Oh, Manali

Wow! It’s really been a fantastic past couple of days (as you can tell by the lack of posts) - a whirlwind of experiences and fun with Tej and Vik. I’m sad that our trip is coming to an end in a few hours and we’re all going our separate ways. Regardless, we have our memories in Manali to look forward to, starting with…

Driving through the mountains, Tej must be elated because we just passed the Goods Carrier!

The drive in was a pain in the ass. To begin, it took us 6 hours to get from Haridhwar/Rishikesh to Chandigarh (where we stayed for a quick night) and then 9 hours from Chandigarh to Manali. Although we did have an awesome SUV and driver (PC – who by hour 3 wished he had never taken this job), it was still a very long time in the car. The worst part, though, was the pollution! It was terrible! Unfortunately all the “goods carriers” (Indian versions of semi-trucks, essentially garbage truck-sized pick-up trucks that are painted orange and carry goods throughout the country (definitely will not pass a California emissions test)), gas tankers, motorcycles, rickshaws, bullock carts, and stray dogs shared the same 1.5 lane road with us the entire time. We had to use open windows for a lot of the time so the engine could have more power while trudging through the mountains, so ended up breathing a combination of cow dung, carbon monoxide, and atmosphere for the whole trip.

But just looking out the window made you forget about all of your problems – the scenery was absolutely stunning. We drove up and around lush, green mountains (the “green” actually grows wild in this part of the country and is part of the natural scent of mountain air), cut through valleys of sheer rock, followed freshwater, clear, gushing rivers and their tributaries. What amazed me about it all was that this was just the beginning of the Himalayas, and the mountains just dominated everything that tried to traverse it. I could only imagine what more could lie north of Manali deeper into the Himalayas (more to come on that)!

"Room with a view" thank you kindly, sir. Please.

We arrived to Manali in the evening and checked into our plush hotel (thanks Hari Uncle!) and hit the town. Manali is essentially divided into two parts – New Manali which is almost like any other small Indian city with a twist of Himalayan culture – restaurants, tourist agencies, hawkers selling shawls and Tibetan wares, etc. New Manali is focused towards Indian tourists coming up to the North for family vacations, honeymoons, and their first taste of snow. Old Manali is where all the backpackers are. Filled with guest houses, Internet cafes, late night bakeries and coffee shops – this is where you meet backpackers from all over the world trekking, hiking, living in villages up and around this area. We sat down with a few Israeli backpackers who were on their customary post-IDF vacation and they had spent a month already in this part of the country – living in villages, hitting rave scenes, taking motorcycles all across the Himalayan passes, etc. The backpacker culture provided for a lot of conversations amongst the three of us throughout our trip.

Manali is full of biodiversity...

Manali is chock full of adventure activities. We spent one day in the Sokung Valley where companies provide paragliding, zorbing, ATVing activities. Originally wanting to zorb (rolling down a hill in a big, clear, plastic ball), we ended up paragliding instead. We trekked up a hill about 20 minutes, got latched onto a guide, and ran off the hill as fast as possible and parachuted through the valley for about 2 minutes until hitting the ground with a running landing (perfect dismount!). Also did some ATVing which, surprisingly, wasn’t all that awesome because we stuck to a paved road and had “chaperones” on our ATVs who insisted on us “going slow”. On Friday we did a 5 hour day hike which was incredible. We actually started climbing one of the many mountains which surround Manali, learning from our guide the criss-cross, slow, calculated steps technique to save energy and make it up safely. The views were surreal, with the clouds above us, mountains around us, and rivers and valleys around us. Not going to lie – it was tough. As we climbed into the 9,000 and 10,000 feet level, we were all breathing pretty hard for each 3 – 5 minute climb we made - while our guide wasn’t even breaking a sweat. These mountains are inhabited by sheepherders and cowherders, it was surprising to see cow patties in some of the most unreachable places one would think of cows being able to reach. We had a nice lunch in the afternoon under the sun (the cool mountain air made the weather wonderful) and trekked back down to relax for our last night in Manali.

Do you have an operator's license I can look at, please?

"Let's break for pictures!" while hiking up the mountian - everyone agrees as they are huffing and puffing...

Dr. T is ready to rock! Vik - not so much...

ATVs - can't wait to own them when I grow up. On my list of things in my house when I grow up: 1. 2 ATVs, 2. Buckhunter, 3. A tandoor oven.

Why do we always seem to be going up?

Where's the helipad?

Me vs. Pollution.

The mountains really took a hold of all of us. Throughout the India trip I’ve been trying to find a way to get higher up into the Himalayas but weather was not permitting, itineraries were not allowing, etc. It’s ironic the way things happened, when having trouble falling asleep, I usually tell myself to start thinking about itineraries/plans, etc. and the next thing I know I’m out. It’s my newly developed counting sheep strategy.

One afternoon during our daily nap, I started thinking about itineraries and figured out a way to make it up to Leh, an old Himalayan village/backpacker spot deep in Kashmir (Ladakh region). It started from chain reactions of itinerary changes for Israel next month, and also thoughts about canceling my trip to Indonesia due to the Jakarta bombings (Indonesia – you were doing SO well with the domestic terrorism and this HAD to happen a week before my trip. I hope all terrorists burn in hell and all victims enjoy their place in heaven – R.I.P.). Regardless, I woke up and started working out a plan, and within the next day had changed my plans to head to Leh after Manali. I would leave the same time Tejas and Vik did, but instead of flying back to Dehli, take a 2 day bus up through Himalayan passes, one lane roads, camp one night at 4,000 meters (13,000 ft.), and bump my way through rocky roads and 17,000+ ft. mountain passes for 20 hours to finally reach Leh.