It's been a while...

Partly I've not updated due to lack of internet in some of the places I've been, partly because I've been feeling quite a lot of negative things about India in general lately. So, what have I been up to?

After hitching to Manali, we spent a week there then headed south to the Parvati Valley, where we did some village hopping. First of all Jari, a tiny place with some beautiful walks in the hills around it, then to Manikaran. Manikaran was one of my favourite places so far, a pilgrimage destination on the mighty Parvati River which amazed me with its sheer power. In Manikaran are many hot springs and temples, including a massive multistorey Gurdwara (Sikh Temple). The Gurdwara was the first temple in India where I've left feeling positive about it (with the possible exception of the Haji Ali Mosque in Mumbai). Inside there is a big food hall where people are given free food and chai, and upstairs are communal sleeping areas where people can stay. The temple is a decent size but no larger than the more worldly areas. Oh and there's a hot swimming pool fed by the town's springs.

We spent a couple of days in Manikaran, then left to find smaller places again. First Pulga, about an hour's walk up into the hills from the road (including crossing one of the many new hydro dams in HP). Pulga was quite rainy, so we spent a lot of time hanging out with the Israelis playing chess and cards. Then after Pulga we headed further east along the valley to Tosh, another tiny village, where we spent a night before heading back west, stopping at Kasol. My initial impressions about Kasol when we went through it after Manikaran turned out to be hasty (I got stung by a wasp and took an immediate dislike to it!) - Kasol is actually quite a nice place, very cheap but with excellent places to eat and stay, and some really fun walks in the valley and woods around it.

After Kasol it was time to say goodbye to Himachal Pradesh. I felt quite emotional as our bus finally arrived in Chandigarh, capital of the Punjabis, as I really enjoyed my time in Himachal Pradesh with its friendly people and amazing scenery.

Chandigarh was another interesting stop. It is a planned city, kind of like Canberra in the ACT, also quite like American cities - the streets are laid out in a rigid grid. Different areas are called sectors, so the bus station near the centre is called Sector 17, and we stayed in a cheap hotel in Sector 43. We visited the Nek Chand Rock Garden while in Chandigarh, supposedly the second most visited tourist attraction in India after the Taj Mahal. Indeed it was worthy of the many tourists it attracts - an impressive and beautiful walk through lots of different rock sculptures, waterfalls and other interesting collections, finishing in an open area with swings and camel rides. It was on returning to the plains (and leaving HP) that the annoyances of India went back to full power though - rude stares became the norm; people photographing and filming us wherever we went; men copping feels of Rotem the moment she was alone.

Now we are in Rishikesh, and we arrived at the same time as a large Shiva festival, which has had both good and bad aspects to it. The massive press of people isn't annoying of itself, but it does mean even more unwanted attention. Some days it's funny, other days it can really wind you up and you walk around battling not to write off all Indians (or Indian men anyway) as rude, greedy, unthinking sheep people. I've still enjoyed Rishikesh despite this: the mighty Ganga fills you with awe as you watch it thunder past the town, moving at something like 30mph. Sometimes a huge wave will make the entire river rise by a meter, swallowing up trees and islands, before settling back down again minutes later. As evidenced by the chaos in Delhi and the catastrophe in Pakistan, the monsoons have come later, and harder, this year. Perhaps Shiva is angry. Perhaps he is considering his Dance of Destruction...

Next we're heading to the Valley of Flowers. After that it will be time to return to the blistering heat and chaos of Delhi, to meet my beloved at the airport. It can't come soon enough.