So there a few things i wanted to add that i forgot to mention in yesterdays blog. i was reminded after speaking with asher on the front porch of our guest house of some memorable events memorable enough to include in this blog.
along the way to Bharjeshwari (sp?) temple in Kangra yesterday while hiking up steep stone stairs, we met a group of indian boys. there were four, all 15 or 16, though they looked much younger. we sat with them on some benches and answered their crude questions regarding our sex lives and girlfriends. Indian males, and maybe females though i dont get much chance to talk with them, are naturally intrusive. That is, they are very curious about private matters, and im often asked if im married, or have a girlfriend, or what my religion is and what i think about homosexuals. i tailor my answers to the situation.
I did have a chance to talk to one of the sister landladies this morning but the conversation with the women normally doesnt proceed past formalities. She did tell me that here in Dharamshala during the offseason most folks stop working in hospitality and start working in the fields, growing corn, collecting wood. She also said she studies in college during that time. While i usually ask the indian men i meet personal questions, indian women are less open and much more restricted, and i dont feel comfortable asking them personal questions.
Anyhow, one other think was in kiriganga, while sitting around a bonfire in the woods somewhere, we roasted bananas stuffed with indian chocolates and sugar. Tasty.
What else? What else is there to say??
Oh yea, this keyboard is sticky and sucks to write on. Its 9am. Im in Daramkot. I dont like the spelling checker underlining my every mistake!
I just finished The Hard Way by Lee Child which I found second rate, a book meant to pass time. The quality of the writing is poor and the descriptions somewhat mudane, but the story is mildy entertaining enough to get me to the end. I also just finished Miss Wyoming by Doug Coupland, which was cool. Now im getting started on Beyond Belief by VS Naipaul, which is a 1995 book and a study on four non-arab muslim countries. Lots of time to read here in india.
Been riding around on the bike, through the city, mcleod gange, which is a bit chaotic but interesting. Had my horn fixed. U need the horn in india, its more important than the brakes!
So what do other people here do? There are lots of indian tourists but not here in daramkot or in the other popular backpacker zone Bagsu. These backpackers (90% israeli) spend the days eating, smoking (though far far less than in kasol and manali), playing chess, taking short walks to the outhouse, showering sometimes (otherwise known as "hot bucketing"), reading, ordering tea from "G". Some less stoned and more motivated backpackers take a build your own digiridoo class, a yoga or tibetan medidation class. Some even go see the dalai lama. I even know somebody who saw the DL!! I really do! Its so awesome!
It rains here a lot. As opposed to almost every other place ive been so far, the sky is perpetually cloudy (except for yesterday fora few hours), it usually rains in the morning and a litte through out the day. But its OK for me i actually like the change, and its not cold and the mountains are still big.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Tosh
So Tosh. I forgot to mention about the journey there. Lashman, the 40 yr old Indian with a restaurant in Goa, led us the whole way. We knew the trip would take time, mainly because of the many smoking breaks taken along the way. But we didnt know it would take SEVEN hours. The trip is usually 5 hours, but due to road closure, we had no option but cross directly through the hills, crossing some treacherous ravines and clinging to massive rocks suspended over deep deep valleys.
After arriving in Tosh we headed straight for Lashman's guesthouse, located on the Eastern side of Tosh. Most of the guesthouses are on the other side. The village is beautiful, clean, quiet, and the views are stupendous; some of the best views ive seen thus far. We brought the guesthouse to life, cooked food, took showers, cleaned up. Asher and I had the tandoori room, so our beds became littered with food and trash. We spent most of our three days there cooking, smoking, reading, and playing lots of cards. Shithead is a pretty cool game and a great way to pass the time. Memorable event: making shakshuka on the tandoori.
IN Tosh Asher and I talked about his plans to by a bike. ON the second day we went to Kasol to check out motorcycles. The walk from Tosh to Barshani is about an hour through the hills. we got there and picked up my Enfield and rode to Kasol. An hour later we were checking out a '97 enfield. A few bikes later, Asher made up his mind. A black '94 bullet owned by an israeli. Deal closed. We stayed in Kasol until around 730, and made the ride back to Barshani in the dark. When we got there we bought a couple flashlight-lighers and hiked back to Tosh in the dark.
After a few more days in Tosh doing nothing but relaxing and enjoying life, we decided to head back to Kasol for a day and then leave for Dharamshala. In Kasol Asher prepped his bike and i lounged at the guesthouse. The next day we left at six am.
The ride to Dharamshala had the best streets ive seen so far, everything paved, white lines in the middle. A few bumps here and there, but overall highly satisfactory. We arrived in the afternoon, rain was pouring down, and Asher was in a bad mood. His enfield had a few problems that had become apparent during the trip, and he was having a hard time getting used to the gears on the right side.
We took a guesthouse in hectic Mcleod Gange, 13 kilometers from D... where the Dalai Lama lives. We're going out with him later for a few drinks.
In the evening we found a mechanic and retrieved Ashers bike from where it had broken down temporarily right before Mcleod Gange with a broken clutch cable.
Next day (37?) we headed to Daramkot, a small tourist village above mcleod Gange. We passed through Bagsu, a popular nest for israeli tourists, but decided it was too chaotic for our tastes. We took a guesthouse in Daramkot with a stunning view, and thats where we are now. A family runs the guesthouse. There is a father who seems to run things despite being surprisingly timid; a mother who looks like a witch and maybe even is one; a sister, Rita, who is the oldest and most miserable, having shamed her family by not getting married when she was younger and marriageable (my guess); and two other sisters, one with a baby and one who is pretty and who's hand im going to ask from her father later after i get off the internet. I can live here, milk cows, run a guesthouse with a pretty indian wife, why not?
Theres a restaurant near the guesthouse called Sameem Kaleem, which in hebrew means "East Drugs" and where movies are shown. Theres another place called the isra-alit "the israeli" and also shows movies. Yesterday we watched Lord of the Rings 3 and i slept the whole way through but woke up at the end for the part where Frodo throws the ring in the fire and I cried.
Today we took our bikes and rode 23 kilometers to a town called Kangra, and found a very old temple. We hiked to the temple, adn found lots of people in a line at then entrance. So we stood with them and finally got the front to an alter, and next to the alter was a sort of podium with sugar sacrifices to the gods and about 20 hornets devouring the sugar. Outside were lots of dead hornets. People took some of the sugar also for themselves, to put in their chai later.
After arriving in Tosh we headed straight for Lashman's guesthouse, located on the Eastern side of Tosh. Most of the guesthouses are on the other side. The village is beautiful, clean, quiet, and the views are stupendous; some of the best views ive seen thus far. We brought the guesthouse to life, cooked food, took showers, cleaned up. Asher and I had the tandoori room, so our beds became littered with food and trash. We spent most of our three days there cooking, smoking, reading, and playing lots of cards. Shithead is a pretty cool game and a great way to pass the time. Memorable event: making shakshuka on the tandoori.
IN Tosh Asher and I talked about his plans to by a bike. ON the second day we went to Kasol to check out motorcycles. The walk from Tosh to Barshani is about an hour through the hills. we got there and picked up my Enfield and rode to Kasol. An hour later we were checking out a '97 enfield. A few bikes later, Asher made up his mind. A black '94 bullet owned by an israeli. Deal closed. We stayed in Kasol until around 730, and made the ride back to Barshani in the dark. When we got there we bought a couple flashlight-lighers and hiked back to Tosh in the dark.
After a few more days in Tosh doing nothing but relaxing and enjoying life, we decided to head back to Kasol for a day and then leave for Dharamshala. In Kasol Asher prepped his bike and i lounged at the guesthouse. The next day we left at six am.
The ride to Dharamshala had the best streets ive seen so far, everything paved, white lines in the middle. A few bumps here and there, but overall highly satisfactory. We arrived in the afternoon, rain was pouring down, and Asher was in a bad mood. His enfield had a few problems that had become apparent during the trip, and he was having a hard time getting used to the gears on the right side.
We took a guesthouse in hectic Mcleod Gange, 13 kilometers from D... where the Dalai Lama lives. We're going out with him later for a few drinks.
In the evening we found a mechanic and retrieved Ashers bike from where it had broken down temporarily right before Mcleod Gange with a broken clutch cable.
Next day (37?) we headed to Daramkot, a small tourist village above mcleod Gange. We passed through Bagsu, a popular nest for israeli tourists, but decided it was too chaotic for our tastes. We took a guesthouse in Daramkot with a stunning view, and thats where we are now. A family runs the guesthouse. There is a father who seems to run things despite being surprisingly timid; a mother who looks like a witch and maybe even is one; a sister, Rita, who is the oldest and most miserable, having shamed her family by not getting married when she was younger and marriageable (my guess); and two other sisters, one with a baby and one who is pretty and who's hand im going to ask from her father later after i get off the internet. I can live here, milk cows, run a guesthouse with a pretty indian wife, why not?
Theres a restaurant near the guesthouse called Sameem Kaleem, which in hebrew means "East Drugs" and where movies are shown. Theres another place called the isra-alit "the israeli" and also shows movies. Yesterday we watched Lord of the Rings 3 and i slept the whole way through but woke up at the end for the part where Frodo throws the ring in the fire and I cried.
Today we took our bikes and rode 23 kilometers to a town called Kangra, and found a very old temple. We hiked to the temple, adn found lots of people in a line at then entrance. So we stood with them and finally got the front to an alter, and next to the alter was a sort of podium with sugar sacrifices to the gods and about 20 hornets devouring the sugar. Outside were lots of dead hornets. People took some of the sugar also for themselves, to put in their chai later.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Kiriganga
So where was I? Oh yea, Kiriganga. Small place, 3500 meters high. Three guesthouses, one large mineral bath.
Michal and I stayed at a place called Lotus, which is a common guesthouse name around these parts. Am I repeating myself?
The day number thing just kind of evaporated on me. What day are we talking about? 30? 35?
Suffice it to say we were in Kiriganga for 8 days. Michal decided to continue on to Dharamshala before me without the motorcycle, so from this point on i was on my own.
The owner of the guesthouse we called "G", which is how indian men refer to each other sometimes. Its kind of like "sir", but at the beginning of my trip i thought this was a reference to the "G" in the US, which is short for "Gangster". But no connection. So we called out "G!" whenever we needed anything. The israelis love this: need something? just call out G! and someone is there with your mint tea, coffee, veg pakora, thali, or hashish.
The whole thing about india is thats its so cheap here and poor backpackers feel like Kings!
Our group in Kiriganga included some interesting characters: Australian couple: Ren and Jay. early 30's. The girl, Ren, is funny. They married 3 years ago. She likes to talk, he doesnt. Maybe thats why they get along. Ido: 22, ex-D9 commander. Smokes a lot, too much, likes to talk a lot about meaningless things, a little annoying sometimes but entertaining. Enjoys cold showers. Asher: this is the guy im traveling with at the moment. Ethiopian, 22, no army, managed dominoes pizza for a couple years. Plans to open his own store when he returns to israel. Loves playstation. Lashman: Indian, 41. Strange little man, has his own restaurant in Goa which he operates in the winter, and travels in the offseason. He led us to Tosh from Kiriganga.
It started raining a few days in Kiriganga, which delayed our departure but have us plently of reasons to stay and bathe and smoke and watch the hills and the sky.
After michal left asher decided he may like to buy a motorcycle and continue with me to Dharamshala, and leave Ido and Ainat, his traveling partners. I told him fine, being rather indifferent to traveling alone or with someone. I suppose for the longer rides its good to have a partner or two. Also traveling with someone saves money on lodging sometimes, as u share a room.
We left Kiriganga about a week ago, and headed for Tosh. Tosh is another outpost in Parvati Valley with no access to motor vehicles. This is all changing however, as a new road is currently being noisily constructed which will inevitably change the dynamic and attraction of the whole area. Tosh is only about an hours walk from varashani, and then a half our motorcycle trip.
In Tosh we stayed at Lashman's friend's closed guesthouse. not operating this season. I stayed with asher in the main room with the tandoori, and ido and ainat stayed in another room and that australians in another room. I borrowed High Fidelity by Nick Hornby from Ren and read it while in Tosh.
Michal and I stayed at a place called Lotus, which is a common guesthouse name around these parts. Am I repeating myself?
The day number thing just kind of evaporated on me. What day are we talking about? 30? 35?
Suffice it to say we were in Kiriganga for 8 days. Michal decided to continue on to Dharamshala before me without the motorcycle, so from this point on i was on my own.
The owner of the guesthouse we called "G", which is how indian men refer to each other sometimes. Its kind of like "sir", but at the beginning of my trip i thought this was a reference to the "G" in the US, which is short for "Gangster". But no connection. So we called out "G!" whenever we needed anything. The israelis love this: need something? just call out G! and someone is there with your mint tea, coffee, veg pakora, thali, or hashish.
The whole thing about india is thats its so cheap here and poor backpackers feel like Kings!
Our group in Kiriganga included some interesting characters: Australian couple: Ren and Jay. early 30's. The girl, Ren, is funny. They married 3 years ago. She likes to talk, he doesnt. Maybe thats why they get along. Ido: 22, ex-D9 commander. Smokes a lot, too much, likes to talk a lot about meaningless things, a little annoying sometimes but entertaining. Enjoys cold showers. Asher: this is the guy im traveling with at the moment. Ethiopian, 22, no army, managed dominoes pizza for a couple years. Plans to open his own store when he returns to israel. Loves playstation. Lashman: Indian, 41. Strange little man, has his own restaurant in Goa which he operates in the winter, and travels in the offseason. He led us to Tosh from Kiriganga.
It started raining a few days in Kiriganga, which delayed our departure but have us plently of reasons to stay and bathe and smoke and watch the hills and the sky.
After michal left asher decided he may like to buy a motorcycle and continue with me to Dharamshala, and leave Ido and Ainat, his traveling partners. I told him fine, being rather indifferent to traveling alone or with someone. I suppose for the longer rides its good to have a partner or two. Also traveling with someone saves money on lodging sometimes, as u share a room.
We left Kiriganga about a week ago, and headed for Tosh. Tosh is another outpost in Parvati Valley with no access to motor vehicles. This is all changing however, as a new road is currently being noisily constructed which will inevitably change the dynamic and attraction of the whole area. Tosh is only about an hours walk from varashani, and then a half our motorcycle trip.
In Tosh we stayed at Lashman's friend's closed guesthouse. not operating this season. I stayed with asher in the main room with the tandoori, and ido and ainat stayed in another room and that australians in another room. I borrowed High Fidelity by Nick Hornby from Ren and read it while in Tosh.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Finally!!!
ok, so its been like 30 minutes since i started trying to log into this website.
first i used a computer that was all in chinese, or japanese. So anyways im finally on the internet in Kasol where im staying and im smoking a joint and its only 10:45 in the morning. Thats the way its done around here.
See, Parvati Valley is a series of small villages, some accessible by road, others only by foot. Kasol is the main stopping point for travelers, especially israeli travelers. Everything is in Hebrew. Everything. There is israeli food and some israeli music in Every restaurant and cafe. Some of the locals here, like in rishikish and Manali know hebrew quite well.
so ive been all around in the last few weeks. I think i got real sick right after i wrote last time. That was in Manali. I decided then to take my motorbike for a spin. It was morning and I took off towards New manali. But then i veered left and headed for RHOTANG PASS. Yes, its a very famous pass thats 4000 meters high! I road and road and road up and up and up on an increasingly fucked up road with big potholes across the entire roads, filled with mud and water and rocks and sand. It was cold and i was only wearing my fleece and jeans but no gloves. I kind of didnt plan for the adventure, but thats how it usually is with me.
I got near the top and saw a paragliding sight where the ride itself lasted all of 10 seconds, as they took off from one hill and landed quickly on the one right below it. I drank some chai and took a piss. Then i thought if i should continue the last 12 kilometers to RHOTANG PASS, and I decided Yes, after seeing a large group of Sikhs on motorcycles with barely nothing on but the scarf they cover their heads with and an old sweater. So I continued up and it was a bit hard to breath and very very cold. My fingers were numb due to the lack of gloves.
Well I finally reached the top and was amazed by the view but underwhelmed by the pass itself. Their are many indians wearing late 70s early 80s skiing alfits, you know, the full suit ensemble. They sell loads of them on the way up. I ate some over-roasted corn, just the way I like it. and then i saw what seemed like someone sitting on a chair that was a sled being pushed down the hill. Strange. But i didnt have time to watch, i was hungry, so i sat at a small dhaba and ordered two little potato burgers and a tomato cabbage something else stirfry something or another, and ate that while looking at the stunning snow covered himalayan cliffs all around me.
I rode down feeling nauseous. It was not a fun ride, I was freezing and I new i was going to be sick. I wasnt sick yet, however, and made it home safely. I then talked with a group living next door, three brits and a german, and then took a shower, and went to bed. I was sick for the next five days. Combination altitude sickness (i climbed 2000 meters from manali in 3 hours), and food poisoning (those fried potato burgers i bet).
During the days i was sick i talked a lot with the german guy next door, 24. He's a carpenter and lives in the Alps, and snowboards a lot.
Left Manali and travelled to Kasol after five days, and that took one day. The ride was three hours or so, passing through a little town but nothing too crazy. In Kasol both michal and I still didnt feel 100% (michal also was sick at the time), so we took it easy. I had just finished The Joke by Kundera, so i read Elmore Leonard's Out of Sight, in one day cuz there is absolutely nothing for me to do in Kasol, and it was OK. I was unimpressed.
Anywho just sat at a cafe all day in Kasol, and the next day we left to Kalga. In Kalga there was A LOT of Chillum activity. A chillum is made of hardened clay, and its about five inches long and one inch wide with a hole like a doughnut in the middle, so its like a straw kind of. Anyway you smoke jaras in it, by mixing with tobacco. And you hold in cupped in your hand and dont put your lips on it and you just get major major rips. So In Kalga there was this huge group of italians and germans just smoking all day long. and when i say smoking, i mean there was a chillum constantly being packed and smoked, all the time. Sometimes I partook, but always in moderation, of course.
Kalga was chill, I spent the time reading the namesake by Jhumpa lahari. The views were stunning, obviously. We were about 2500 meters up. The climb there was steeep. Nothing much going on there, a few houses, some chickens, a little restaurant that is supplied with food by human porters who bring the food up on their backs. We visited Pulga one day, another village a little larger than Kalga, and were surprised by how filthy it was there. Some of the villages are cleaner than others.
We had heard about a village way up 3000 meters high called Kiriganga. One guy who works at the local bookstore, an israeli, told us he "spit blood" on the way up. Others echoed that sentiment. So we were hesitant, but decided to "go with it" or "lizrom im se" as it is said often among israelis here, except when it came to Kiriganga.
We left at six am, with a porter guide who carried michals bag, but not mine, since im a man and can carry my own bag. Of course we left the big bag in Kasol, and only had our two smaller bags with us. The climb was surprisingly short, three hours, and not so difficult. Of course there were areas we had to climb with all four limbs, we were happy when we reached Kiriganga without barely breaking a sweat. Im not sure what all the commotion is about.
Kiriganga was amazing. Simply the most beautiful place with a hot natural mineral bath up at the top from which you see the best views in 360 degrees. Every day we went both morning and evening, one time i went with asher and we stayed til 9pm, two hours after closing, ooooohhhhh. That was pretty awesome since it started to rain hard, and we were sitting just the two of us in a large hot sulphur bath. Oh and you get used to the smell.
Girls dont have it so good they have to use the adjacent enclosed room, and though they get the hot water, they dont get the stunning views.
Immediately on arrival we met a group of israelis at the guesthouse. This guesthouse, like a lot of places in these hill stations, are third world mini resorts for poor israeli backpackers. Theres a tent divided into room. The restaurant is also a tent with some aluminum and wood panelling. Inside there is a tandoori that is used at night to keep the place warm. Now i know why they call it tandoori chicken! And the seating is all on the floor with pillows and low tables so you can just chill and lounge about all day long. People even sleep there at night. The israelis were just chilling around the table at 10am smoking joints. This is how it is everywhere in parvati valley. Everywhere you go people are smoking chillums and joints, in the internet cafes, restaurants, trek shops, clothing stores, everywhere. Its a constant activitythat goes on round the clock, everybody constantly creating "ksessa" which is the mixture of jaras and tobacco. The jaras is like hash but is made differently, lots of people taking the marijuana leaves and rolling it in their hands until their hands are coated with the black jaras.
We sat with the israelis and we continued sitting there for the next seven days. Going thru a routine is nice. Wake up, 8. Mineral bath 9. Sit patio in sun, 11. Trip somewhere, everyday, to a little nook in the forest surrounding us. We'd buy some patotoes, onions, chocolate, make a fire near a river somewhere and eat and sit and smoke. For hours. Come back: 4. Sit on patio till 6. Mineral Bath 7. It gets cold up there and rained half the time, for the last few days. Teh first four days were gorgeous weather. Eat inside, talk chill, read whatever 10. More of that 11. Sleep. So you see Kiriganga is pretty nice if you want to reeelax.
On the first day of rain it was hardcore rain and my room got a little revenge from the god of rain, mashnavitu (im actually not sure if thats a god or not, i just made it up). My bed got soaked only, so i slept in the restaurant, near the tandoori. However i froze at night cause nobody kept putting wood in the tandoori!
Ive been sitting here for 1.5 hours, so now ive reached a point where i can no longer continue writing due to energy saving concerns. Please visit the next post in this blog when you find a quiet open moment in your day.
first i used a computer that was all in chinese, or japanese. So anyways im finally on the internet in Kasol where im staying and im smoking a joint and its only 10:45 in the morning. Thats the way its done around here.
See, Parvati Valley is a series of small villages, some accessible by road, others only by foot. Kasol is the main stopping point for travelers, especially israeli travelers. Everything is in Hebrew. Everything. There is israeli food and some israeli music in Every restaurant and cafe. Some of the locals here, like in rishikish and Manali know hebrew quite well.
so ive been all around in the last few weeks. I think i got real sick right after i wrote last time. That was in Manali. I decided then to take my motorbike for a spin. It was morning and I took off towards New manali. But then i veered left and headed for RHOTANG PASS. Yes, its a very famous pass thats 4000 meters high! I road and road and road up and up and up on an increasingly fucked up road with big potholes across the entire roads, filled with mud and water and rocks and sand. It was cold and i was only wearing my fleece and jeans but no gloves. I kind of didnt plan for the adventure, but thats how it usually is with me.
I got near the top and saw a paragliding sight where the ride itself lasted all of 10 seconds, as they took off from one hill and landed quickly on the one right below it. I drank some chai and took a piss. Then i thought if i should continue the last 12 kilometers to RHOTANG PASS, and I decided Yes, after seeing a large group of Sikhs on motorcycles with barely nothing on but the scarf they cover their heads with and an old sweater. So I continued up and it was a bit hard to breath and very very cold. My fingers were numb due to the lack of gloves.
Well I finally reached the top and was amazed by the view but underwhelmed by the pass itself. Their are many indians wearing late 70s early 80s skiing alfits, you know, the full suit ensemble. They sell loads of them on the way up. I ate some over-roasted corn, just the way I like it. and then i saw what seemed like someone sitting on a chair that was a sled being pushed down the hill. Strange. But i didnt have time to watch, i was hungry, so i sat at a small dhaba and ordered two little potato burgers and a tomato cabbage something else stirfry something or another, and ate that while looking at the stunning snow covered himalayan cliffs all around me.
I rode down feeling nauseous. It was not a fun ride, I was freezing and I new i was going to be sick. I wasnt sick yet, however, and made it home safely. I then talked with a group living next door, three brits and a german, and then took a shower, and went to bed. I was sick for the next five days. Combination altitude sickness (i climbed 2000 meters from manali in 3 hours), and food poisoning (those fried potato burgers i bet).
During the days i was sick i talked a lot with the german guy next door, 24. He's a carpenter and lives in the Alps, and snowboards a lot.
Left Manali and travelled to Kasol after five days, and that took one day. The ride was three hours or so, passing through a little town but nothing too crazy. In Kasol both michal and I still didnt feel 100% (michal also was sick at the time), so we took it easy. I had just finished The Joke by Kundera, so i read Elmore Leonard's Out of Sight, in one day cuz there is absolutely nothing for me to do in Kasol, and it was OK. I was unimpressed.
Anywho just sat at a cafe all day in Kasol, and the next day we left to Kalga. In Kalga there was A LOT of Chillum activity. A chillum is made of hardened clay, and its about five inches long and one inch wide with a hole like a doughnut in the middle, so its like a straw kind of. Anyway you smoke jaras in it, by mixing with tobacco. And you hold in cupped in your hand and dont put your lips on it and you just get major major rips. So In Kalga there was this huge group of italians and germans just smoking all day long. and when i say smoking, i mean there was a chillum constantly being packed and smoked, all the time. Sometimes I partook, but always in moderation, of course.
Kalga was chill, I spent the time reading the namesake by Jhumpa lahari. The views were stunning, obviously. We were about 2500 meters up. The climb there was steeep. Nothing much going on there, a few houses, some chickens, a little restaurant that is supplied with food by human porters who bring the food up on their backs. We visited Pulga one day, another village a little larger than Kalga, and were surprised by how filthy it was there. Some of the villages are cleaner than others.
We had heard about a village way up 3000 meters high called Kiriganga. One guy who works at the local bookstore, an israeli, told us he "spit blood" on the way up. Others echoed that sentiment. So we were hesitant, but decided to "go with it" or "lizrom im se" as it is said often among israelis here, except when it came to Kiriganga.
We left at six am, with a porter guide who carried michals bag, but not mine, since im a man and can carry my own bag. Of course we left the big bag in Kasol, and only had our two smaller bags with us. The climb was surprisingly short, three hours, and not so difficult. Of course there were areas we had to climb with all four limbs, we were happy when we reached Kiriganga without barely breaking a sweat. Im not sure what all the commotion is about.
Kiriganga was amazing. Simply the most beautiful place with a hot natural mineral bath up at the top from which you see the best views in 360 degrees. Every day we went both morning and evening, one time i went with asher and we stayed til 9pm, two hours after closing, ooooohhhhh. That was pretty awesome since it started to rain hard, and we were sitting just the two of us in a large hot sulphur bath. Oh and you get used to the smell.
Girls dont have it so good they have to use the adjacent enclosed room, and though they get the hot water, they dont get the stunning views.
Immediately on arrival we met a group of israelis at the guesthouse. This guesthouse, like a lot of places in these hill stations, are third world mini resorts for poor israeli backpackers. Theres a tent divided into room. The restaurant is also a tent with some aluminum and wood panelling. Inside there is a tandoori that is used at night to keep the place warm. Now i know why they call it tandoori chicken! And the seating is all on the floor with pillows and low tables so you can just chill and lounge about all day long. People even sleep there at night. The israelis were just chilling around the table at 10am smoking joints. This is how it is everywhere in parvati valley. Everywhere you go people are smoking chillums and joints, in the internet cafes, restaurants, trek shops, clothing stores, everywhere. Its a constant activitythat goes on round the clock, everybody constantly creating "ksessa" which is the mixture of jaras and tobacco. The jaras is like hash but is made differently, lots of people taking the marijuana leaves and rolling it in their hands until their hands are coated with the black jaras.
We sat with the israelis and we continued sitting there for the next seven days. Going thru a routine is nice. Wake up, 8. Mineral bath 9. Sit patio in sun, 11. Trip somewhere, everyday, to a little nook in the forest surrounding us. We'd buy some patotoes, onions, chocolate, make a fire near a river somewhere and eat and sit and smoke. For hours. Come back: 4. Sit on patio till 6. Mineral Bath 7. It gets cold up there and rained half the time, for the last few days. Teh first four days were gorgeous weather. Eat inside, talk chill, read whatever 10. More of that 11. Sleep. So you see Kiriganga is pretty nice if you want to reeelax.
On the first day of rain it was hardcore rain and my room got a little revenge from the god of rain, mashnavitu (im actually not sure if thats a god or not, i just made it up). My bed got soaked only, so i slept in the restaurant, near the tandoori. However i froze at night cause nobody kept putting wood in the tandoori!
Ive been sitting here for 1.5 hours, so now ive reached a point where i can no longer continue writing due to energy saving concerns. Please visit the next post in this blog when you find a quiet open moment in your day.
Kasol
Last tiime i wrote in the blog i was in Manali, with Michal. I was healthy, and I think i had recently completed a small trek, near the river. Now, two weeks later, or more, im in Kasol, living la vida loca, in the mountains. Im also healthy.
Yes ive been ill communicado, unreachable, relying mostly on roosters for the daily news. Ive known little of the world for the past two weeks, only the tweeting of the birds and the mooing of the cows.
Ok so i cant really write at the moment, just wanted to update a bit. I will fill in alllll the details of the past two weeks in a couple days. Now we just got back to Kasol, a main embarking point, from Kiriganga, Kalga, Pulga and Tosh, all little villages that are inaccessible to cars and motorcycles. You reach them by walking, yes, the good ol' fashion way. Kiriganga is waaaaaay up in the mountains and theres is a big ass hot mineral bath. From here I take off to Dharamsala with asher my new riding partner who bought a motorcycle less than ten minutes ago. He just showed up, super excited. He bought a 1994 bullet enfield for $550. Its black, and most of the parts are new.
So we're takiing off for a celebration spin.
Alllllright, well theres more to come.
Yes ive been ill communicado, unreachable, relying mostly on roosters for the daily news. Ive known little of the world for the past two weeks, only the tweeting of the birds and the mooing of the cows.
Ok so i cant really write at the moment, just wanted to update a bit. I will fill in alllll the details of the past two weeks in a couple days. Now we just got back to Kasol, a main embarking point, from Kiriganga, Kalga, Pulga and Tosh, all little villages that are inaccessible to cars and motorcycles. You reach them by walking, yes, the good ol' fashion way. Kiriganga is waaaaaay up in the mountains and theres is a big ass hot mineral bath. From here I take off to Dharamsala with asher my new riding partner who bought a motorcycle less than ten minutes ago. He just showed up, super excited. He bought a 1994 bullet enfield for $550. Its black, and most of the parts are new.
So we're takiing off for a celebration spin.
Alllllright, well theres more to come.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
still in manali
Day 24
Did absolutely nothing. Started reading Wuthering Heights and tehn realized that i had absolutely no desire to read this while in India. It seems out of place, even wrong to read about victorian high morals in high-strung England while lounging about the himalayas with wild Indian people. We thought about visiting Vashisht, the site of a big temple and hot springs nearby, but then decided not to when it started raining.
Day 25
michal went to a jewelery workshop and made two rings. I meanwhile went to down to the New Manali market and visited a bookstore adn bought VS Naipaul's India: A million mutinies Now. Its really really good. I also spent an hour there drinking chai and talking with the owner about Indian life and politics. Turns out also that Salman Rushdies Satanic Verses is banned in India. He also carried a wide selection of books by Osho, an Indian spritual guru who i started reading and is rather interesting. He's kind of like an new age atheistic theist. He's also dead. And supposedly at his peek he had a commune in Oregon with 365 rolls royces, one for evry day of the week. Spent the day and evening reading and also rod eto Vashist by myself.
more of: Reading, lounging, getting sunburnt, motorcycle riding, tibetan food, friends, cafe, meeting interesting people, austrians, swiss, french, and a hell of a lot of Israelis. Saw the Full Monty at night in the cafe: Dylan's Cafe, the local hip spot.
Day 27
Today! Yes we got off our arses and did our first big TREK! We left at 10am and headed up towards Manu temple and through the mountains to Solang. 12 Kilometers through the hilly jungle. Michal felt sick early on an tried to puke, but we got thru the rough spots and continued on past a pair of old fogies collecting bark samples from really old trees. We made it to a street and walked thru a midieval like village with too many flies and too few people. Lots of underage workers but hey they all seemed happy. Women who are 40 who look 80, quite a common occurence around these parts. But again, a smile no everyone's faces. We got lost a bit but then got directions from an ancient shepard to Solong Valley. They have gigantic plastic balls you sit in an tehn they roll it down the hill. We ate potato burgers in the rain and caught a bus back to town. We slept a bit and ate soup. now we're here. oh we also ate something called Hello to the Queen, which is basically a chocolate chip cookie banana split sundae: delicious. Its cold here now and we're planning departure in two days.
Did absolutely nothing. Started reading Wuthering Heights and tehn realized that i had absolutely no desire to read this while in India. It seems out of place, even wrong to read about victorian high morals in high-strung England while lounging about the himalayas with wild Indian people. We thought about visiting Vashisht, the site of a big temple and hot springs nearby, but then decided not to when it started raining.
Day 25
michal went to a jewelery workshop and made two rings. I meanwhile went to down to the New Manali market and visited a bookstore adn bought VS Naipaul's India: A million mutinies Now. Its really really good. I also spent an hour there drinking chai and talking with the owner about Indian life and politics. Turns out also that Salman Rushdies Satanic Verses is banned in India. He also carried a wide selection of books by Osho, an Indian spritual guru who i started reading and is rather interesting. He's kind of like an new age atheistic theist. He's also dead. And supposedly at his peek he had a commune in Oregon with 365 rolls royces, one for evry day of the week. Spent the day and evening reading and also rod eto Vashist by myself.
more of: Reading, lounging, getting sunburnt, motorcycle riding, tibetan food, friends, cafe, meeting interesting people, austrians, swiss, french, and a hell of a lot of Israelis. Saw the Full Monty at night in the cafe: Dylan's Cafe, the local hip spot.
Day 27
Today! Yes we got off our arses and did our first big TREK! We left at 10am and headed up towards Manu temple and through the mountains to Solang. 12 Kilometers through the hilly jungle. Michal felt sick early on an tried to puke, but we got thru the rough spots and continued on past a pair of old fogies collecting bark samples from really old trees. We made it to a street and walked thru a midieval like village with too many flies and too few people. Lots of underage workers but hey they all seemed happy. Women who are 40 who look 80, quite a common occurence around these parts. But again, a smile no everyone's faces. We got lost a bit but then got directions from an ancient shepard to Solong Valley. They have gigantic plastic balls you sit in an tehn they roll it down the hill. We ate potato burgers in the rain and caught a bus back to town. We slept a bit and ate soup. now we're here. oh we also ate something called Hello to the Queen, which is basically a chocolate chip cookie banana split sundae: delicious. Its cold here now and we're planning departure in two days.
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