Manali

Claude didn't make it onto the bus for Manali and so far there has been no sign of The Man.

The bus from Dharamsala arrives in at a useful 4am. A taxi offers to take me up to Old Manali for Rp400 and i openly laugh in his face. I find another that will take me up to The Clubhouse for Rs80 which i'm sure is still too much, but my options at this point are limited. After stumbling around in the dark for forty minutes, I find a trail leading to the clean and simple Apple View Paying Guest House. It is run by a local farmimg family set in lush orchards at Rp150 per night shared facilities.

I've been in Manali twice before and both times it rained almost constantly. Apart from one brief storm, the weather has been perfect. This probably explains why I am enjoying the Manali "experience" more. The new town is nothing but a disorganised, characterless clutter, but Old Manali and Vashisht (the hippie hangout) have retained much of their old charm. Several body piercings and tattoos help, but are not compulsory.

Stroll around above these villages and you are in Himachal Pradesh farming country. It is famed for the temperate fruit grown in the area including apples, plums, cherries, apricots and pears. Next to Parvati valley, marijuana is pretty popular too.


An Old Farmhand
Dangers and Annoyances

Saffron sellers - continually approaching
Taxi and Rickshaw drivers - desperate to rip you off for whatever they think they can take you for and continually soliciting
Drivers - with no pavements these streets are a nightmare
Charas sellers - everything "comes from Melana". More than 160 travellists in the last decade have ended there stay in the local prison. Not all are guilty
ATMs and Foreign Money Exchange - for those heading north like myself this is the last place to change foreign currency and use an ATM. Although there are three ATMs only State Bank of India seems to work for travellists. Queues can be shocking! I wanted to change up my remaining Hong Kong dollars, but the rate was 25% lower than I was offered in McLeod Ganj

Stuff To Do

Take any of the paths out off the main roads and find some interesting villages in areas of outstanding beauty.

Hadimba Temple (Hindu) - Built in 1553, pilgrims from across India descend to pay hommage to Hadimba (the wife of Bhina) from the Mahabharata. The temple is decorated with animal skulls and horns. There are animal sacrifices held for three days in May during the Dhungri Mela.

Outside the temple you can have your photo taken riding a yak or holding an Angora rabbit.

There is a sacred tree nearby in celebration of Hadimba's son, Ghatotkach , which is decorated with animal horns and small metalic figerines.

The Himalayan Nyinmapa temple (Buddhist) seems to mainly serve as a Indian tourist site, the nearby Gelukpa Maharishi temple is more atmospheric which is stuffed with bodhisattvas statues and revered lamas and other deities.

Nyinmapa Temple

The Manu Maharisha temple (Hindu) in Old Manali marks the spot of the meditation of Manu, who is the Hindu equivalent of Noah, building a giant ark to evade the destruction of the Earth from floods. Although the temple looks relatively new, it has been a place of worship for over 1000 years. The caretaker has limited English, but is happy to tell you the different deities.

Hanuman holding something rather threatening

Nature Park connects Old Manali with the new town. Filled with 60 metre plus cedars, this is a great way to bypass the road congestion although you are charged Rp5 for each entrance.

For those into adventure sports (not me)there is everything from zorbing to skiing, snowboarding, white water rafting, rock-climbing, fishing, ballooning, mountain biking and mountaineering.


The same New Age stuff in McLeod Ganj can be found here, including reiki, yoga, meditation, crystals, etc.

Shelter and Sustenance

I'm loving the Apple View guesthouse, but if i return I'll be checking out the peaceful Cottage Cold Corner off the main thoroughfare.

Manali offers me the last chance of top quality food before heading into the wilderness. Needless to say, I have been making the most of this opportunity.

Dylan's Roasted and Toasted (Old Manali) offers excellent variety and quality coffee. Rp50 will buy you a double espresso. It is particularly popular with Israelis. Also check out the breakfasts at River Dance Cafe and German Bakery just next to the bridge. Their cheese omelettes are truly scrumptious. The Rs. 75 Israeli breakfast is also good value at Shiva Gardens. Shesh Besh claims to have "funky fresh food" and has good quality Israeli dishes. Johnson Cafe and Restaurant might be expensive, but their roast lamb and mint sauce was excellent.

For those wanting to dine in Vashist, The Paradiso Cafe at the top of the road offers excellent thalis.

Chopsticks in the new town offers good quality Chinese food.

The fruit juices are a must here and a lot of the old fruit is distilled, and plum and apple wine is available. Tonight I will celebrate my last evening in Manali with local cider!

As I managed to leave behind almost all warm clothes I brought a good pair of thermals at Sharma Garments on The Mall and also on the same stretch, Neelkanth Shawls offers fixed price bargains for local handicrafts.