The sleepless night ended when the bus arrived at McLeod Ganj at 4:30 a.m. A short taxi ride brought Will, Sam, Ben and me to the quaint little town of Bhagsu. The Central Street that ran up the hill was lined with restaurants, shops and guesthouses, and bore an uncanny resemblance to Old Manali.
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| Bushy Tail Leads the Way |
The search for a place to stay began, and we met dead end after dead end – every single place was booked out. Two hours later, we decided to give it a break and sneaked into a terrace lounge to rest awhile. An hour later we ventured high up the hill and finally found a tiny place near the top that had a room free. The four of us dumped our luggage in the room and then headed out for a bite of breakfast. We found a café that opened early, sat ourselves down and ordered something to eat. Once the tummy was satisfied, the smiles returned to our faces and we walked down the road though the marketplace watching shopkeepers selling all kinds of items at hiked up prices. The end of the road brought us to a temple where people were bathing in the adjoining pool. We walked back up, and at 12 p.m, enquired for a room in a guesthouse in a more accessible location. The Oakview Café had a big room that Ben and I decided to share. We went up to get our luggage, and a small argument later, paid the owner a litte money for not staying at his place, and shifted our luggage down. The new room was a comfortable one and I immediately crashed, catching up on lost sleep.
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| Always with a Smile - Maya |
A couple of hours passed before I was fresh enough to take on the rest of the day. Walking down to the restaurant, Ben and I joined Luke, Robin and an Israeli girl named Maya who had the prettiest smile. Born in St. Petersburg in Russia, her parents emigrated with her sister and her to Israel in 1990. This was her second trip to India – the first one soon after she had completed compulsory military service six years earlier. She was an interesting person and we talked about various topics involving travel and our countries.
A little later, the guy at the adjacent table introduced himself as Madhav and also added that his friends called him Bamboo as he had a tall, lanky frame. Asking if he could join us, he told us about himself. He had wanted to join the Indian Army but due to some medical issues had not made it through the selection. He chose therefore to be an Indian Army photographer and had been posted in various red zones in Kashmir. He had seen considerable action involving skirmishes with insurgents and had photographed or sketched many situations and encounters, some of which he showed us on his phone. He showed us where he had been hit by shrapnel from a grenade blast in his leg and wrist, the reason he was forced to quit. He was now designing computer games for a company, and right there in front of us, came up with a strange idea for a game – Chinese zombies were invading India from across the border and you were the only one who could save the day. He was also writing a book about his experiences with the Army. He was here with his parents who joined us a little later. His father was a retired Colonel who ran an SSB Coaching Institute.
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| Brilliance by the Road side - Jeff Murray |
We had been sitting for quite a while, so excusing ourselves, Ben and I decided to stretch our legs. We met Santi, Will and Sam on the way and together made our way up the market slope. Near the top, we were drawn by an Englishman sitting on the roadside, sketching the most beautiful sketches I had seen in my life. His name was Jeff Murray and his pen sketches were simply unbelievable. It was so good that people were buying replicas for Rs. 1000/- and originals for Rs. 20,000/- a piece. We chatted with him for a while, listening to his story. While sketching had always been his passion, he had taken the decision to sketch full time only a couple of years earlier and now travelled the world sketching, displaying and selling is work. Only later, when I searched for his work online did I realize that he was quite a famous artist.
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| Murray's Work - Simply Breathtaking |
At the next stall, I met Fernanda the Chilean girl from the bus. She was a brunette with a boy cut and was the chirpiest little thing I had met in a long time. We chatted for a while, admiring the handiwork of the stall owner, Anderson, a Brazilian who made bracelets and pendants and adorned them with beautiful stones. Also displayed were earrings of exotic shapes, the designs copied from ancient South American ornaments. The others had already walked on to our lunchtime rendezvous, a restaurant called ‘Once in Nature’, so I said bye to Fernanda and Natalia, and made my way up. The path up to the top of the hill was a stony, winding, confusing one, and I lost it a couple of times before reached ‘One Nest’, a place for Yoga classes. Asking for directions, I was sent up a short cut that almost had me having to rock climb up to the top of the hill to reach ‘Once in Nature’.
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| Lovely Ambience of 'Once in Nature' |
It was a beautiful place, with bamboo pillars holding it up and tarpaulin for a roof. Soothing music and candle lit tables lent the place a wonderful ambience. I joined the others and we ordered dinner. Though it was a vegetarian place and did not serve alcohol, the experience was a memorable one. It was dark by the time we were finished and we carefully made our way down the hill using our phones as torches.
Returning to Oak View, I came across Maya sitting at a table writing about the day’s events. I got my own journal and joined her while the others joined some Canadian friends at a nearby table. Maya was a cheerful thing and had lots to talk about. Soon the others headed out to drink and asked me but I decided against it. We chatted a while longer and then Maya returned to her room to pack as she was leaving the next day. I went up to the terrace and lay down looking up at the stars that were exceptionally bright as there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Surprisingly the weather was very pleasant, not cold as I had expected it to be.
Returning to my room, I barely managed to kick off my shoes before my head hit the pillow and I went out like a light.
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