great!! thanks
chilly

Another crazy day in Vashisht
Kullu valley, Himachal Pradesh, India Friday, May 16, 2008
part 10

so hi again...here in Vishisht ... still the small village near manali. We had a appetising meal last night at Rainbow cafe again, only cost about 2 pounds !! so very cheap to eat here and its a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere, generally good music playing, (or you can plug your own ipod into the speaker system, almost like being in your own front room after a few days!!
just love people watching and trying to guess from a distance where they are from... you get such a huge variety of folk from different nations, some of them really whacky, or 'different' looking...(OK!! ... Yes, I know I know.. LOL.... not unlike us!!... or me!!! thats what you're thinking) ....anyway, we were doing this with one chap, who was sitting having a meal who looked a real unusual and distinctive character .... we were quite intrigued to know, he appeared quite distinguished actually, and as we couldnt agree, Mike decided (rather too loudly, (he is going a bit deaf haha... honest!) to ask the waiter did he know where this particular guy was from... (who also wasn't sure but said he came every year) .. I told him to 'keep it down grrr' but he said, 'he wont understand me if he does hear me, hes definitely not european'.....anyway a bit later the waiter was attending to the said chap and asked him 'where are you from?' ... the guy was quite aloof, glanced fleetingly with a touch of condescension at us and stated in clear if 'accented' English....... ' I do not wish to tell you... you only wish to know so you can tell that man over there' .... meaning Mike .. We were rightly mortified.... and i gave Mick a lecture about being so rude!!!

So... It's pleasant on the rooftop looking down on the village, or you can chill inside if you are cold or it rains, on 'beds' and cushions with small low tables, rather like the sushi restaurant type set up... wrapped up in a warm shawl, (which we had hurriedly bought from a local shop.... along with the huge chunky but warm socks ... really suave n debonair... haha) .. actually it has rained this afternoon massively with thunder and lightening ....felt quite at home!!! .....however mostly its really hot at times throughout the day... and apparently has had no rain till we arrived!

We have met some really interesting people from just about everywhere in the world.... one of them a guy from Brighton who is 'AWOL' !! not really, LOL ... but his wife has agreed to him going away traveling for a month while she stays at home with the kids!! just as i would!! ... I don't think!!

So we got up to beautiful hot sunshine, a relief to be warm again as night is so cold, and headed off to the world peace cafe roof garden for breakfast....thats on the roof of our current hotel actually... they also have live jamming sessions there twice a week, wed and Sunday evenings take your own instrument... I don't think it too good an idea for Mike to participate right now as the only instrument he has with him is a wind one.!!!!.which he plays very loudly and musically all the time lately... but it certainly lacks tune or rhythm!!! If you get my drift!! most embarrassing actually!!!and I think he could probably qualify for an entry into the Guinness book of records!!! NO JOKE!! I told him it just isn't 'normal' haha

After breakfast we caught another 'killer' tuk tuk (rickshaw) for another hellish funfair ride to 'new' manali to get Micks stitches out and change our bus ticket as we have become very confused with the days ... as in... what day is it!! and come to that what date even!!! infact what month!!?? we just lose track!! but i think we need an extra day at least here for Mike's leg to recover, as it has been a bit swollen and I still have this chest infection...ahh!! ...so this time the ride was down hill (like down a mountain!! almost) and to conserve petrol they turn the 'engine' off and we free wheel (read 'hurtle') down this hilly, bumpy cliff, right near the edge at times .... and today had a very stressful moment as we came face to face on a bend, with a rather large coach!! it was pretty nerve racking (understatement... nearly broke my neck as my head temporarily dislocated from my body ) and definitely very similar to the big dipper, outstretched arms, fists clinging to the rail in front!!I had opened the curtain between myself and the driver... but Mike suggested it might be better to close it and see nothing!!! I did!!

We found the Mission hospital easily enough ... well, what a place, teeming with people, again all staring at me and making comments, coming up to touch my bangles and amulets, and talking to me, or giggling, and we went to this desk and got sent to that desk and so on and so forth,...thanks to the good ol British bureaucracy the paperwork system left here by the Raj is endless !!! all handwritten, yes everything is reams and reams of paperwork and nobody will do anybody Else's job, so window number 11 for registering at hospital cost 30 rupees then to another window and another, finally he gets to see a Dr (I am sure we jumped the queue, they seem to do this if you are 'foreigners' and it can be quite embarrassing, but nobody seems to complain about it!!) but has his blood pressure taken and gets weighed and asked about this and the other, and we try and politely explain he is just here to get his stitches out!!!! we want to escape before we catch any other 'bugs' lingering around as some of the people hanging about looked pretty sick!! but the Dr was not about to be hurried, as none of them here in India are it seems, whatever job they are doing!! slowly slowly!!! so finally we got to the treatment room .. ?? .... I was so amused at the primitiveness of it all... the utensils or instruments appeared to get sterilised by being stood in huge bottles of savlon..... so the stitches were whipped out and we then had to queue up for ages at another window to pay.... ... the huge sum of 24 rupees!! 30p!!

We went from new manali to see Old manali and again another hair raising ride, but not long after we got there a huge storm started so we had some lunch and came back to Vishist. When we got back from old manali the sun emerged and we were just wandering in the village square when we heard a great commotion and it turned out it was a huge Dumgri festival at the temple, this is about celebrating meeting with people, friends family and God, (as i understood it?) much dancing and dressing up and an amazing brass band with 4 foot long trumpets (well not like our trumpets) and horns and drums (about 20) and two guys holding what looks like a stretcher between them and it was a huge colourful God (I am told) looked amazing but guess what my camera battery ran out so no photos!!! but we had a great time watching...what an atmosphere... just wonderful, but hey tomorrow they are going from here to Old Manali to bring back their 'God' to the temple here.. so maybe i can get some shots then..

There is a crazy old sadu guy who stays nearly all day in the public bath dressed in just a loin cloth, he has masses of matted hair like dreadlocks, and is forever hollering and shouting about keeping the place clean, as these springs are considered holy waters and telling people off for not removing shoes, ranting and raving at imaginary people or the wall, raising his arms and making mad gestures all over the place ...and then holding his nose and dive bombing into the water... he doesn't live anywhere, just caves etc and is given food when he asks.. take a look at the pics but you really have to hear it, see all the actions and the smells... unbelievable .... what a character, and believe!! we have most certainly seen a good few characters in these travels... I can sit and just watch them....so entertaining.

Later we ate again in the rainbow cafe as they are so friendly and we hook up with lots of other interesting travellers there and spend the time drinking chai or ginger lemon honey tea whatever (and cos Ive had a BAD cold a drop of honey bee for medicinal purposes as we found a supplier haha its been a long time since Goa!!)and listening to their stories, and exchanging experiences... . ... which was great until we got 'joined' by this .... English guy (just had to be didn't it!!) who had no teeth, well one at the front which was black, very glazed watery eyes and kept spitting at me as he talked of cosmic happenings and deep philosophies ....i don't think he had a clue what he was talking about, I certainly didn't, he told me he was here in India to 'get all his bits back together' 'really' i asked 'and have you managed' ...' not sure' he said.. spitting all over me and i was not impressed with being cornered and spat on.. of course each to their own but He was so in our faces and we weren't being rude or tried not to be, but we didn't really want to hear it all.......and as we left he asked me for a hug!!! 'awfully sorry' i said 'I don't do hugs...we all have so many different germs coughs etc here' ... best i could think of!!

so ends today!!but the more I see of this place the more I like it, I think its often a matter of just slowing and chilling for a while to acclimatise to it all... so much diversity, its more of a continent than a country.. India...and certainly always comes up with more surprises!! I can see why the British Raj liked to come here though to the hill stations to keep cool at this time of year... the more temperate climate and beautiful scenery...

I'm sure you could publish this

I think Fiona is right, I would certainly buy it

Excellent, makes you feel like you were along for the ride too! Great pictures!

Only joined HT recently, your journey sounds brilliant I will be back to read some more. Safe travelling.

Thank you Fiona, Miccie, Jettii and Jantie. .. more to come!!
Jantie this is a great forum, you say you have just joined, .. are you coming to Goa? or India?
chilly

morning,

It was nice to have a reply, we have been travelling to Goa since the mid 90's, but only just found the forum when looking for new places to stay this year. Melodious Waves in Candolim has been the final choice. We have previously stayed Calangute end but used the beach in Cadolim.

I am now addicted to the forum and been reading everyones adventures, do's and don'ts, moans and groans, laughs and tears, and knowing that we are not the only Goan addicts.

jan x

I am now addicted to the forum

welcome to the club... me too!!! hope you will come to one of the meets...
chilly

wow more amazing pictures, and i love, really love reading about your days

the others are right you could publish this, with the pictures to go with it, people would love reading it.

thank you wicked chris really nice of you to say so, glad you are enjoying,
chillyx

Just caught up with you Chilly, absolutely brilliant stuff I know exactly how you felt on reaching Manali, I came from Delhi on the bus and it scared me so much I seriously thought of trying to find a helicoptor to get me back down the mountain, I was petrified
Vashist is a lovely place and a much better ambience then Manali IMO, I stayed up in Old Manali and as you say it is like a step back in time, the houses are believed to be around 400 year old. I liked the way they keep the cattle on the lower floor so that the rising heat warms the house, original eco heating lol. The festival at the Hadimba temple sounded good, apparently they have one in the year when they slaughter the goats just outside the Temple and you can see a small pit in the stone floor where they drain the blood (not for the faint hearted animal lover).
Keep it coming Chilly, I remembered just how much I had forgotten untill I read your report, brilliant
P.S. Did you try a Yak ride lol

Hi FTV.... its great to hear how you felt the same about it all .. so wonderful there, even i re read it as i forget bits!! and am really glad i 'blogged' it as the memories do fade so quickly!! NO didnt try the yak ride but wore some yak socks does that count!!!
chillyx ps did manage to get a few pics the following day when a procession (band an all!!) carried the 'God' back from old manali to Vashist but it was dark and i put my camera on the wrong setting but will post on next episode!!

I do think making a trip report is a great way to keep those memories. You really can forget so much. I can read through mine and it brings back so much.

absolutely Fiona i just wish I had done this in the previous two years in Varanasi, Nepal and Kashmir!! I often think of something when i read something that jogs my memory etc but you forget all those 'little (& big!! ) incidents' that make it special...
chilly

Hi Chilly

Great reading, when is the next bit coming.

Maria

Thanks Maria
here it comes!!!
Shanti..Shanti .. on top of the world
Manali, Kullu valley, Himachal Pradesh,
part 11
So, today was just remarkable and words and pictures cannot capture the magnificence of it all.... we got up early and started a trek through the little back streets in the village of Vashisht behind the main square and away from the more tourist areas ( well sort of!!) of guest houses and restaurants, it is a wonderful place, made up of many hickledy pickledy old houses made mainly of just stones or wood, or both, and all built into the hillside, we continued to walk, just watching the people going about their daily life (pretty hard life i should think!!) and after some time we saw a sign for 'the waterfall', we hadn't done our homework properly and were unaware of its existence till now...

The trek was so quiet and peaceful, all you could hear was the sound of water gushing in the streams and many small waterfalls and the animals round about...the odd mooing cow or bleating sheep.... we came to a small very quaint little house, a good climb up the mountain, that rents out rooms and also has café of sorts, I just fell in love with it, as it had so much character

All made of wood and fantastic views of course, but the entire 'real' village houses here about are much the same it seems!! We stayed for some water and pakora and ended up looking round and then meeting all the girls who were trekking down the mountain with huge woven baskets on their back, carrying animal fodder, hay and straw to their homes in the village or on the mountainside, they looked like heavy loads and they too stopped for some water, but amazed me as they continued to do their knitting as they walked along steep and often quite treacherous paths. I can't imagine what it must be like when the deep snow is here!!! We had enough trouble at times and they were only wear socks and flip flops!! apparently they wear sort of tennis raquets on their feet!!

We had made sure today that we left in the morning, as we have discovered the weather here can turn out to be boiling, then can quite suddenly become cold, black, bleak and rainy/stormy, as yesterday we had some quite heavy rain and electrical storms and we didn't fancy being stuck up a mountain later in the day should that happen... the walk was long, high, and at times, and you had to be cautious, but well worth it. I cannot begin to describe the peace and tranquility and sheer beauty of the different landscapes we climbed through ... woods, valleys, open grassland all surrounded by hills and mountains many still covered in snow,and those views and cliffs...Cheddar Gorge eat your heart out..... I thought that would be hard to beat!!

As we reached what we thought was the waterfall, we came across a couple of Americans on their way down, who told us that they come here every year as it is so beautiful and that if we carried on we would see the most amazing waterfall ever.....they weren't joking!! Manali is 2000 meters above sea level so I have no idea how high we climbed, or how high the actual falls are but they were just breathtaking ...when we reached the top it felt like we had found a little or large slice of heaven...... we sat up there for ages in the hot sunshine on the rocks just soaking it all in....and felt we didnt want to leave.... it was indescribable.... so I wont even bother to try!! But I hope some of the photos will have captured a little of the atmosphere and scenery well enough to imagine what it was like.alone on top of the world or so it felt.

we met up with a shepherd washing his sheep in the pools from the watrefalls and what an interesting face he had, fascinated me, and pictured his house at the bottom of the mountain afterwards see pics also the concrete 'dishes' on the grass up the mountain are where the villagers eat when they have festivals on the mountain at certain times........ just too much to tell...

When we got back we sat on a rooftop café in the continuing sunshine, had a bottle of pure apple juice (made and sold here) and some black lentil dal soup with thick delicious brown toasted bread...

Mike has now gone back to rest his leg and I came here to the internet café but the power was down (surprise surprise !!) so I ended up sitting here chatting to a couple of the guys who work here, while we waited for the power to return they brought in some chai and we just talked, One of them told me that his family rent rooms in their house in the village where we had been walkinig, and I went to have a look, got the whole tour, how I regret not finding this out earlier, of course we knew there were some places to rent there, but had no idea where, there are no signs, and also you cannot get any form of transport there, but there are some Nepali boys they told me, who would have carried our backpacks up there... (these poor boys from Nepal work very hard with mostly menial labouring jobs and I was stunned watching the load a couple of them had to carry whilst 'hod carrying' so many bricks on their backs supporting the weight on their foreheads take a look at the pics... yet again no Health and safety here eh!!)

Anyway, The rooms had great views, and balcony (huge verandah really) with sofas and chairs to relax in whilst soaking up the views, and best of all tandoori's (as they call them) sort of fires (very old and antiquated looking!!) in each room that you can light to keep warm at night if the temperature drops, great if you come here skiing in their winter!! ... or for the likes of Mike and I at any time of year!! LOL .... wait for it all for a 100 rupees a night.... Just over a quid!! the roof top room staggering views but a steep staircase that allows you to then 'duck' into the room at a crawl after which it had full height!! was just 50 rps a night!

I told them I would love to have stayed there and if we come back I have his email and number.... Mind you its about as basic as it gets washing wise, no en suite,a shared loo and washing facilities primitive and out side your room.... but I think I could happily handle it (yes really!! I am serious!!) just to have the experience of living there amongst the villagers in the beauty and tranquility of village life, and I think it would be warmer at night as the houses are made of wood...the people here are really lovely, very friendly and un-westernised generally and I feel a lot more relaxed today having had no major traumas (so far!!) and having some space and peace... ahh bliss ... a rare commodity here in India.

When I eventually got on the computer (power was off for couple of hours) and downloaded my photos it turned out I had inadvertently, whilst up the mountain, photographed the wife of the guy I was chatting too in here!! So I have left the pics on this computer for him.

Fortunately although dark we saw the villagers bringing their 'God' back from old Manali to Vashist (this village) and managed a few poor photos will post now.................(camera was on the wrong setting!!) the 'witch doctor' priest whatever was performing all sorts of weird 'spells'

Today has made the extra days stay here in Vashist well worth every minute and we are up very early tomorrow morning for the 10 hr bus to Shimla... so till then...

...... 'we're on the road again'!!! ................ (anyone remember that oldie!! lol)
Chillyx

Chilly what great pictures, India really is a stunning place

Great report again Chilly looking at the pics brought back some memories, wish I had a digi camera back then looks like I was on the mountain side opposite yours from the pics. We stayed in Old Manali near the Manu temple where the gods would have been taken to and from that you saw, Manu in Hindu culture is like our version of Noah and the ark and the temple is believed to be where the Ark was before the flood, fascinating stuff.
Think we paid 30rps for our room then and it had a view right down the valley towards Rhotang, truly stunning view. Looking forward to your next bit on Shimla, never made it there as I was really ill for a few days with an amoeba, ah well I`m sure I can picture it with your report.
Miccie your right India is more than just Goa, well worth the effort if you have the time and the patience to travel around this amazing country.



Me in Old Manali feeling the cold with a silly hat on