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Blogs from Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia
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Surviving Buses in India with Krystal
Published: April 15th 2013Asia » India » Himachal Pradesh » Manali
April 15th 2013
Buses in India. Let's just say that if you experience riding a bus in Himachal Pradesh, India...you will never be able to watch the movie SPEED (Starring Sandra Bullock and Keeanu Reeves) with the same eyes EVER AGAIN. Going to the Himalayan Mountains is for sure a MUST while vacationing in India, however going by the local bus companies may not be the wisest. Although I will tip my hat at an Himachal bus driver because these guys are professionals at what they do: driving insanely fast on twisty turny roads, and only six inches of space between your buses wheels and a certain death off the cliff face alongside you. My first trip to one of the hill stations while in HP had me death gripping the seat in front of me (and unadmittedly squeeling ... read more
February 28th 2013
I have traveled Manali many times and always keen to go there again and again.. I have stayed there in five star acomodations to no class hotels. I have stayed in river side camps and also in the hotels surrounding with apple trees with full bunches of red apples. weather there is pleasent in summers and chilling in winters. I have actualy seen a big full moon in the day time 9:00 AM in the morning there. Last year in june 2012 me and my 3 freinds planned a tour for a week to Manali. we were all very excited to go there as it was very hot in Delhi. Manali is around 600 Km from our place. So I took my car and 3 of my freinds and started our journey at 7:00 PM in ... read more
Stories from India/Geschichte von Indien
Published: September 22nd 2012Asia » India » Himachal Pradesh » Manali
September 14th 2012
Ok. You know what? Stuff it. I said it will take too long to explain what it's like being in India. But do you know what? Here it goes. Stories that are coming from my travel diary. Somethings will not be for the light hearted or someone with a weak stomach. So read on. Laugh. Cry. Squirm in disgust. Smile and remember where you are and what you have, as I'm going to start to describe my life as I've seen it. I'll start with the day I was writing this blog... As I started this blog, I was sick lying in bed holding my stomach. It sucked but was bound to happen. I had a bucket besides the bedand a toilet close by, so thats one positive thing. But when you get the "travel bug" ... read more
India: Himachal Pradesh: Manali / Vashisht / Malana / Kasol
Published: April 1st 2013Asia » India » Himachal Pradesh » Manali
August 31st 2012
Himachal Pradesh: The journey by bus has been challenging. It is difficult to sleep when your bus is passing through narrow roads, driving by night towards the mountain and facing some traffic jam at 2am! Go for a good Volvo AC bus managed by a well-rated company as the journey is bouncy and you need some comfort. This region is spectacular with mountains views and river valleys. Famous for trekking, rafting, paraglading and skiing if you visit around March. We found some traditional villages where people bring up food and others items on their back towards the hill village. The homes are made in wood, stone and carving wood around the windows. Animals have their litter by the entrance of the house. On the upper-level will be the main living area with the kitchen and on ... read more
The first step into the Himalayas - Manali
Published: September 5th 2012Asia » India » Himachal Pradesh » Manali
August 29th 2012
We hadn't intended to take a night bus, but Delhi to Manali is 15 hours so they all go overnight. We consoled ourselves with the thought that this will probably be our last night bus. At 4:30pm we checked out of the hotel and were walked down the road to the bus ticket office. Other tourists arrived led by someone from their hotel. When there were about 8 of us we were led by 2 guys from the bus office in some kind of backpacker walking bus, down the Main Bazaar, across the road underneath the metro station and down onto a wide, quiet backstreet. There we all set up camp on the pavement to wait for the bus. Surprisingly it wasn't very late and more surprisingly it was a proper semi-sleeper sleek black luxury coach. ... read more
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August 7th 2012
Langzaam gaan we verder de Himalaya in. We beginnen in McLeod Ganj, de huidige woonplaats van de Dai la Lama en waar ook de Tibetaanse Regering in ballingschap zit. Helaas is de Lama himzelf net nog verder de Himalaya in getrokken en tegen de tijd dat wij daar aankomen gaat hij weer hier naartoe....we zullen wel even zwaaien vanuit de bus. Bezoek aan een Tibetaans museum en de tempel op de top van de berg zijn interessant. Nog leuker is onze ontmoeting met Dawa, een Tibetaanse vluchteling die 4 jaar geleden door de bergen gevlucht is naar India. Wij zijn wandelend onderweg naar een waterval en we raken met hem aan de praat. Zijn engels is niet fantastisch maar hij wil het graag oefenen. Wij vinden het leuk dat hij wat over zijn geschiedenis kan vertellen ... read more
July 26th 2012
The excitement started off with me getting a call from the HP tourism office saying that my bus had been preponed by one hour. I finished my work as fast as I could and rushed to the booking office in Central Delhi. The bus left at 6:30 in the evening. After a rather uneventful 14 hours, I reached Manali. It has just rained and the weather was gloomy. I checked into my hotel and called up the paragliding company. I was disappointed when they told me that it was still raining at Solang valley and there was thick fog too; making paragliding not possible. Nonetheless, I decided to venture out. I had my breakfast and boarded a local bus that took me to Solang valley, 13 kilometres from Manali. With nothing much to do, I stood ... read more
July 15th 2012
Well I've arrived in India. Good flight from NZ and a nice quick transfer at the swish KL airport for the 5 hour on flight up to Delhi. On the flight I watched the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – a great film about some old English people who all meet up on a trip to India for various personal reasons. A great film and a perfect reintroduction to India. Recommend seeing it. So got to Delhi about midday on Friday. 33 degrees no wind and about 70% humidity i.e. really hot. It was reasonably straight forward going through passport control and customs. Once I got my pack I proceeded to investigate the brand spanking new highly efficient Delhi Metro underground railway into town only to discover that the line from the airport was closed for maintenance ... read more
July 13th 2012
Manali is such a sleepy little mountain village, but it's not always obvious. Recently it has become a popular destination for people all over India to take respice from the monsoons and heat in the rest of the country. We met a couple from Delhi who said that it is 45 degrees c there right now. I don't know the exact conversion, but it's well over 100 F, so it's no wonder they want to climb into the mountains and shelter themselves among the surrounding snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas. The main roads and town centers are full, as is most of India, of taxis, motorcycles, rickshaws, and delivery trucks- all honking and driving around each other in a loud fury to gain even the slightest distance towards their destinations. It's not completely odd here to ... read more
July 12th 2012
So i'm in manali, and have been for a day or two longer than expected. The bus was fairly uneventful and I found it due to the large group of white british kids getting on the same deluxe bus which wasnt too bad except for i was given a seat over the rear wheels instead of in the middle whether the bumps would be much less. The roads were actually OK and the bus so big it couldnt speed too much down them. We arrived in good time to as usual a mess of a bus station and I grabbed my bag, jumped in a tuktuk and got it to take me to "upcountry Lodge" recommended by footprint. This did involve a bit of a walk off the road but was well worth it. The lodge ... read more
