Feeling the heat again...

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We took the local bus from Naggar to Mandi (Via Kullu), it took around four hours, and the further south we went the hotter it became! Some of the valleys looked familiar from our journey up to Manali a few weeks ago, especially the very steep roads where the bus seems to cling to the sides of the cliffs with the River Beas's rushing far below. We saw the monkeys sitting on the side of the road in exactly the same position as they were on the way up, and the road workers now busy on another stretch of the road where it is crumbling in to the river. As we got closer to Mandi, the valley stretched open, and there was room for farmers to grow their fruit and vegetables again - really ripe tomato's which were a welcome smell in place of the dust and other smells...

On reaching Mandi, we grabbed our bags and bought a chai from one of the road sellers, a chance to gather our thoughts and decide where we should sleep... The Raj Mahal Palace, described in the 'book' as "A ramshackle old castle" and "great budget option" hmm, that sound's like a laugh! We took a rickshaw to the other side of town where the hotel was situated, and were met but a security guard on the driveway and before the gates - He would not allow me to carry my rucksack in to the grounds, result! We were shown down the steps and into the garden of the hotel, the gardeners were busying themselves with planting the new grass (one by one in little clumps - no such thing as turf round here, y'know!), and tending to the flowers in time of the rain - mango's ripening on the trees and a huge wall with creepers and flowers surrounding it all - really beautiful, and not so 'ramshackle' at all, in fact we were really quite under-dressed. The hotel is a bit like a museum, with old artifacts and paintings hanging from the wall and antique furniture wherever you look.

After we had checked in, showered and found our cleanest clothes we were shown in the bar - gentleman's bar. It was a strange feeling, to be the only woman in a place, and we were also the only Westerner's in the hotel for the first couple of nights which also felt a little strange. Mandi is not known for being one of the tourist stopping points, more of a passing point on the route elsewhere, but it really is a lovely town. There is a big square in the centre of town with the market beneath it, and the square serves as a kind-of roundabout with roads running off in all directions.

We went up to the Kali-temple at the top of Tarna Hill one morning and had a look around, there is a park on the hill too, one which is full of flowers and shady spots and one with swings and slides. The flower-garden was full of young couples sitting in pairs in the shade and talking, having already given an offering to Kali. Kali is the goddess of destruction and she is often seen with a necklace of sculls, or ripping the heads off of other creatures - you may recall something about her in the 'Indiana Jones' films. The temple used to be a place of ritual sacrifice - we are told that the 180 steps leading up to the temple has the bodies of 180 sacrificed people - one under each step. But now worshipper's mostly offer donations of money or garlands, we saw no blood today! (PHEW!)

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