Mandi to Manali: hippie-ville

After leaving Shimla, I spent one day in Mandi. The town itself is pretty scruffy, but it's set on the beautiful Beas river and is known for its temples. There are over 300 temples in this town and over 80 are ancient. Some date back to the 1500's. As an American, it's hard to even imagine how old that is. Unfortunately, the temples and beautiful scenery were somewhat overshadowed by the fact that Mandi seems to be made up entirely of teenage boys and men who have never seen a white girl before. And to be fair, I didn't ever see any other foreigners there. After being followed by an entourage for a few hours, I decided to call it an early night and read in my room and ordered some room service.

The next day I arrived in Manali. It's a gorgeous city set up in the mountains. And they have just about every outdoor activity imaginable. Manali is also rumored to have the best marijuana in the world.  So - the city is filled with lots of hippies and Israelis. I've never seen so many old hippies before. I think this must be where old hippies come to die. It is a fun city to explore though. It's probably a good thing that I don't have room in my backpack or I could do some serious shopping here. You can get a ring or necklace custom made for $25. My guest house is in old Manali and is a 5 minute walk through a local neighborhood. Every day, I walk past the women gossiping, the man washing the family yak, the cows and the barns, and the kids playing volleyball. It's so much better than being in backpacker central.

I spent the day walking around and exploring. I had a really good conversation with a shopkeeper. His father is Muslim and from Kashmir, and his stepmother was a Buddhist fromTibet. She ended up converting to Islam after they married because she said it was the most "human, beautiful, and peaceful religion" she had studied. I was trying to decide between two pieces of jewelry and I commented that it was a "hard decision." He said, "when a decision is hard, make it soft." I like that. Don't overthink things - most decisions don't impact our lives that much. So, that's what I'm focusing now..."making it soft." And being here now. One of my favorite things about traveling is that it does force me to be in the present. I don't worry about the future or the past. I'm just totally in the present....and here now. Now, if only I can figure out how to take that with me when I return home :)

My 'hood.

The view from my guesthouse window.

The famous Royal Enfield Bullets - they're available to rent for the epic two day drive North to Leh.

Sketchy drive out of Manali after the Monsoon.