Negis Hotel Mayflower Manali

... litter anywhere, no dirt on the streets and no cars in the town centre. There were very few people around the place and the biting cold of the Himalayas' wind made a change to the intense heat we had come to associate with India. Almost instantly I fell in love with this part of India and my feelings towards it have not changed; indeed, I cannot wait to go back.<br><br>The hostel we found was in the guide book and remains one the best I have ever stayed in anywhere in the ...

... as mark illegally took a picture of the sistine chapel when we were in Italy, he got a few shot sof the furry long earred red eyed rabbits! The temple was very old and smelled wonderful. there was a guy sining in the corner which totally added to the atmosphere. <br><br>decided on the way back to go for a walk in the park near to a lovely restaurant we knew we'd be heading for in the eve, little did we know a stormwas brewing and we ...

... left around 11 AM to meet with Eyal and Sara. The three of them went out together and I decided to stay in and get caught up on some blogging. After a few hours I got a text message from Annina saying that she and the others were at a cafe that had free Wifi access. I grabbed my computer and headed over there. If you spend more than RS$100 at the cafe, then you can use the internet for free. The others had all spent money there already and so I was able to get there and just sit ...

... skiing on the road! Though disappointing, it was quite amusing wacthing the Indian tourists (from the more southern areas) try to glide 5 feet while fearing for their lives! So many people wiped out! So, it was worth the money we spent to dress like dumb and dumber and people watch (oh yeah and the fact we were surrounded by the Himalayas was pretty cool too)! The next day we attempted to go paragliding...which ...

... I didn't think much of it at first, as the snow started to cover the boulders, and then stick to the road. Our bus driver didn't seem the least bit worried, and we pushed along as the snow came down steadily. To get to the Spiti Valley, we needed to go over the Kunzum pass, at 4550 m (15,000 ft). As we began to climb up the steep road, drivers coming in the other direction warned us to turn back, but our driver just joked with ...

... and they seem to have achieved a nice balance of traditional farming with tourism which might be one of the reasons why the locals are so refreshingly low-key. We felt like we had made friends with most of the shop owners and restaurant staff by the time we left. It's that kind of place. The guidebook warned that this was a place where travellers found themselves lingering and we could see why. It was a good place to spend some time just hanging out, like a hippie.

I've been recuperating a bit today, sitting in the sun, eating what little I can, still making plenty of poo-pooja out of my hind end. At least no more fever nausea, or body aches. Still, I'm a bit weak and out of sorts. All day I've been afraid to venture too far from my old friend the toilet for fear of an emergency in hostile surroundings, but finally, this evening I've decided to give it a go. So I'm here, and will share a little description of what I observed today--it was an ...

... a lot of research on high altitude sickness. Altitude mountain sickness happens at altitudes higher than 2700 MTS/8000 Fts. Since our travel was from 10000 Fts to 18300 Fts, we were all highly susceptible to AMS. My main concern was Sarthak who was prone to high BP, and AMS has a tendency to hit those with high BP. Considering me, I had lost around 5 Kg of weight to prepare myself for this trip, thus improving my oxygen using capability. Rahul told us a ...

Last Friday we had a party at the camp - we are the new volunteers so it was in honour of our arrival, organised by the 'old' volunteers. Our volunteering is overlapping so at the moment there is loads of us, about 40, but these old volunteers will be leaving in 2 weeks. After that there will be one final group who we'll overlap with and then it will stop for the winter season as it gets too cold. So, the party. We were divided into teams and played games which were quite ...

... the wind in my hair once again. One man, the open road, and the thunder of a Royal Enfield under me like an extension of my own body. Itchy feet again. Another place that will be hard to leave, but the lingering whispers of attachment are soon blown away by the dusty wind of the indian roadways. Perhaps a return sometime. Life is long, the world is large, and anything is possible. Part of my time has been spent in preparation ...