My roommates in the dorm at Komic were Sunil from Ahmedabad and Pamposh from Punjab. The former was on a spiritual journey—literally and metaphorically. He was on his first backpacking trip. The latter was a seasoned mountaineer. They were headed back to Kaza on a rented Enfield. I hiked back to Hikkim and took the … [Read more…]
Spending some time around Manali Mall I had a few hours in Manali before I could catch a bus towards Kasol. I decided to make some good use of the time. I visited the Monastery at the Mall road. I also visited the pine forest (Van Vihar) from where I had returned yesterday due to … [Read more…]
My mobile ditched me (momentarily) It had snowed last night. There was a thin layer of snow on everything that was exposed. The vehicles used the ramp in front of the hotel to propel and ignite the engines. A local said that some of the worst cars are the Tata Diesel variants. They need external … [Read more…]
Hotel Sangam should be taken by ASI The building in which I was staying in Mandi is probably as old as the ancient artefacts around it. It is hard to figure that out from the upper floors. The paint-job conceals most of the visible defects. If I had realised this earlier, I wouldn’t have even … [Read more…]