On the Road Again

Arrived yesterday afternoon in Manali, took an autorickshaw to Vashist, about 3 km North of Manali proper. After the 6 hour bus ride of ridiculously great views as well as ridiculously bumpy roads, we were ready for a break. We found a hotel in the main square of Vashist, right next to the hot springs and temples, for a very cheap price. It was a bit noisy, but at a certain point all one wants to do is put down their backpacks and settle in. We walked around the town, and found an amazing mixture of local tourists visiting the temple, hippies of all shapes and sizes, and the local village, going about their normal lives of harvesting hay, tramping it down with cows, then hand weaving it and carrying on their backs. What a great contrast, and an interesting study in the agricultural techniques. We supposed they could be doing things more modern--like the woman who was using passing cars to pat the hay down--but chose their traditional (not conventional in our sense of the word) methods. It was a refreshing sight.

We ventured out and about, and found a crooked charm. We will move tomorrow night to Old Manali, where by chance we found a yoga teacher, massage therapist and hotel owner all in one. It will be nice after the chaos of India to retreat for a bit into the quiet of Old Manali's twisting roads, and heal our bodies and minds, in preparation for the road ahead.