Manali and Delhi

This morning I arrived in Delhi. Back in the heat, pollution, and noise. On the plus side, Delhi has a Metro system that, after one ride on it, seems quite nice. I have today and the next two days to explore it. So far I have gone to Connaught Circle to pick up my plane ticket, gone to Barista (Indian version of Starbucks I guess you could say) and gone to an internet place. Yes, I've really dived into Indian culture today!

Anyway, I found Manali to be quite lovely. I really have no good stories to tell. I hiked here and there, read quite a bit, and just soaked up the cool, temperate weather. The scenery was quite nice too: small rivers with ice-cold water, mountains covered with pine trees, and even some snow capped mountains.

Also, Kullu Valley (that's where Manali is situated) is the first place I can recall where I have seen cannabis growing all over the place. Apparently it is the 2nd biggest crop in the region; apples are #1. Maybe that is one reason why some travelers end up being there for quite awhile. One English couple I met had been there for a little over 3 weeks. In their defense, they were taking a yoga class.

Finally, I found the 16 hr bus ride to be all right. I got a "sleeper" seat which allowed me to stretch out. I think I was able to sleep as well; if not then my energy level right now is quite impressive. My guidebook said I would be dropped off by the New Delhi train station. I, and the other western travelers on board, thought we were close to the Main Bazaar road, which is where most budget lodging is. Therefore, when the rickshaw drivers were asking for 100 rupees, we were quite aghast. since no one was willing to go below that price, I hopped in with two Israelis and went with them to a hotel that they had heard about.

Well it turned out we dropped off in the boondocks of northeast Delhi. Took about 30 minutes before we reached our hotel; I joked to the Israeli girl that she had gotten a better price than we had thought. I should also credit the Israeli couple for knowing about this hotel. I'm paying 250 rupees (little over 6 bucks) for a room with its own bathroom, a tv, and an air cooler. Not bad for central delhi.

Probably should update this huh?

Well due to a few reasons, I have not been able to update my blog for some time. What are those reasons?

1. I got "kidnapped" at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. As soon as I walked inside the gates, I became mr. popular and memories of Bangladesh came back. By the time I left the Golden Temple, I received two house invites. I was rude and accepted the second (if I was polite I would have gone with the first). Why was I rude? The first person who invited me was quite annoying and his English was not very good. The 2nd invite was from two good English speakers who said they lived in Amritsar. Who are they? 2 18 yr old twins killing some time before they go to Australia for college.

Well turned out they lived about 20 KM (30 min) outside the city in a small village. The upside was his family was the wealthiest in the village. Their house was quite nice and I certainly didn't feel like I was roughing it. Since it was a spontaneous thing, I did not have any change of clothes, but my host was happy to provide a couple shirts and shorts.

Due to a really big rainstorm, I spent two days in the village. It actually was quite pleasant and peaceful. On the other hand, I was not able to connect to the internet, big surprise.

2. The twins helped me figure out how to get to Manali, a popular resort town in the Himalayas. I was on a bus for a good 15 hours. Well two buses actually. The first one went to the capital of Punjab called Chandigarh (I think). There, I had to find a bus to Manali. I went up to a ticket table, asked the man sitting. He said, "Manali? The bus leaves from there [pointing to a nearby bus slot]. It should leave around 5:50 PM. Stick around and I'll help you."

And he certainly did help me. The bus arrived and there was a mad rush to another ticket table. The man (a big ass sikh dude) went to the desk, said who knows what to that ticket man, told me to sit down next to the ticket man, who then got me a ticket and gave me a seat number. Turned out the seat was in the front row, which gave me a bit more leg room. Turned out to be very helpful. Why?

Well this bus became PACKED. Imagine a MUNI bus at rush hour. That kind of packed. Imagine being on that packed of a bus on a curvy mountain road with many switchbacks- for 3 or 4 hours. Sounds fun doesn't it?

3. got to manali a little before 4 am. Obviously I didn't have many hotel options at that hour since most were all closed up for the night. Found one, and then the next day I had a nice surprise: the broadband connection here is down due to some glitch back in Chandigarh, so they say. The first day it was down, all internet places said, "Eh sorry, can't help you." A couple days later they've resorted to dial-up. Woo hoo!

So there you have it. Just kicking it here in Manali for a couple days. Reserved a ticket to Singapore today via Jet Airways. Leaving on the 9th, so I'll have 2 1/2 days in Singapore before I go back to the USA. Now all I have to do is get a bus to Delhi, and arrive there before 6 pm Friday to get my plane ticket. Fun times.

My future plans

I suppose this is not too interesting, but just in case you're wondering, here is what I'm planning to do in the next few days.

June 24 (today): kill a few hours. Hop on train to Agra at 6 pm. I know you're jealous.
June 25: Arrive at agra fort station at 6 am. Find hotel. Go to Taj Mahal. Take pictures to document my visit there. restrain myself from killing touts.
June 26: 8:38 AM train to Amristar. Riding high class: a/c baby, a/c! This will be my first train a/c experience in India. Better be good since i'm paying about 2x what I would be in 2nd class sleeper. arrive in amritsar around 10:30 PM.
June 27: Visit the golden temple. I can stay there for free too.

After that, it is up in the air. I know I'm going to go to Manali but I am not sure yet what day. I might also go to Leh, but it takes two days to go there from Manali. do i have the time? i don't know yet.