Manali!!! Is this even India?

After my overnight bus to Rishikesh I was very happy to have my new friends Nicola and Stewart to share a taxi up the small windy mountain roads to Manali. We arrived at 10pm to a village we had heard about right outside of Manili, (Vashisht) to cold temperatures and pouring rain, and for the first time on the trip, we had a hard time finding a place to stay. We ended up crashing for the night in a cement room with a shared toilet and no sink or shower. They were nice enough to bring up a bucket of hot water. I was starting to be worried... plus they told us the road to Leh was blocked and that is why it was so busy in town... Leh was to be our next stop.

When I woke up in the morning I was eager to find a hotel with a shower. I discovered that we were staying in a beautiful little town and I found a great guesthouse up a hill with balconies over looking the Himilayas! It kind of feels like we are in Whistler but there are constant reminders that we are still in India. For example, the cow that head butted Stewart and the families bathing and doing laundry in the hotspring below our hotel, the Rickshaw drivers and of course the amazing food! The people are different here and so friendly and welcoming.

There is Yoga here too and I continue to try to make my body fit into some very unnatural positions. And for the first time in weeks we have discovered a liquor store! Yes I really think we are in heaven. Which I think may make the yoga class today even harder then it was yesterday. We head out tomorrow on a 3 day trek which after almost 4 months of travelling I am a little nervous about my fitness level. But as we are hiking at about 3000m and up, I will easily be able to blame it on the altitude.

The town is quite busy as the road to Leh, which is usaully open in May, has been closed again due to snow fall. So my life has some stress in it right now, I have to decide whether to hang out in this paradise for a couple of weeks or try to fly to Leh. I know you will all be feeling sorry for me and I would appreciate your prayers during this difficult time.