India - Himachal Pradesh

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So, we escaped Delhi as soon as we possibly could. The phrase "culture shock" couldn't be more appropriate for how I suspect the majority of people who visit India's capital feel for the first 24hrs post landing (we weren't the only ones - about 24hrs after landing, just as we were adjusting to the pace of things, we met a very well travelled French judo instructor who had just stepped off the plane and was visibly shaking).

It is a truly mental city and, without wanting to sound too judgmental on a public blog site, a difficult place to rationalise when you witness the very public displays of abject poverty in parts of what is supposed to be the capital of the world's largest democratic nation........but enough of that.

We jumped on a bus and headed north to the state of Himachal Pradesh in the west of the Himalayas. We'd heard that monsoon season was the perfect time to get up into the mountains and see the sites. Train routes in this region are limited so we did the majority of our travelling via bus...........

Manali
At an altitude of just short of 2,000 metres, there was plenty of fresh, mountain air here - a welcome change from Delhi 😊 Manali has a well established hippy culture (not quite as full-on as Goa) but Old Manali strikes a nice balance between touristy and laid back cool (for the record, New Manali was very miss-able).

We paid 300 rupees (just under 4 quid) a night to stay at the Sunshine Hotel - massive, if basic, double room with bathroom, dressing room and veranda overlooking the hills - which was ideally located for exploring the town.

Took a 14km hike into the hills (technically mountains, but we didn't climb higher than 50-100m above our start altitude) and witnessed some spectacular views as well as some local produce; apple trees, vegetable gardens, cannabis plantations......

Passed though a number of remote villages and stopped off at our guide's house to meet his mum and have a cup of tea. House itself consisted of several low ceilinged floors interconnected with ladders - we really struggled to get from one floor to the next so God knows how the elderly manage!

Dharamsala
......actually, McLeod Ganj which is just above Dharamsala on the mountain and is the home of both the Tibetan government in exile and, of course, Tibetan Buddhism.

Arrived here at 2.30am to find that the entire town, including the hostel we were hoping to stay in, was closed for the night. We had phoned the hostel the previous day and they had assured us that, if we "banged on the front door and made a bit of noise" someone would definitely be there to let us in. 30 minutes of enthusiastic banging failed to raise the hostel staff. It did, however, raise the local McLeod Ganj police force, who arrived on mopeds and politely suggested that we stop making so much noise. Shortly after this another shadowy figure ambled up the dimly lit road and stood confusedly in front of the hostel door. He had long hair and a guitar. His name was Ofir, he was from Israel and had been walking around darkened McLeod trying to find somewhere, anywhere that was open. He was pretty chilled (apparently he was into rock-climbing and playing the Spanish guitar - last year he traveled India finding rocks to climb, this year he was finding places to play guitar - pretty cool!)

The three of us managed to raise staff at nearby hostel who happened to have a twin room available - we happily agreed to split the the room rate and squeezed into the room. Ofir and I spent the following morning trading guitar riffs 😊

Dharamsala / McLeod is set in a spectacular location - the views are awesome and you can easily lose the days just by sitting in a rooftop cafe watching the monks and monkeys pass you by in the street and the clouds roll on and off the mountains and over the buildings. A lot of photographs were taken. We took a short hike to a local waterfall but otherwise spent our time there getting immersed in the culture and learning a little Tibetan history - the Tibetan Museum tracing the history of the Tibetan struggle for independence was certainly an eye-opening highlight.

The most interesting (and rewarding) thing that we did here was to volunteer to help students practice their English on us for the afternoon, at a local school for ex-political prisoners who had escaped Tibet for India. I sat with three ladies and Kerry with two gentlemen, and we traded stories about who we were and where we'd come from. The students had been learning English for less than a month but, taking that into consideration, their standard was very, very impressive. That said, their school routine is pretty intense - 6am start every day!

I know a lot of you will be eager to ask the same question: did we get to see the main man? Did we get to see RICHARD GERE??? Unfortunately, the answer is no, Richard wasn't in town when we visited. However, we were lucky enough to be visiting the temple when we discovered that His Holiness the Dalai Lama would be giving an address. Unfortunately, cameras and mobiles weren't allowed so one of us had to stay outside with these items (and Graham had a very dodgy stomach that day), but Kerry got to see the great man up close.

Evenings were spent playing "Big 2", a new card game that we're picked up and have been playing avidly ever since....

http://www.tigergaming.com/thegames/big2.php


Renuka
Two nights next to a peaceful, forest bordered lake in the middle of nowhere. Had to go via a small town called Nahan, which was notable for 1. the incredibly tasty but dirt cheap dhal breakfasts that we had at a restaurant next to the bus station, and 2. being the first place where someone actively asked that Kerry cover up because he was concerned that she was showing too much flesh (bare shoulders). Yep, we were well of the tourist track here.

First day in Renuka was nice - we walked around the lake and through the wildlife park seeing some lions (pronounced "loins") and bears and taking in the scenery.

Second day was scary - got latched onto by the local high-caste, all powerful land owner who insisted on taking us out for the day and paying for everything. He and his diver drove us to a local, gated guest house, took us to a hotel room and produced several bottles of strong beer which he insisted that we start drinking (alcohol is hard to come by in this region so he figured we'd want a drink). Bear in mind that Renuka is only 300-400 miles from the Pakistani border........

Anyway, alarm bells started to ring when he started to question us on our political views, specifically what we thought of terrorism, Pakistan, Islam and Bin Laden.

Then his driver started smoking crack.

Things went rapidly downhill after that and there were several heated exchanges re. why Kerry wasn't drinking the beer that he'd bought, could we go back to our hotel etc etc. We also had to give our analysis / opinion on whether a local dam building project that would flood the region, displace several farming communities but provide Delhi with drinking water should go ahead or not (as the owner of all land within a 30 mile or so radius he had final say). I swear to God, he was actually asking our advice on this, we got taken to the dam site and everything.

Al in all a bizarre day, but we're still in one piece. In hindsight I'm sure the gentleman in question was just a little to enthusiastic with his hospitality, but at the time.........

Shimla
Former winter seat of the British Raj in India. A very middle class hill town, with porters lining the streets, eager to carry you bags for you.

We got a brilliant, wood-panelled 80s style room at the City view for 400 rupees a night, complete with awesome views over the town.

Went to the local museum, highlight of which was a collection of letters written by Gandhi to various political figures (including Hitler), and also visited the former Viceroy's Lodge (where the Brits used to rule from) which was very interesting and roused heated debate amongst India visitors that were on our guided tour ("Why are there still photos of the British on the walls?" etc etc)

Also, had our first "normal" night in since leaving Blighty - bought a bottle of red wine, ordered a Dominos pizza and sat in our room watch cable TV - well you can't be a proper traveller all the time!

Took the toy train out of Shimla, through the mountains to Kalka where we connected to an express train to Delhi.

Spent one night in Delhi, then caught a flight to Kerala in the far south.........

Graham

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Photos

Renewed celebrity status
in Manali. We remained celebs for the duration of our time in HP. It got a bit much at times for Graham when the cameraman was obviously cutting him out of the shots with Indian men in Shimla. Hmm.. naughty tourists!

Waterfall
Graham with borrowed sunnies

We didn't quite trust..
..the cleanliness of our bed in McLeod Ganj. Thank God for silk sleeping bag liners!

That bloody dam!
"So should the dam be built? You decide!"
Note crack addled driver in foreground.

Shimla to Kalka toy train
it's so wee!

Comments

[Yashoda]

Delhi
Mumbai is worse, the highly educated live next to the illiterate. It's a land of extremes, and you can't judge poverty by western eyes. Some tin shacks have cable TV, they may not have running water or a toilet but they'll have what we could consider luxuries.

[KerryAndGraham]

re. Delhi
.....was thinking more of the families sleeping on the streets around Connaught Place....but point taken, I'll reign in my cod-politics from now onwards :) And I also hear Mumbai is much worse! We're heading there in a week or so I think so will be able to compare.