HIMACHAL - DAY FOUR : MELODIOUS MANALI

      The day began in pretty much a sleepless manner as the bus lurched into Manali bus stand. With haggard eyes I disembarked, wondering what to do and where to go this early in the biting cold. From what I had heard from other travelers and shopkeepers, New Manali was so overcrowded with people that it was almost claustrophobic. I certainly did not want to spend time, let alone a holiday in such a place.

         

    As I heaved my rucksack onto my back I noticed a couple of foreigners looking for a cab that would take them to Old Manali. This was a place I had heard about and wanted to try. I introduced myself to them and said I was looking to go to Old Manali as well. Robin was from Bristol in England and Luke from Belfast in Ireland. They were friendly guys and we shared a cab to Old Manali, to a guesthouse at which a couple of their friends were already staying.

     

       When we reached, we found Old Manali to be a quaint little township centred around one steep road leading up a hill. Being early in the morning, it was deserted, and after searching a few bylanes, we came to Honey Homes, the guesthouse that we had been searching for. The manager showed us to small but clean rooms with attached bathrooms for which he was charging Rs. 500/- per day.

      I dumped my bag and walked onto the balcony, to be greeted by a breath taking view of snow clad mountains shrouded in twilight, glimmering in the distance. The first rays of sun had just lit up the tallest peak, making it look like there was a mighty bonfire at the summit. Right next to the balcony was the most amazing rose bush with over a hundred roses decking it. Two friendly pups came up to me wagging their tails so hard, I feared they would fall off – welcoming me to Old Manali I’m sure. In a few minutes, the biting cold began to overpower the scenic beauty and I went back inside. That was when the weariness from the sleep deprived overnight journey set in and I just managed to crawl under the blanket before my eyes slammed shut.

     I woke up five hours later, finally fresh for a new day, and with a roaring appetite since I had missed the last two meals. After freshening up, I went and met Robin and Luke. We decided to go get some breakfast and met a number of their friends from Rishikesh along the way.  Peter who was from England, joined us, and we found a nice eatery called ‘Sunshine Café’ that was playing reggae music. It was run by a couple of extremely friendly and talkative Nepali guys who came and took our order. 

   We devoured our breakfasts with relish and afterward just sat around talking about out trips so far. It took me a while to get a grasp of the British and Irish accents, and much of the conversation turned out to be a game of ‘Fill in the Blanks’ for me. After a couple of hours, we decided to walk around the main street of Old Manali. It was a kaleidoscope of people from around the world. However it did strike me that there were far more Israelis than people from any other country.

     Pete and Robin picked up something to smoke for themselves while Luke and I just walked around looking through an array of shops selling everything from rugs and artifacts to chillum sticks and hookahs. Fast food cafes and adventure activity organizers were plentiful as well. We walked into one of the adventure agencies and after perusing the activities they offered, decided to go paragliding the next day. After a short trip to New Manali, which was extremely crowded, we gladly returned to the much more laid back Old Town. It was four p.m. and we had decided that we would drink the evening away.

    We returned to our rooms, and after freshening up, returned to Sunshine Café where we had decided to rendezvous with the others. Slowly people started joining us, both from outside as well as inside the café, and very soon our group constituted most of the café’s customers and was certainly responsible for nearly all of the noise. There were people from all over the world – Canada, Israel, England, Ireland, the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina – and varied in age from nineteen to thirty three. Listening to their stories of travel and outlook on life, and getting to know them was wonderful. Rum cocktails and dinner was followed by a beer drinking spree, which later once again reverted to rum cocktails.

     Heavy drinking and lots of laughter later, the guitars came out. One of the Canadian guys was making up songs pulling the leg of the British while the British were coming up with their own hilarious musical punch-backs. The evening ended well past one and we bade our farewells for the night, deciding to meet up the next night as well.

      Arriving back at the room, I just managed to kick off my shoes and crawl beneath the blanket before I went out like a light.