Mahadev Resort Manali

... who said there is no problem with the weather yet.
The Chopsticks place was crowded and I gave it a chance - I tried the Fried Momo - the sort of Tibetian dim-sum. Probably these are better when steamed. A tanned bloned guy aksedm if he can join my table, which i of course aggreed. He proved to be form New Zealand, a paraglide guide. He told me that all the used gear they sell comes to India, and it's probably not a ...

... to find him still alive. In those three days, Ben--as usual--shat himself senseless, was dragged to the doctor by some Israelis, was medicated, and returned home...all for less than three bucks. Apparently Ben "had a fever, and the only prescription was more cowbell." This is pretty much standard travel procedure for Ben by now. This is his second major bout with anal furry in just four short months. He is actually getting sick again as i write ...

... 2 Israelis and one really fat Slovakian guy who kept insisting that India was his country. The Israeli's and I marveled at how someone could be so huge after years of living here. The locals were nice enough, quiet for the most part and seemed pretty harmless. I felt better knowing there were two Israeli guys there, most likely, just out of the army. The only time they really spoke was when Babba said I look Israeli, then everyone in the room (I kid you not ...

... picture quite quickly, but his general haziness rendered him blind to my boredom. I finished my drink and said my goodbyes. Didn't really feel like taking an 8 day trek up the mountains, and the lack of other people about, as Geoff kindly informed me that it was low season and they had all '****ed off to the beach', didn't enamor (there it is again) me to doing any adventure sports really, I haven't had the sudden urge to go rafting or kayaking whilst in Britain, and I didn ...

... would only snap again. Luck seemed to be with me as another jeep pulled up which had an Australian couple in the back who had hired it, I had a chat to them and the driver had a chat to the Indian guys, after explaining my predicament they offered to take my bag and said that they would be in Leh in about 3days and they could leave it there for me. I took them up on the offer set off my daypack. The ride was hard but as we got lower I started to ...

... I'll post it when I get back home. I can spare a few words on the landing though. I have often found it odd that we humans still have tail-bones. It may have some hidden purpose, but using it as a landing gear on a hard dirt field is not it. All this time I was afraid of dying, and the thought never occurred to me that breaking my tail-bone would be a lot worse. For those readers who are spiritually inclined, I want to advise against this method ...

... and I and sometimes his friend Raj go over to Vashist to bathe with a bunch of other men in the natural water of the hot spring pool there. In the evenings I am expected downstairs for "rat-ka khana," literally "night eating" with Mata-ji, Pita-ji, and Dayalu, sharing food and whatever rudimentary jokes we can communicate sitting on the carpets by the small wood stove which is central in the room. Mata-ji piles my plate high ...

... it and was trying to figure out how to get to Leh. Her silent and brooding accomplice, Gabriel, had apparently done this trip many times. He looked like he wanted to kill her and everyone else in the room. We said goodnight. We spent the whole of the next day lounging and wandering around Keylong. We took some time in the morning to arrange our passage to Leh, by jeep. We decided it would be a good idea to rest up before the 10 hour ride the next day.

Za potovanje proti Dharamsali smo glede na (ne prevec prijetne)izkusnje s prejsnjimi busi, tokrat rezervirali enega "de luxe". Voznja je bila zato zdaj udobnejsa, nasa prtljaga je bila pospravljena v prtljaznik, varna pred dezjem, pa tudi vec prostora za noge smo imeli. Kar seveda veliko pomeni, ce je voznja daljsa. Ob prihodu v Dharamsalo v zgodnjih jutranjih urah, smo ze dobili razne ponudbe za prenocisce. Zaspani in ne prevec voljni sami iskati primeren hotel, smo enemu ...

... and contemplating, again solo, again preparing to embark off into the unknown. I grow weary of Western company fairly quickly here in this country, and soon need to be in the backwaters again, solo, with just me, an open heart and mind, and the diversity and chaos of India Proper. There is a strange mix here in this town. Here one can eat chinese, japanese, korean, continental, italian, tandoori, tibetan, and a multitude of other cuisines. Strangely enough ...