Kullu, Manali, Vashisht, India

The blog has fallen to the wayside, but I am back to write a quick update even though it seems a futile effort to really put into words all of the things, people, places, food, language, etc. that I am experiencing every single day. I left the palm trees, Tuborg and hot pink sunsets of Goa a few weeks ago and headed north to Bombay on an overnight bus. Curvy, bumpy, no-real-sleep-allowed overnight bus. Got dumped off in the middle of Mumbai-metropolis, quite delirious, but here in India any crankiness is always subdued with my favorite masala dosa and some proper coffee. Off to Meena's house for a few days...was so excited to see her again because back in December she made me feel as welcome in her flat as she would a long lost family member. I took a 3 hour nap once I got to her place and then naturally the beer drinking commenced. It is so easy to never leave her apartment- if you remember a past entry I wrote about Bombay, EVERYTHING in that city can be delivered right to your door. But I did step out a few times to visit the fancy schmancy mall near Meena's place where there is a small, but adequate supermarket where I was able to replenish my toiletries supply. We sat around, drank beers, ordered delicious food and chit chatted for about 3 days straight, then another goodbye and time to head north a bit further via overnight train. The Rajthani Express- comfy sleeper with AC, snacks, meals, and bathrooms all the way to Delhi, about 15 hours. Obviously on an overnight train there isn't much to see, but heading out was mostly cityscape and 'burbs and then in the morning, following a jaw dropping sunrise, it looked like scrubby prairie with sparse trees, dry land and some dusty hills. I liked Delhi the first time around, kind of. But this time it just looked dirty and sad and too busy for no reason and HOT. Only March and it was literally 100 degrees. I actually had sweat dripping off of my face. Found a fleabag hotel just to use for a few hours to hold bags until a 6pm bus, walked around the center of town, mmmmasala dosa for lunch, an almost nap and then time to heave the massive purple pack again. Off to catch the lovely tourist bus with air conditioning, fresh magazines in hand, and headed toward some real hills- the kind that require my head and neck to stretch all the way to my back in order to take in. I can't remember how many hours it took to get to Kullu, maybe like 12 or something, but I slept rather well and woke up to pink clouds floating above steep walls of Himalayan rock, a deep canyon falling below the road and a gushing river cutting away at the bottom. Stayed in Kullu for a few days with a nice room and balcony over looking the river that runs through town. It is pretty, but it is still India as I have described several times before....there is always trash, there is always litter, there are people defecating out in the open on the banks of the river, there are mangy dogs, there are trash fires burning on the hillsides, there are cows eating the trash, there are ancient trucks and tractors sputtering up the mountain roads in clouds of black smoke and dust. But the people are always smiling and happy and quite chatty considering I was pretty much the only foreigner in town. Lots of staring. I had fun for a few hours one day in an ice cream shop where I was kind of hidden, but right on the busy main street and with my 55-200mm lens, was able to get lots of shots without bringing too much attention to myself. Yeah, and I mean I can't help it if the best spot just happened to be an ice cream shop. Not my fault. From Kullu it was just about a 90 minute local bus ride to Manali, up the valley, quite picturesque and lo and behold there is actually a Holiday Inn in this town. That is in NEW Manali though, where there are tucked-away resorts and lots of touristy shops, and lots of Indian tourists and lots of soft-serve ice cream carts, which I never visited. Old Manali is over the bridge and up a road that is made of karate chopped pavement and watery potholes. Old Manali has more character though, a little quieter and super cheap guesthouses. The view is 360 degrees of pine trees, terraced foothills and sharp mountains still blanketed in snow- I am living in a Bob Ross painting. wish you were here. And what's more to make me and my camera happy? Apple orchards dotting the hillsides- all the cute little apple trees are flowering right now with snow white blossoms and above them hundreds of matching butterflies flitting all around the valley. It is still early in the season for tourists, so many shops are closed and the locals are busy renovating and sprucing up the restaurants, cafes, shawl shops, tea shops, and general stores. One afternoon I met a local woman who is starting a massage business and we spent a few hours drinking tea and revising her choppy-English brochure ideas into some print ready, fancy English. She said I had fancy English and I am very proud. The sun is bright and hot during the day, but it is still a little chilly at night. In fact yesterday it was downright cold. Moved directly across the valley the other day to a small village called Vashisht, just a 20 minute rickshaw ride from Old Manali. This place has even more character than Old Manali- it is a tiny, compact village, but quite busy with a small teak-styled wooden temple right where the road dead ends, some hot springs in the temple that are too hot to soak in and I didn't think it was possible, but the views are even more astounding from this side of the valley. The Himalayas are breathtaking, just pure granite jutting right into the clouds. The view from the balcony is priceless. There have been thunderstorms and rain in the late afternoons and evenings, there are lots of young Israeli tourists here in the mountains, along with herds of sheep in the orchards and a few yaks trudging up the roads. AND today I found a bottle of red wine at just the price I was willing to pay and the longer I keep typing, the longer I am not enjoying this rare luxury. Will post some pictures to facebook tomorrow and will post the link here on the blog so everyone can check them out. ciao.