The time spent waiting for the bus to
Manali was the first night in Leh where I witnessed its
transformation that occurs after the town closes down, after hours
the dogs rule the city coming out in strength to play and socialise.
We watched while we waited for the bus that was supposed to depart at
one o’Clock, when most of the other buses had come and gone we were
eventually piled onto the last bus and told there had been a mistake.
The first few hours of the journey were painful for me due to needing
the toilet, a break that was not scheduled until 9am, waiting was not
an option so when we had to stop for other reasons I made hast down
the road to be close to nature as the sun rose (under cover from the
buses however not from the yurt and its occupants higher up the side
of the valley). I spent the next few hours dozing and awoke to find
that we had made the 9 o’Clock breakfast/passport stop, I took the
chance to stretch my legs and buy a safe biscuit based breakfast
before the endless voyage continued. The scenery did not change much
over the hours that passed between breakfast and lunch and I filled
my time with reading my book. Lunch was a hearty bowl of noodles at a
mountain pass camp amongst a few other bus passengers, the tent we
ate in looked to double up as accommodation for through fair that may
need it. The rest of the journey saw the bare mountains grow greener
and denser of vegetation as we dropped steadily passed the threshold
altitude limit that nature seemed to have set. By the time we
descended upon Manali the mountains were clad in pine forests and the
valley was capped with cloud. Once we alighted the bus we made our
way through the streets of the old town and found a cheap and clean
hotel that would suit our needs and settled in for the night.
The next morning was a late start as
we caught up on some sleep, we walked down towards the town centre to
see what Manali had to offer, stopping on the way for breakfast. It
didn’t take long to find a tourist office however the news they
bore was naught but disappointment. We had hoped to do some
paragliding along with either trekking or some mediation at a
Buddhist temple, however the weather was too poor for the paragliding
and trekking and meditation courses were all too long for our needs.
Despite this we made a plan to go on a walk and a day trip before
heading back to our hostel for a lazy afternoon. That evening after
dinner we went for a drink at a couple of the tourist bar/restaurants
that were near our hostel. In the last restaurant we frequented we
met a group of Israelis playing some card games and deigned to join
them. They turned out to be travelling around India for 11 months
after completing their national service and we spent the last hour
or so of service with them playing cards whilst enjoying a couple of
beers and a shisha. The short walk home was a jolly one and I was out
like a light as soon as my head hit the pillow.
On day two we got up relatively early
and walked to town via a Hindu temple situated in the woods the road
circumvented. The temple was simple and large on the outside but
surprisingly small on the inside and the rocky ground it was built on
rose into the small chamber taking up most of the room. I didn’t
know what I was expecting however this was still not what I had
imagined a Hindu temple to be like. We continued down to town to find
a Buddhist temple which turned out to be relatively small compared
top the few we had already seen but much the same in style and
complete with a large statue of the Buddha. From town we went on a
trip up the valley to a town called Vashisht which boasts a couple of
temples and baths that are heated by hot springs. Having a slight
hangover we took the lazy option of taking a rickshaw as the village
was up a hill. The village had two temples; one an ancient Raman
temple and the second which boasted the hot baths, which were full
when we visited. After the temples we had lunch atop a restaurant
with a view before setting off on a short walk out of the village and
along the path of a mountain river. We didn’t find a good view of
the valley due to the dense canopy however the walk back trough the
outskirts gave a better insight into community as we passed the place
where the water from the hot springs was used by the village for
washing clothes and the baths the tourists didn’t use. We returned
to the hostel the way we came and had another relaxed evening.
On our final day in Manali we rose
early in order to meet the guide we had hired to take us up into the
mountains above Manali. En route we found a café and had a cinnamon
roll for breakfast and met our guide in the town shortly after. He
took us up through the back streets of the town which we would not
have otherwise seen. We passed a permanent camp still well within the
confines of the town which had poor living conditions and continued
up and out of the town. We passed the Hindu temple that we had
visited the day before and on the outer extremities a group of
schools. After we passed the town limits the going got a lot steeper
and we started our ascent beneath pine sentinels that seemingly march
down the slopes of the lower Himalayas out of the clouds that
coalesce at the mountains' shoulders. The climb was arduous due to
the constant damp conditions caused by the tail end of the monsoon
season however we managed to make good time non the less. Half way
up, when the undergrowth had turned from grass to a sea of bracken we
chanced upon another group of walkers whose names were; Vicky, Alice
and Charmain who where apparently following the same walk as us. The
second half of the upwards journey was enjoyable for the new
conversation however soon the talk subsided a bit as we had to
concentrate on no slipping into the forests of young pine and six
foot thistles that lined what could only really be called a game
trail. We eventually reached Lam Dum which was a surprise to the
whole troop as the location that had seemingly warranted a name was a
unassuming section of path, however no-one complained at a chance to
stop for lunch. After a lunch consisting of a roll of brown bread we
made of Manali again which was easier said than done as it had been
raining intermittently all afternoon making the muddy trail
treacherous, we quickly came up with a point system for the
spectacular pratfalls on the many pitfalls that were scattered along
the perilous path. The downwards journey was much the same as the way
up along a different path to lead us back to the guest house. After a
few hours of putting our feet up we met up with the girls for some
food in the evening. After some sheesha for desert we had an early
night as our bus to Shimla would be setting off at six the next
morning...
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