We had to do a U-turn and head back towards Manali because of the road closure at the Rohtang Pass. Very very annoying, but you know what? If we didn’t do the detour, we would have never gone paragliding!
While we were driving back down the mountain, coming up the road was a truck full of parasailers shouting at us to give it a go! We stopped, deliberated, interrogated and scrutinised the equipment.
At the end, it was peer-pressure-domino that got us all geared up and running down the mountain. Making that decision was so liberating. I was feeling excited and scared at the same time, and that high I got from saying “Let’s just do it” was invigorating. Partly because of the experience, but also for taking that risk and living life.
Absolutely amazing! It was a good amount of time in the air and the views were spectacular. Here’s the video of the flight!
We left Solang Valley on a high from the Zorbing adrenalin rush, but that was quickly dampened by the news that they were not letting anyone pass the gates into the Rohtang pass.
Midway up the mountain was a guard point, the minute we saw several tourist vans parked along the road, we knew there was trouble. Apparently the mountain pass was closed due to an overturned goods lorry which they have been trying to clear for days. We were willing to wait it out…how long more could it take right? Another 24hrs max? We spent a good 2 hours trying to negotiate with them to let us go up the pass and wait.
We even considered going as far as we could by car, and trekking across the pass on foot.
The Rohtang Pass is at an altitude of 13,051 ft (3,978 m) and is a high mountain pass on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas some 51 km from Manali. It connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh, India.
It has the reputation of being dangerous because of unpredictable snowstorms and blizzards in winter and landslides during the monsoons.
I just heard that the Indian government has begun building the Rohtang Tunnel which promises to be safer and faster.
When we near the top of the mountain, we saw easily 100 vehicles wrapped around the hillside, parked bumper to bumper. These people have been here for days, hoping that the pass would open up soon. We could probably spare 1 day, but more than that and we would be compromising the rest of the roadtrip.
If you look closely at the picture below, you can see the line of cars dotted along the mountain.
When we were driving into Manali, Tobs was pointing out some weeds to Roh growing on the side of the road and in the fields.
“It’s EVERYWHERE!”
I didn’t get what the excitement was all about. Tobs was trying to point out the weeds and describing it’s leaf shape and what it looks like, and me being a blursotong took awhile before I realised OHHHhhh not weeds… but weed!
I didn’t know what it looked like as a plant, only what it smells like.
Cannabis is like a weed at this altitude, it’s growing everywhere like an ordinary shrub. When we were leaving Manali, we came across a whole field of them growing in the wild. When would you come across this opportunity again to do “The Beach“-like movie experience. So we laid down in the field of cannabis for a photo op.
So when you’re driving in or out of Manali, remember to keep your eyes peeled and windows down.
I wondered why there were so many unfinished rooftops and walls in India? We drove by tons of houses with foundation wire rods sticking out of their roofs, as if they built the first floor and decided to stop at the second. Walls were left concrete with no paint?!
Someone recently told me why.
Apparently there are 2 reasons. Some people can only afford to build 1 level, but they are anticipating for the second floor. So when they have enough money, they’d continue from there.
The other reason is, according to the law, once the house is finished with a roof and painted, owners have to pay some sort of housing tax! So to avoid paying that tax, they leave their houses “unfinished”!
Another reason why we were in Manali was also to get information about the situation on the Rohtang Pass. On the night we arrived in Manali, there were alot of 4WD cars parked in Manali town hearing that the pass was closed. Apparently there was a landslide and I think a lorry also had fallen off the side of the mountain. They were clearing the pass so there was no way we could have pushed off the next day.
The Rohtang pass is the mountain road that we would have to take to go towards Spiti or Leh. On the day we were set to head up to the pass, word got round that the pass was stilled closed but we could try our luck. So off we went.
About 14km away from Manali on the way to the pass, we detoured to Solang Nala (Valley) at the top of the Kullu Valley. This place is known for its giant slopes of lawn and in winter is a popular ski resort. In summer, sports activities such as parachuting, paragliding, skating, horse riding and zorbing is available.
Zorbing is like this giant plastic ball that rolls down the hill. It’s double-section with one ball inside another with a layer of air in between. Me and Rohit decided to give it a go. First time for both of us.
What I find hilarious is how chaotic the area is. It’s like human bowling! If you’re standing at the bottom of the hill, and you weren’t looking, you’d probably get bowled over by one of these giant plastic balls!
Last night we saw a path at the end of the restaurant strip worth exploring, and since we still had a few hours of daylight left after our late lunch, we decided to do a bit of exploring.
We walked past some really old farm houses. Local women were bringing back loads of cow grass on their backs. Dogs were just chilling on the pavements. Kids gripping cold popsicle sticks with their shirts eating them with such intensity. The picture was just so relaxed and laid back.
It’s such a simple life there, they don’t have much but they are so content with what they have. Without a doubt India has changed my perspective in life, and it’s all these pockets of experiences that shaped the transformation.
Had my first momos after rafting. We went back to the same restaurant by our guest house because we needed to get out of our wet clothes.
Momos are like steamed dumplings, jiaozis or potstickers usually found in the Nepali parts of the Himalayas and Tibet. They usually have veg and non-veg versions, but somehow the vegetable ones taste better. The non-veg ones sometimes tastes too game-y. I particularly dislike the buffalo momos.
They are usually served with a dipping sauce, usually a bit spicy.
Besides Momos, we also had cauliflower curry, fried rice and some chicken curry to go along with it. say YUM!
Manali is well known for its adventure sports, so when we woke up on our first morning here, our first stop after breakfast was to the tourist agent up the road.
We decided to do some white water rafting in the late morning. Just a few phone calls after, we were set! We didn’t bring an swimsuits, so all of us ended up in t-shirt and shorts. It was a half an hour drive to the rafting centre and another 10mins by 4WD to the rocky river banks. After a safety briefing and getting suited up in our life jackets, we were good to go!
I can’t remember what level rapids they were but mid-way on the descent was definitely not easy. One of our paddle instructors did fall into the water at one point. It may be July, but the waters were from the mountains and was freakin’ cold! Towards the end of the trip, we floated down the river a bit in our life jackets, and managed to get our instructors into the fun and got them all drenched!
After all that rafting, we “conveniently” ended up at a tea house with toilets. I was a bit annoyed when I saw some guy at the top of the hill filming us with a video camera. I quickly checked my headlights just to be sure there wasn’t any indecent exposure. When we walked up to the tea house, there was this little hut and in it was a guy with a computer uploading videos and photos of us going down the river! Ahhhh now it made sense. This guy was trying to sell us footage of the raft down the river!
We caved in the end, and decided just to buy one and duplicate the discs back home. Hmmm which reminds me…. where is that CD?
Conclusion? Definitely worth doing it if you’re looking for a lil adrenaline rush!
I found this terribly amusing. During our trek in Manli near sundown, you would see cows walking back home to their master’s house, down the hill and into their pen on their own!
Remember the idiom “Till the cows come home”? Don’t think that doesn’t apply here in India. The cows are back home on time before dark! Probably because they have food waiting for them back home.
Till the cows come home
Meaning: For a long but indefinite time.
Source: Cows are notoriously languid creatures and make their way home at their own unhurried pace. That’s certainly the imagery behind ’till the cows come home’ or ‘until the cows come home’, but the precise time and place of the coining of this colloquial phrase isn’t known.
In India, cows are usually reared for their milk and their poo. Their dung is made into dung cakes used as a mosquito repellent and burnt as fuel.
Another interesting fact. When the time comes when the cow isn’t useful any more (unable to produce milk), alot of them are left loose to wander on their own. They can’t be killed because of their holy status, but are sometimes sent off to non-hindu butchers.
fuel.
And this I didn’t know until today. These neglected cows are sometimes sent to cowsheds called goshalas. Goshalas are protective shelters in India for cows that have been neglected, focused on treating cows in accordance with Hinduism philosophy.
Just a little background about Manali from Wikitravel and a few observations about Old Manali.
Manali is at the northern end of the Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh, and is a hill station situated at a height of 2050 m (6398 ft) in the Himalayas. It’s a popular tourist spot for locals in summer and snow-covered winter. Minimum temp could be below -10 C from Oct till March. Dec Jan and Feb are coldest months. Rest of the year the minimum temperature would be between 10 to 15 C.
This place is well known for adventure sports like white water rafting and trekking. We got to do a bit of rafting today which is coming up in the next post. Manali is also on the way to Ladakh (via the Lahaul Valley) or Spiti (via the Rohtang Pass). The latter being the one we were suppose to take! Details on the diversion in a later post.
There is Manali and Old Manali. Old Manali is where we stayed and is more of the hippie backpacker quarters. Along the stretch and side alleys are a lot of small restaurants and cafes, usually filled with backpackers lounging, drinking and smoking a J or getting their hands messy with paratas and momos. Streets are also lined with stores selling parachute pants, sweaters, shawls, jewellery, hippie clothes and knock-off outdoor bags and equipment.
My best buy in the market was a custom-made fleece hoodie. You can go into one of the shops, and they will sew you a thin fleece hoodie with whatever requirements you want e.g. hood, zip, pockets, collar etc. And it will cost you something ridiculous like S$15. In my pictures if you see me wearing a cobalt blue fleece, that is the one I bought here.
In Manali we stayed at Hotel Dream Land, which is like a 2-star hotel located on the bank of River Manalsu. It’s not the cheapest you can get in the area, but we arrived in the evening with no prior booking. We were exhausted from the long journey, and settled on this place.
It’s not bad, if your expectations are not too high. For us we just wanted a bed and hot water, and that will keep us happy. Elz, Saskia and I shared a room, and the boys were next door. Loved the sound of the gushing river beside us, and its lovely to wake up to the sun rising behind the hills outside your window.
We had breakfast at a restaurant about a stones throw from the hotel serving international and local cuisine. I wouldn’t go for any of the pastries unless you like a sprinkling of a fly or two on your Danish croissant.
Hotel Dream Land
Address : Near Club House, Manali (H.P.)
Himachal Pradesh – 175 131, (India)
Mobile : +094185-23234
Email : info@hotel-dreamland.com or dreamlandmanali@gmail.com
Leaving Shimla behind around lunch time, we had a lot of ground to cover if we were going to reach Manali by nightfall.
I think it was during this leg of the journey when it really struck me how beautiful India is and how much she has to offer. The further we moved away from the big cities, the landscape just keeps getting better and better. It’s a shame that the ‘India’ people seem to know is the dirty, messy, crowded cities like Mumbai and Delhi. But really, India is so much more than that!
We know we are getting close, the hills grow taller and we cross more rivers. We even stopped on the way to walk across a really long suspending bridge made of steel and wood planks. I wondered how much weight and abuse this bridge could handle, also if anyone else besides me was getting weak knees seeing how high up we were, until I saw a few donkeys with load crossing without hesitation or even batting an eyelid. One donkey nearly knocked me over, not fun, it would be a long drop to the river.
The joys about travelling in your own group is the flexibility to do whatever you want! You can stop wherever, explore new places, take your time. I just don’t understand how anyone can have a unique experience by going on those 40-seater tour coaches travelling from one gift shop to another.
By sundown, we finally reached the bustling hippy town of Manali.
Next problem was, where are we going to stay for the night? With our backpacks on, we checked out a few guest houses on the backpackers stretch, many of which were fully occupied or only had one room left. We finally settled on a decent place at the bottom of the hill by the gushing riverside.
Time to explore Manali by night!
Here’s a video of us on the road and the said donkey bridge.
Leaked track from their first album “Dreaming Out Loud” which was only released on an itunes album pack. Right up my alley with the melancholy, acoustic guitars, cellos and minor chords. Love love LOVE. Enjoy.
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