'me' time where I get to reflect on the day and play my worship songs and have a pray with no distractions. I love being with a crowd but I do need these moments of breaks. I am having a wicked time but in this milder climate that Im not equipped for I am still feeling run down with a slight cold or something, and got a sore throat which I have ot make sure doesnt develop as were planning doing a few more active things! And thats where I come into my own! I think tomorrow I will go online and ring my family and download more photos. I am so grateful for this laptop. Life is just so good at the moment. I never want this to end. I think of England and it will all be waiting for me when I decide to return. There are things in the summer I would like ot be back for, including my birthday and famil get together and rempstone and st georges house but for goodness sake im doing somerhing people either dfont have the chance or priority to do and I shoul dmake the most of it. There are so many places I want to travel to. It makes me si happy to experience alternative realities and I have decided if that means I go without the other things that people aspire to in England then so be it. I am meeting people who make a lifetimes habit of travelling. They work for several months of the year and then travel, What a life. Why shouldnt I do the same? The only thing is I need to earn more money in those months to be able to do that. Im gonna write a list of my short to medium term goals. And theyrre gonna apply whether I stay in India or go home but for some reason India gives me more focus away from distractions.
'Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.' - Psalm 23.
Best thing: Hot springs, walk to waterfall, film.
Worst thing: Sore throat.
9th June - White water rafting day!
Well, Anna's alarm went off at 7am but the Hindi music was already in full swing!! We had a nice coffe in Cederic and Andreas hotel before unsuccesfully traipsing around Malani for motorbikes - either they couldnt be bothered or wernt open yet so we ended up catching the bus to Kullu (30 ruppees, 1 1/2 hours) and then another to Brahamin? 5 ruppess, 25 minutes. After the smallest burger in the world for 20 ruppees we excitedly squeezed into our westsuits with the exception of the guys who thought they would be macho! The water was absolutely freezinf but it was such fun and even so when one got the opportunitty to scream when we got drenched with the spray in the rapids! The guy sort of guided teh whole expedition, and 4 of us also paddled to his instruction. I thought it would be a little more led by the group, but Anne and I are planning on doing more in Richikech anyway which is supposed to be better. We rafted for about 1 1/2 hours down 14 Kilometres. We were all sad when it was over, but relieved we hadn't capsized as the water must have been close to freezing. The guys actually tried to swim in a quiet spot but stayed in all of 2 seconds before bashfully returning to the raft! Coming home, we broke for lunch in Kullu where I had a gorgeous Thali for 50 ruppees even though it was a rather dirty restatnat! We nearly got away with riding on the roof of the bus on the way home but were summoned down for 3 kilometres while the 'police' may be watching. But as we were then packed like sardines in the interior of the bus, there wasnt much chance to return to our superior seats once the obligatory distance had elapsed. So happy to be with a really good group who arnt pot heads either.
10th June - Rock climbing day!
I am so glad I stayed in last night I really just enjoyed being cozy in my bed and I listened to sermon I had on my computer which was good. I had a gorgeous breakfast at my guest house for 100 ruppees before meeting the others at Himilan Extreme sports for rock climbing. What an awesome day! My arms gave out on me true to form, but I made it up the 5 paths, not bad for 550 ruppees. The sun was shining, the whole group was there, we views of the mountians, the instructor was good fun (although I dont think health and safety would approve of the amount of spliffs he smoked!!) and generally I felt good after the first proper nights sleep in a loong looong time. Actaully my hands and arms being so weak had a positive effect, as it forced me to rely more and trust my legs and feet. Its amazing on what tiny bits of rock you can grip and give all your weight to. After rock climbing we had a beer and a spicy biriyani lunch (95 ruppee) at the french couples hotel, and I even watched an episode of Ugly Betty! Its funny weather here, its gorgeous in the mornings but then always rains in the afternoon for an hour or so and then clears up again. I think I am adjusting more to the cold as last night I wore less clothes to bed and my sore throat wasnt as bad. I bravely went on a 'run' with Shy - well just a little over 15 minutes but along the river and at a fair pace and half of it was uphill so not bad considering how long its been since ive worked out! We ended up on the side of the river and many locals witnessed our stretching and yoga and strange things I was teaching Shy from drama school and 4 men approached us to have photos taken but we didnt really appreciate it in our sweaty state and so shooed them away when they didnt easily take no for an answer. It was a strange feeling going got a run here though as its not a common sight and my clothes - leggins and a vest top - probably seem pornographic to them!
Well that made me feel a lot better doing my second lot of excercise of the day and I felt I deserved my washing in the hot springs, which his still one of my favourite experiences in India. I went back to the room to chill before heading out to dinner with everyone bar anne who had thrown up on her shopping mission in Manali and was still feeling unwell. Neil and I shared a BBQ trout in ? which was rather nice and I had a banana lassi, the first for a while. Total 100 ruppee plus chilling in 10 ruppess for garlic naan!
I was going to go to the internet earlier but ended up chilling and then chatting to anne instead. Its amazing how similar we are its so cool were travelling together. Im really happy at the moment and thank god for this.
Best thing: Rock climbing.
Worst thing: Throwing up in the night!
Thursday 11th June
Well if only my feel good feeling from yesterday had lasted...instead I was awake most of the night feeling sick and then when I did eventually have to make a run for it it was quite violent. Most of the night I was also tortured by 4 annoying flies and impressive wafts from Annes side of the bed providing evidence her tummy was also still bad! But I supposed I cant complain its only the second time in 4 months. The next morning we walked in our pj's down the hill to meet the gang and they were aggreeable to go canyoning tomorrow instead which the shop were also cool about as there was no way we were up to it and also Neil was in bed having had a bad tummy yesterday. Whats going on?! Is it food, is it a bug, is it the hot springs? Anne and I basically went back to bed for the rest of the morning and I felt so crap I didnt even want to read or catch up on my blog or even listen to music. Seems like such a waste of a day. I eventually dragged myself to the internet cafe where the electricity cut out after half an hour so still no Pushkar photos. Is very frustrating how hard it is to upload photos but its important to me as its a back up if my comp gets broken or ncked and its also a way for my family and friends to keep up with what Im doing. I got an email from Stew which I was pleased about after repeated efforts to get hold of him. Every time I check my facebook and see messages from my family asking when Im back it makes me homesick and I don't know what to do again. I'm having such a good time but it can't last forever. I just hope in the next few days it will be clear what the best thing to do is. I could still get my flight on the 21st June but thats only 10 days away and I really want to see Agra and Varanasi and spend some time in Delhi and see Calcutta and now the ideas in my head I really want to do a yoga course in Richikesh. I dont want to overdo it though where I'm not enjoying it anymore. As with everything in life, you've got to know when to stop and I'm not so good at that! Ive already been away 4 months which is quite a significant time. Im thinking of making it a round 6 then I still get to spend some of the summer in Cirencester and maybe pick up some shifts at Mencap so my training wont be wasted (after 6 months you have to do your entire induction again.)
Im sitting in Rainbow with Neil and Anne all of us ill, with no erergy, and feeling sorry for ourselves! But hey at least there is a feeling of solidarity!! If one has to be ill, it may as well be with gorgeous views, chilled music, cheap food, and good company!
Well, I mananged a good couple of hours in another internet cafe (below rainbow cafe) and am quite pleased I am catching up with my backlog and spoke to my Granma and Uncle Jack although not for as long as I would have liked. Ended up finishing just in time to meet Neil at 7pm to watch 'Into the Wild.' It was quite interesting how the guy left his material life with his family problems to 'find himself' often isolated by choice and revelling in nature, to finally die with the realisation scratched into his log, that 'happiness is only real when it is shared.' Its kind of sad he dies without being reuinuted with his family but good that he had this revelation before it was too late. Or maybe it was too late. Anyway. The past two films I have watched have not had happy endings and Im kinda glad, because generally life isnt like hollywood movies and then we get all dissapointed when we expect it to be. Im learning to be content in all circumstances like Paul talks about and this makes me much more even and level as I am not so effected by those circumstances. Even though it is not every nice I have not even minded being ill. Its an intesting journey but probably a lifelong one. I think being in a place like India where peoples expectations are so much less and people are happy despite having so many more real problems helps.
Ive managed to keep down the banana and nutella pancake I ate for lunch (45 ruppees) and also the veg sandwich with chips and salad I had for dinner (50 ruppees) Hope I sleep tonight. Anne's still throwing up and I'm still being irritated by all the bloody flies that I swear are only buzzing around to torment me and take delight in raising my blood pressure levels by resting on my nose, my face, and then buzzing off as I reach for my bat. ! It was quite amusing trying to swat them all with our electronic bat inherited from the couple next door...reminds me of Milan when that bat was flying round in circles in our room and the other girls were screaming and in hysterics and I was trying to knock it out with the handle of a broom...
Didnt make it to the hot springs today as the smell makes me nauseous feeling as I am. But at least I had a bucket bath and am clean after feeling a bit skanky being in my pjs all day!! Hope I feel well enough to go canyoning tomorrow.
Thought for the day: Happiness is only real when it is shared. - Into the Wild
Fri 12th June
Well after our mass murdering l spree last night (of the flies!) and still feeling sick tummy still making me aware of its existance, I actually slept very well. Woke up feeling significantly better and after a nice milk coffee (15 ruppess) and pastry from the bakery (30 ruppees) set off to meet others buying some yaks cheese, moutain cows cheese and mangos along the way (200 ruppees which I split with Neil) for our planned picnic lunch between canyoning sessions! Everyone was bringing some contribution. Anne decided to come even though she was continuing to not keep any food down, and Neil as well as myself were also feeling a bit shaky but we ended up having a fantastic day. We trekked up the mountains, squeezing into extremely tight fitting dry suits along the way which provided some mass entertainment as they were so tight it took half an hour to squeeze into them with many an exclamation. Basically, Canyoning (we paid 720 ruppee reduced from 900) requires dry suits (the water is really very cold here!), good footwear, harness, helmet, and ropes and attachments. You get attached to a rope which is fed down the length of the 'canyon' / waterfall but as these in part resemble slides Im not quite sure how to best describe it) and lean back and either abseil down, or turn and plonk on your backside and slide - as fast as possible! Your descent is self-controlled with a biley device, and you have have icy water spraying in your face the whole time, sometimes blinding you or knocking you over! Also there is more resistance in the biley device so you have to work your arms hard to get the speed. Its the first time I have done Canyoning and I do enjoy it and was pleasantly suprised I wasn't too cold as I love watersports but sometimes have a mixed overall experience due to getting so miserably cold.
When we got back we sat and chatted with the guys at Himilayan extreme sports and had a chai. They have 2 gorgeous dogs which we all made a big fuss of and as a group of europeans attracted some attention from passing Indians. The guy who owns the shop, (French) Fred, came here his first time intending to stay 1 week and stayed 3, then came back another time intending to stay one month and stayed 3. So then he admitted defeat and just moved here!
We have decided to do 2 day motorbike group trip to the Leu valley and stay the night, returning the next day. The french couple have extended their time here for it and I can see Anne and I staying longer afterwards as I would like to do a proper trek, some mountain biking, more rock climbing, zorbing, and a bigger canyoning trip. Its funny I can do an extreme sport every day here for the same daily budget as travelling in south east asia. It's crazy! But a great holiday amongst the travelling and is so good to have a good group to do it with, Cederick the french guy is a bit like me and wants to do everything...but good to have another proactive person like that to instigate the activities. Bring on another great day!!
Psalm 148 More of you and less of me.
Sat & Sun 13th and 14th - Motorbike trip to Rhotang Pass.
We traipsed about in the morning trying to find 4 motorbikes, which for the second time we realised is not such an easy task in India! Cederic and Audrey shared, me and Anne shared, but as Shy and Neil hadnt done it before they didnt feel comfortable either driving or being a passenger. Eventually, we found a place in Old Manali that had the desired machines, and we managed to get 1 1/2 day rate (at 500 ruppees a day) which most places didnt do, so after some lunch we set off via zorbing. Even though I have done quite a lot of scootering about south east asia, I found motorbikes quite hard to pick up at first although I knew once we got going it would be fine as it was hard to practice in a confined space. The initial and biggest problem was getting starting on very steep slopes and trying to avoid the landrovers and rickshaws that come hurtling along the narrow lanes just outside the bike shop. Cederic suggested to me than an Enfield would be better at getting up the moutain slopes with 2 passengers, and so I tried a bulky one with metal cages either side for carrying gear, but the sheer weight of it was too much for me to manoever and when not in motion, I actually toppled over. Some guy helped me get it back on its feet and rode it up the steep hill for me as I couldnt get the clutch control to start in on the slope. I tried a Pulsar which was much better and after stalling a few times, I felt like an old pro. Stalling was probably good because it made me practice my starts a lot! By the end of the day my left thigh muscle was pretty knackered!
Zorbing (about 14k from Manali) was absolutely hilarious and well worth the 3k detour. You basically get strapped like a baby into a harness inside a giant inflatable ball (getting in an out is an event in itself!) which rolled down a hill aided by the efforts of men pushing and jogging alongside it. Anne and I literally went head over heels and as we laughed and screamed at each other, it did occur to me how awful it would be if one of us was sick as it would go straight into the other persons face!! Nice thought;) Anyway...it really was great fun and worth the 200 ruppees we had got as a special deal by Cederic making a bet, and I dont think we could have gone much faster as we were already almost bouncing!! Result. The whole area was obviously set up for such sports, as there was also paragliding and pony trekking available. I want to do both, but there was no time today as the rest of the group was waiting for us and time was ticking on.
The drive became progressively more challenging as we started climbing and as it got darker. The roads are very rough with many many potholes and loose rocks and little streams / waterfalls you have to drive through. It was quite slow going at first as Shy and Neil had not biked before and as it got darker Anne and I went on ahead to get somewhere warm as I was losing feeling in my fingers which I needed for clutch and break control! - and also, more significantly,. as it approached dark, I attempted to put on my lights to find...I didn't have any! The bikes were basically heaps of junk, Cederics enfield was the closest to a fully functioning bike and still lacked a back light. Driving in India is not the safest at the best of times so it was about as difficult conditions as you can get really. You use your horn even more so than in South East Asia, and trust me that is a lot! You also get beeped a lot making you jump out of your skin, and have traffic overtaking you in close proximity. There is also a fair amount of dodging going on in the attempts to overtake the slower vehicles or get ahead of the queues which the Rhoang Pass has a reputation for. There were sheer drops down into the valley. In the absence of any lights in the pitch dark, I ended up choosing the lesser of two evils and following 2 pollution-exuding lorries up the mountain which also had the bonus of using the protection of their bulk from oncoming traffic.
Arriving at the village, we really hoped there was somewhere for the 6 of us to sleep as it was freezing. We had a Chai but couldnt really get warm as we were looking out for others in case they drived past. We met a guy who fair play to him was cycling the 457 kilometres to Leh. Bearing in mind on a motorbike its 5 days, goodness knows how long its gonna take him! Although to be fair, with the amount of queues, the speed difference is not as signicant as it would be in other contexts. But bloomin hard work. Anyway, Anne and I started to worry as the others didnt arrive for ages. It turned out that Neils bike had conked out. It kept starting and then cutting out. They ended up abandoning it and some kind Tibetan man helped them and gave Neil a lift to the village. He was also helpful in making us aware of cheaper accomodation than the government 'rest house' which had rooms for 1000 ruppee - absolute exotrtion in India and well above a backpackers budget! So - hilariously - 6 of us ended up sharing a room for three people, which entailed Cederic and Audrey sharing a single bed and Shy, Anne me and Neil sharing what amounted to a double - 2 singles next to each other. We actually slept across the width of the bed which gave us marginally more space but we were packed in like sardines and its fair to say Shy was the only one who got any sleep!!!
The next day we were a bit stuck as we didnt know what to do about Neils motorbike and to get it back to the shop would involve a long journey to allow for pushing it up the hills and cruising it slowly in nueteal down the hills. But me Cederic and Shy really wanted to see the Rhotang Pass espeically as it was only 16 k away so the others hung out in the village while we motorored off. This time the day conditions were worse but which I actually find really good fun. Think its much more interesting having difficult terrain although over any long amount of time it would be too stressful as it takes so much concentration to stay upright. My hands were freezing by the time we reached the top, which took 2 hours to ride 16 k!!! At the top we had a Chai and some instant noodles in one of the many tents. There were quite a lot of people milling about - again more yaks, horses, snow machines, and they also had tires for snow sledging. Oh to have more time to do some sledging!!! Joy of joy at the top it was snowing! I have to say I have never motorbiked in the snow before!! Descending the pass back to the village was truly the most demanding. It started raining, and there was really bad traffic. By the time we got back I was pretty exhausted from the intense concentration and cold, and drenched through. I am so grateful we were able to use a cafe kitchen as a changing room stroke sauna. Basically, Audrey brought us anything she could round up that was dry (remember we only had our day packs) and we stripped and Anne and I hung out our clothes on the Indian oven! Audreys waterproof top had thankfully and amazingly kept my top half warm but I had to substitute my jeams for my pajama bottoms which I proceeded to drive in all the way back to Manalali! The oven was an absolute god send because it enabled my shoes and socks to dry out enough to allow me to continue motorbiking back to Manali so we didn't have to stay another night and the extra costs that would entail (a days motorbike rent, accomodation in two different places as we had kept our room in Versisht.) This time it was just me Cederic and Shy as Neil was gonna leave his bike, and the girls had had enough of motorbiking for now! The trip back was also a bit of a faff because Shy had trouble with his bike which was basically falling apart and by the end he couldnt even use his footrests because they were only held up by wires which had come loose. At least an hour of this journey was in the dark. Between the three of us we had only one properly working front light, and one properly working back light! I had absolutely nothing bar a back light that flickered on when I used my back break, and shys worked intermitently and on half beam. It really was a circus but we eventually made it back somehow, by this time it was gone 9.30pm, we hadnt eated, I hadnt slept the night before and the concentration required from driving in the snow, rain and then dark in the space of one day over 5 hours of driving had taken its toll and I was grumpy! The day didnt end there however, upon finally arriving back at my room, it was still locked which meant Anne hadnt got back or had gonbe straight out with the others. It really was the last straw as I was so cold and just wanted a hot bucked bath and good sleep! However there wasnt much I could do about it, and hoped Anne would come back soon. I ended up waiting 40 minutes for her but tried not to mind as when youve had such an eventful 2 days of being cold, whats another 40 minutes?!!
Monday and Tuesday 15th and 16th June
These couple of days were really just recouperating and chilling. We did attempt to go into Old Manali to buy some warm clothes on the Monday (anticipating Leh) but we only got as far as Manali, a restaurant and atm! - before heading back to watch a movie 'almost famous.' The next day we did actually make it into Old Manali (after I changed my flight to the 4th August with the intention of travelling with Anne for the rest of her time here and that being my FINAL date!) also we had to check out of our room as our bus to Leh leaves at 2am - with Anne and Neil. We ended up spending several hours in Old Manali as it was absolutely pouring with rain - it is the wettest day I have experienced in India thus far. I ended up buying a warm wooly hat with attached scarf for 200 ruppees, and a pair of legwarmers for 100 ruppes. I looked at many coats but really want an identical version of the one I am borrowing of Audrey / Cederic as it is a waterproof with removable fleece. We ended up getting back quite late to Vershsit simply because it was raining so heavily we didnt want to venture out to hunt for a rickshaw and the palava of bartering until it was dry. 100 ruppees seem to be the set amount at night though even though it is a lot for India, its a travellers hub so the prices ar fixed higher. We went straight to Audrey and Cederics room where we had earlier left our backpacks, and where poor Audrey had been in bed all day after eating something dodgy in the morning. Due to a misunderstanding, Cederic hadnt actually bought our minibus tickets to Manali as Anne had thought, but it worked out for the best as we used their tickets to give Audrey more time to get better. They would follow the next night. They are a very genrous and good natured couple, they offered for Anne and I to crash in their room for the hour or so before getting on the minibus to....
