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17th April 2006 - Day 17
Set off up the steep hill to the Jakhu temple (aka the monkey temple), walk was a bit of a killer but scenery was nice. That was until... Paul was attacked!! by a monkey who decided he fancied paul's new glasses, so just jumped up and took them. Rachael removed hers too, so we both blindly tried to coax the monkey to give back the specs. Luckily a local woman selling food for the monkeys was able to get him to trade the glasses for some food. Skeptical as to whether this was a trained monkey who provided the woman with a opportunity to take some rupees from you for her help. Day ended dark and thundery, no wonder the Brits set this place up as summer capital of India as it reminds them of home.
18th April 2006 - Day 18
Set off early to catch the 'deluxe' bus to Naggar in the Kullu Valley some 10hrs away. The journey itself was a white knuckle ride from start to finish, with people throwing up either in plastic bags or out of the window. The driver obviously had a death wish!! driving at high speed down the narrowest, steepest hills i've ever seen. Although the journey was terrible the scenery was amazing. Huge mountains, narrow valleys, villages cut into the mountains and it got cooler as we headed north. Found a nice place to saty near Naggar castle
19th April 2006 - Day 19
Spent the day strolling around Naggar village, which is absolutely stunning. Walked to the Nicholas Roerich Museum which is home to his many paintings of the Himalayas and Himalayan people. Spent the rest of the day sketching (r: or attempting to sketch in my case), we must have felt inspired by the amazing surroundings.
20th April 2006 - Day 20
Set off on our two day trek up the Kullu valley. We walked from Naggar, which is 1700 m above sea level to 3200 m, where we set up camp for the night. (Well we sat back as our guide and porters set everything up - but we did feel a bit lazy watching as they did all the work and cooked our dinner.) We were amazed by the spectacular views from our tent. After dark we sat around the camp fire keeping warm and ate our food in the dark, not sure of what we were actually eating though!!
21st April 2006 - Day 21
Started the day with a large breakfast, which started with omelette then porridge and the finish with "curry noodles"!!! We then set off up towards the Chandrakani pass but needed a little more time for our food to settle down. We headed up above the snow line, which was very steep in places; we both slipped on the ice on a few occasions and ended up muddy and wet. The views were fantastic from the viewing point - breathtaking actually. Thankfully the decent back into Naggar was easier and downhill!!!
22nd April 2006 - Day 22
Off to Manali today for an overnight stay then onto Rishikesh by bus. The journey down from Naggar consisted of lush green forests and various small villages. After arriving at Manali spent the afternoon in Vashisht a small hippy town just outside. This was much quieter and more relaxed than the busy, overcrowded Manali. Vashisht had hot springs where people came for miles to bathe in, we declined as we didn't have our bathers (pity).
23rd April 2006 - Day 23
What a long, hot, sticky day. Caught the deluxe bus from Manali. Got to the bus station and were greeted by a drunk old man who I thought (feared) was the bus driver!!! Was even contemplating getting another bus to avoid his driving but thank goodness he was not the driver - just the porter. The journey wasn't too bad and the scenery made up for it. Met a lovely couple of newly weds on the bus (Manali is a honeymoon spot) who had just recently got married and were heading to live in New Zealand which is where the wife was living.
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