August 15, 2008 India Independence Day Today is a National Holiday but I didn’t feel it anywhere around here. All the shops were open as usual in Old Manali where I am staying and I didn’t venture down to New Manali to see what was going on…I heard not much. I am in my 3rd accommodation here in Manali. The first night I stayed in a hotel nearby but it was far too costly $10 a night and it had a moldy, musty smell to it-almost like every place I looked at…or rather smelled at. The second night was another hotel, [View Full Entry]

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August 9, 2008 Today I am glad to say I am alive for two reasons: surviving river rafting and the highway (gravel pathway) from Leh to Manali. These two adventures are why I bought medical insurance and upped my life insurance before I left Canada. The Zanskar and Indus rivers are a relatively tame duo compared to the roads, and why I did prefer taking the river than the road down from the town of Chilling to Leh. The outdoor adventure “cowboy” company as Tess called it, one of the fellow rafting survivors, arrived to pick us up promptly at 8:30 [View Full Entry]

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August 10, 2008 I left for Manali at 2:00 am Sunday morn…..and I cannot even begin to describe the ride. There were 11 of us in mini-bus with a Ladakhi driver. I started out excited and optimistic on my new adventure through the Himalayas and through the highest mountain pass in the world. By 6 am I was freezing literally. My toes were so cold I could not feel them anymore. I wore as many layers of clothes I had but I did not bring much in the way of “winter attire.” I was completely jealous of the other passengers who [View Full Entry]

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August 6, 2008 Still in Leh here and in some ways I do not want to leave. The low population and agreeable climate has me considering staying longer, but this will cause me to panic to see other parts of India in haste. I spent the last few days just wandering the streets here and soaking in the sights and culture. There are some hidden alleyways and streets which can take one to a whole other dimension away from the tamasic energy of the city centre. I have been making it a bit of a project to take photos of every [View Full Entry]

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August 3, 2008 Well I have been in Leh and the Indus Valley now for about 6 days now; it feels much longer. I have pretty much gotten the feel of the place which ranges from utter reverence to distaste. The distaste can be described as the pollution from the cars that choke the life out of the small alleyways here and the hoards of tourists. There was a protest to ban the cars from the main bazaar, but from what I have learned politically, there is no real local governing body in Leh. The locals have little say in th [View Full Entry]

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JULY 29, 2008 Leh, Ladakh - Jammu and Kashmir I write now from Leh, Ladakh in the Himalayas in the subdistrict of Jammu and Kashmir. I had to be at the airport at 3:30 AM to catch a flight to Leh at 5:00. The flight was only 1 hr and 10 min from Delhi for $85…I got a deal. Flying into Leh was amazing as we approached the runway. . The pilot had to skillfully navigate the mountains into the Leh Valley here….and it appeared at times like the tips of the airplane wings would clip a mountainside! Of course the [View Full Entry]

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July 26-27, 2008 Delhi - Old and New I ventured out to see the capital city today….hired an air conditioned cab and driver an shared it with a young Czech woman who is traveling alone also…8 hrs, $10 each. Wow what an amazing city! Vast sprawling parks coupled with spectacular architecture both very old and new had me feel the diverse history and political landscape that has punctuated the city for hundreds of years. Parliament was a delight to visit….with it’s incredible offices housed in magnificent Indian architecture. These buildings are majestic wonders that [View Full Entry]

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July 23, 2008 After about 29 hrs traveling from Reno, Nevada I arrived in Delhi. The airport is typically in dire need of upgrades as per usual for countries such as this. The taxi that was suppose to come from the hotel did not show…so I called them from the airport. My first taste of Indian touts was right there. A taxi driver man who said he would take us to the hotel tried to convince us that my hotel would never show up and they were terrible business people for making believe they would. He had a better hotel to [View Full Entry]

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