Hello from India

---

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 – such is India! So I got a local bus into town again with relative ease to New Delhi train station where I was to get my train that night to a place called Chandigarh from where I would go up into the Himalayas by bus. There were many helpful officials at the airport.

The bus ride in from the airport in on Delhi’s roads was as chaotic as ever! All sorts of vehicles in an organised yet unorganised rabble! It really is a case of toot your horn as load as you can until the vehicle in front or to the side of you makes way. Hopefully you are in a bigger vehicle!

On the roadside there is every sort of construction going up alongside slums and apartment blocks. As I've said before nowhere have I ever encountered a greater example of the first world alongside the third world!
So getting off the bus at New Delhi train station, one of India’s largest, and you are straight into the thick of it, the smells, the traffic, the filth and the people. I thought that I would drop off my big pack at left luggage and tried to find that.

Eventually making my way through the people, rickshaw drivers and sellers of just about everything imaginable and through security screening into the station – again 1st world technology in a 3rd world environment. The queues at the ticket counters almost spilled over out the main doors but fortunately I already had my ticket pre booked online before I left NZ. I did note a number of computer terminals where you could look up presumably any train in India in order to complete your reservation form, something I can't remember from the last visit that undoubtly makes purchasing tickets here much easier!

As a result of the queue for the left luggage and for the sake of a couple hours I opted to take the short walk into Connaught place, the main centre of New Delhi with my pack and get a bite to eat before making my way back the train station for my 5.15pm departure to Chandigarh. There were of course many people trying to sell you everything imaginable from exotic gifts to tours.

Getting back to the station I had booked a first class train ticket and the air con was just what I needed by that stage and I found myself mixing with mostly Indian business travelers talking on their mobile phones and laptops while drinking tea. I was the only foreigner in the carriage and the train master made a special effort to come around and personally welcome me aboard.

I arrived in Chandigarh about 8.30pm and got a rickshaw into town and reasonably easily checked into a modest hotel. I was quite tired by this stage so wasn’t fussy but the shower and comfortable bed was welcome!

After a nice long sleep I decided to get up and head to the bus station, since I had heard that there were frequent buses to Manali from where I would make the ascent to the Himalayan town of Manali.

Getting to the bus station I was promptly told that there was a bus leaving for Manali in 25 minutes! – such is India. It was a long (10hours) bus ride so I wanted an air con bus, which it was except that the air con wasn’t working properly!
Although hot we quite quickly climbed into higher country providing a stunning introduction to the Himalayas. That and a sudden downpour of rain that turned the roadside into streams – India is after all in Monsoon at the moment. Nevertheless the relief, albeit briefly, that the rain provided from the heat was welcome. We also stopped at a roadside eatery where I got stuck into some Tadkar Dahl, a non dairy yellow lentil curry complete with nice small (and fiery green chillis).

We got to Manali about 10pm and again I quite easily found a suitable hotel for another nice rest. I’d picked up a small cold so the brandy hot toddy’s that they served in the bar were just what was needed before another nice long sleep.

Manali is a mountain resort type village where a lot of Indians go for a summer holiday. There are also a lot of Tibetians and Nepalese here as well as many foreigners seeking more insight into meditation, yoga and other eastern religion activities, although the town still has a very relaxed feel. There are also many nice restaurants serving the town specialty trout in every way imaginable caught in the river that runs through the town.

I will stay another night here relaxing a bit before making another long mini bus ascent to Leh, which is up at 3,500 metres crossing about 3 high mountain passes at just under 5,000 – a stunning road and the highest in the world. From there the plan is to get into some trekking including an epic trip back down.

Cheers and more soon!

---