Manali, The Place of Magic

Its been 13 days since I first found myself in the small town of Manali tucked away deep down in the bosom of the Himalayas. Its a truly amazing place here, better then I'd ever have imagined. Its funny because originally I had no intention of coming to this place but I can whole-heartedly say that I am so glad I listened to my crazy taxi drivers advice. The town of Manali itself is split into two parts: Old Manali and New Manali. However they are quite a bit different from each other. New Manali is very busy with a myriad of small shops and stalls ubiquitously strung across every inch of land. One on top of another on top of another sandwiched next to each other. It is in most cases packed full of people and rickshaws during the day but it seems to get even busier at night when the main street is lit up like Vegas. Still there are some very interesting places to check out in New Manali or down town as I like to call it since its situated below Old Manali. Things like street vendors selling various deep fried Indian foods, produce shacks and stalls brimming with a variety of local fruits and veggies, Tibetan Temples stocked fully with working prayer wheels and huge colorfully decorated Buddha, and the mystical Manali Forest. Old Manali is somewhat of the polar opposite. In order to get there one must cross a bridge from New Manali over a wide running stream full of clean mountain water. At times it feels as though your entering a completely different world once you cross that bridge. Old Manali harbors alot of Manalis vestigial heritage such as Manu Temple (which is a popular tourist attraction here) and the still thriving villages from 100 years ago. Old Manali is very calm and mellow, compared to its brother and has maybe less then a tenth of the shops and stores that downtown Manali has. Fortunately during this time of the year there are still alot of places open given that it is the off season, but there are only a handful of tourists at one time... which is nice. When a place is crowded by people wearing polos and shorts taking pictures, it kind of loses its touch. I think thats also reason why there is so much beauty and magic here. It's untainted (for the most part) by the modern world. Yes there is television, computer cafes and trash obscurely scattered in the most reserved parts of nature but it still remains to be an absolutely beautiful place full of culture and character. The Himalayas themselves are a spectacle to say the least. Sometimes I'll find myself walking around town and totally forget I'm surrounded by these goliaths until I pull my head away from the commotion and look up. The mountains by themselves hold a lot of powerful ancient magic. If I'm feeling off or home sick I will just look up and bask in the magnificence of these snow topped marvels. There are so many things for backpackers like myself to do here as well. One could easily get entangled in the mess of things to do but never be able to finish it all in 2 short weeks. Between hiking in the Himalayas, paragliding, rock climbing, camping, and enjoying the every day adventure it would be difficult to get board here. If anything you could just sit in your room and watch a 24 hour marathon of senseless Bollywood videos. The other interesting thing about Manali is that it has become quite the destination for hippies and travelers alike to trip out on drugs and smoke pot. Actually pot grows wild all over Manali like... Well an actual weed, but no one seems to mind at all that its just growing on the side of the road. Seeing that at first was very bizarre to me but then I realized that because it is a weed people treat it as one more or less. If you want some then there are better sources then on the side of the road.

In a couple days here I will be making my way to Dharamsala/ McLeod Ganj which will be another 10 hour bus ride through rocky mountain roads. I have become quite attached to this place and it will be hard for me to leave but it's time to move on to my next exciting adventure. I feel good knowing that I've made some life long friends here as well as having many good first time experiences. With that said I will also say I'm certain I will be returning to this place again in the future, there is no doubt in my mind about that. So until next time my friends, I will bid you farewell.