Have feet, will travel…

26th August 2011

I was sad to say bye to my river. I’ve gotten very attached to listening to its soothing sounds of flowing water day and night and watching its gushing water from my balcony numerous times a day. But more adventure awaits me so moving on is a must.

I got on an ordinary bus today from Kullu to Manali for USD1, which took 1 ½ hours. My bag inevitably took up a seat and I was feeling quite bad when the bus started to fill up and here was my bag taking up space. People hopped on and off all the time so in the beginning there was plenty of space but soon the bus started getting packed. Another exhilarating bumpy ride and we crossed another waterfall road today. The views though, were magnificent! More mountains and waterfalls and lots of glimpses of the flowing Beas river. I tried taking photos but it was extremely hard and the photos did not do any justice to what my eyes were seeing.

Reached Manali and the main town or better known as “New Manali” was so uninviting, so I decided to follow my guide book and hopped an auto rickshaw to Old Manali. The 2.5km ride mostly uphill was insane, weaving in and out of traffic in bad steep roads but I placed my trust in the expert driver and true enough he got me to the doorstep and was soon met by someone from the guesthouse to walk me in. Checked in to a lovely place that had a stunning garden and plenty of hydrangeas. Haven’t seen bushes of hydrangeas this big since being in Berkeley. And wow what a vast difference Old Manali is with beautiful pine trees filled mountains views and the Beas River. But unfortunately, Manali is a big hippie travellers place. It’s the first time since arriving in India that I’ve seen so many foreign tourists. The other towns I’ve been in were predominated visited by the local Indian crowd. Here the streets are lined with hippie clothes and jewellery shops and loads of internet cafes all catering to the foreign crowds and lots of drugs. The guys are also much more forthcoming here as they are so used to chatting up tourists. I’ve been offered chai like 3 times in a span of my 30 mins stroll down the street. Am getting so much attention from guys that I’m not use to normally getting but I make an easy target too as I am alone and possibly too “nice”. But all’s good, its part of the learning journey of travelling solo and learning when and how to draw boundaries.

Sorry no pictures this time as the internet connection today is extremely poor, system having problems. I had another post but will keep till next time. As just this post cut and paste took me 30 mins. i have to go sleep as tomorrow is a 2:30am wake up call : p

Am leaving for my 2 weeks Volunteer/trekking program tomorrow so won’t have internet for most of the time as its in the rural area of Spiti. Most phones also don’t work there so not much connection via the internet. Don’t worry if you don’t hear from me for 2 weeks. : )

I must say I was a little nervous taking the bus knowing that just less than a week ago there was a major landslide in Manali that killed some people and caused major road blockages. And I was headed the same way. Took the 8am bus from Shimla to Kullu which was estimated to take 8 ½ hours. My bag was safely in a baggage storage boot after giving a tip to have it stored there which I must say was a big relief. Boarded the bus and at 8am sharp the bus was on its way honking and meandering as soon as it started. The bus even stalled a few times. After like 45 mins of looking out the window at plunging cliffs without any barriers and the twisting and turning I soon was feeling not only nervous but the onsets of motion sickness, so decided a nap would ease both. I managed to fall asleep for more than an hour and luckily once I woke up my fear was gone. My first bus ride in India was indeed an adventure; bumpy as well as super rocky literally at times you would sway from left to right and had to hold on. People around me were getting severely sick and I was feeling so thankful that my motion sickness which I thought was bad was nowhere near what these ladies were experiencing. Possibly because my ginger tablets were working.

But must say the journey was quite scenic and beautiful with mountains and valleys with waterfalls and rivers below. Saw loads of small towns buzzing away with their daily activities. I was sitting next to a fellow traveller so we chatted and exchanged stories, it really passed time. I can see how landslides happen regular the towering stone and soil cliffs are steep and don’t look very solid. Rocks jutting out just waiting to fall with some rain to loosen the soil around it. At one point we crossed a road which was actually a waterfall. I looked at the gal next to me and she looked at me and we both went that was a waterfall. The water was seeping across the road. I wonder what happens when the roads are gushing water during monsoon. No wonder during the monsoon season roads are sometimes closed, I see why now. Nearing my destination we saw an excavator having just picked up some fallen rocks from the road. These roads are definitely risky and you never know when a landslide might occur, guess that is what natural calamities are like. They can happen anytime and anywhere.

I survived, 8 ½ hours later I was in Kullu and it’s such a small and charming town. Two rivers run through it and my hotel is just by one of them. When I saw my room, I couldn’t resist spending slightly more to have the penthouse room with a balcony facing the flowing river. Where could I get this panorama view of hills and a river-front room for USD20. I didn’t want to go out and spent the rest of the afternoon on my balcony enjoying the view till night fall. I watched children dance and play in a compound opposite my balcony and watched people, cows and even a whole herd of goats cross the footbridge.

The next day I spent sightseeing this small town. There aren’t many sights in the town itself but am just enjoying the relaxing feel of this town. Loads of ethnic ladies selling vegetables and looking at the different shops is nice. It’s quite organized each shop is specific selling a certain kind of item or service. So plastic wares shop, a spice shop, a fruit shop, a vegetable vendor, a tailor, a silverware shop, a chemist. It’s like how old Singapore was before modernization. No modern day supermarket here selling everything at one place!

I encountered a few cows in my path while here. They are everywhere! They happily walk and stop anywhere they please even in the middle of a pathway. People just walk or drive around them, it’s so fascinating. Am loving the new sights, sounds and of course the smells of India.