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, up the road, the Him View, for $5 a night, but it too had a really awful moldy/mildew smell and was really quite dirty upon closer examination (I made the mistake of taking a room
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