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.