HIMACHAL - DAY ELEVEN : MCLEOD AND MUSIC

             The comfortable bed and room in conjunction with the chilly dawn prompted another late rouse. Lethargically we made our way down or breakfast. I was in two minds whether to leave the same day or the next. Putting the decision off for later, I focused my attention on what to order for breakfast. We decided to eat at the Oakview Café itself. While I went with the Russian breakfast, Ben went all ‘Cold War’ on me, opting for the American one. We tucked into our delicious food, satisfying our yearning stomachs.

           A little while later, Hanna joined us, and we chatted, while waiting for Luke and Robin who had gone that morning to McLeod Ganj, hoping to see the Dalai Lama who was delivering an address to and meeting with the children there. A couple of hours later, we walked among the shops for a while before deciding to head to McLeod Ganj ourselves. It was a pleasant walk of about twenty minutes and as we neared McLeod Ganj, we encountered a steady stream of traffic leaving the town, obviously dispersing after the Dalai Lama’s address. 

Ben accidentally walks into a Photograph

          We met up with a friend of Hanna’s and decided to have lunch at a well known Japanese restaurant. I opted for the special of the day, tofu steak with accompaniments. It was a first for me and I quite enjoyed it. The Japanese food was vegetarian and quite light; hence it went easy on my already upset stomach. After lunch the four of us lazily walked back to Bhagsu talking about everything from the Irish countryside to Indian politics, cuisine and religion. Once we reached, we said bye to the girls, planning to rendezvous at ‘Once in Nature’ at 7 p.m. Ben decided to have a haircut while I walked around looking at the knick knacks on display in the shop windows and stalls. 

            Shops selling everything from woolens and tents to stone inlaid ornaments and Chinese goods lined both sides of the central street all the way through Upper and Lower Bhagsu. An hour later, I made my way back, met Ben, and together we headed for the room to freshen up for the evening. A bath and change later, we felt a little more like human beings and made our way down. Hanna was waiting for us, and together we made our way up the hill to ‘Once in Nature’ for dinner. I ordered the same pasta with cheese mushroom sauce that I had eaten and liked last time. Done with dinner, we headed back along the stony path down the hill and headed for Music Café that had a live gig playing. The place was alive, buzzing with conversations and music. 

Mutating Band of Music Cafe

       A band with continuously changing members was performing on the stage. Several travelers had brought their instruments along with them and were waiting for their turn to perform in the constantly mutating band. An English girl with a beautiful voice gave way to a couple of men singing songs of yesteryear. The an ancient looking Russian on crutches hobbled his way up to the stage and gave some accompaniments on both the vocals as well as guitar. From here the vocals were taken over by a French rapper whose singing I did not like very much. We paid for our drinks and decided to shift to Welcome Café to continue the party.

Enraptured by the Music

            Though the live music for the day was behind us, we met Will, Fernanda, Natalia, Anderson, Louise and Rishi, and so the stories picked up from where they had left off the previous day. I learnt a couple of Spanish lines and used it to everybody’s amusement. There was a Russian girl at our table who was from Moscow. Her grandparents lived in Kazhakistan, and she was headed there after this trip to India.

                By 1 a.m, we decided to call it a night. I bid farewell to everyone as I was leaving the next morning, and we made our way back to Oakview. Knowing that I had to be up and about early the next morning, I quickly packed my bag and crashed, just as the clock struck 2 a.m.