Manali – first impressions and the truth
The bus brings you to the very heart of New Manali, or Model Town. The area around the government buss stand is stuffed with cafes and namkeen shops with appetizing samosas for 10 Rs and warm gulab jamun reveling in sweet syrup (20 Rs in the places facing the main road and 12 Rs in the places in the neighbor quiet street); with pretentious hotels and simple-minded guesthouses; with shops selling Kullu hats and Kullu shawls – echos of the very market that is located a bit further; with tourist agencies whose offers ranges from one day treks nearby Manali to three-week routs to Lekh; with walking to and fro vendors of basically useless, but nice things such a stapler sold under the name “Madam, look, sewing machine”; with huge and small private and public vehicles arriving and departing and competing for the space on the road; and with people – masses of people – selling, buying, coming, leaving, wandering, walking…
A brief consultation with Lonely Planet and Footprints beforehand gave us idea that by all the means we should get out of New Manali, this expensive, soul-less McDonalds-for-tourists. The guidebooks and the guts did not let us down: Old Manali we headed to right upon arrival (10 minutes by auto rickshaw, 30 Rs) appeared to be a piece of heaven.
Old Manali is located up the hill and also has a clearly touristic character. Yet, the sort of tourists is different there. New Manali appears as a destination for Indian families who get out of the heat for a weekend and therefore are really under time pressure to enjoy what the hills of Manali (altitude 1, 926 m) have got to offer. Yet, Old Manali is a definite destination for laid-back Westerns looking for the religious enlightment, mental balance, or thrill. Loose cotton clothes, shabby bags, wooden beads, dreads, a freshly rolled joint to share – this is how one identifies those in the search. Internet cafes, Tibetan eateries showing movies with Johnny Depp, tourist shops with Indian souvenirs and clothes – those are the places where much of the happening comes into life with the blessings of Bob Marley. And the very fact those places are mushrooming indicates that the locals know their customer. It is for the sake of her, for the customer, Old Manali appears as a place of budget quite and isolated bungalows and guesthouses where Westerners eagerly stay and easier find the divine so sought after. Rough, yet plunging you to peace Beas River also contributes to the very tranquil spirit of Old Manali.
One of the town’s landmarks is the Tibetan Quarter and Buddhist Monastery built by Tibetan refugees. Without extensive experience with Buddist temples I can still claim they are very inviting and not-obliging, to put it this way. One can just walk in and feel free to pray, bow (as traditional Buddhists do) or simply wander around. In the center of the temple one finds a statue of Buddha with half-shut eyes.
The paintings on the walls picture the motives similar to those of Christianity – crucifixion, fight between good and evil)…yet the impression this cartoon-style paintings (as opposed to naturalistic once in Christian churches) is so different.
Picture by Roel
The colorful attire of the temple makes it impossible to engage in any painful thoughts.
After all, I think of Buddism as a light-hearted religion of happiness. What else but that one can read from the smiles through the narrow lids of Tibetans.
Picture by Roel
There are a few villages nearby Manali very worth a visit. Dhungri village is famous for its 16-century Hindu temple (Hadimba Devi Temple) that resembles nothing but a typical Scandinavian stave kirke. Its decorations with horns of animals and wooden carvings of plants and animals just reinforce its Viking-style look.
The place is a major point for the pilgrimage of Indian families. This fact seems to be well commercialized by the entrepreneur-minded locals. Right beside the temple it one can take pictures on a yak, a typical inhabitant of hill stations (yak agrees to pose for 10 Rs). Tender-hearted grannies also come up with white and fluffy rabbits to supplement the picture.
The image of a guy proudly sitting on a yak is obviously a wanna-do thing that is much on demand. Yet, how cool is that to supplement the image with a tender rabbit in the masculine arms of the rider?!
I do not know why Roel zaprotestovat to the grannies with the rabbits….
Another village nearby Manali is Vashisht, a growing destination for budget tourists as you can see by the amount of the latter and the expanding infrastructure of the village.
Also, Vashish hosts hot springs of mysterious origin, serving as a magnet for those believing in the healing qualities of the springs or just willing to bath in hot water.
A beautiful waterfall is in the walking distance from Vashisht village: 40 minutes walk through the village, graceful coniferous forest and some climbing up the green grass covered hill at the end lead you to a very rewarding destination.
A brief consultation with Lonely Planet and Footprints beforehand gave us idea that by all the means we should get out of New Manali, this expensive, soul-less McDonalds-for-tourists. The guidebooks and the guts did not let us down: Old Manali we headed to right upon arrival (10 minutes by auto rickshaw, 30 Rs) appeared to be a piece of heaven.
Old Manali is located up the hill and also has a clearly touristic character. Yet, the sort of tourists is different there. New Manali appears as a destination for Indian families who get out of the heat for a weekend and therefore are really under time pressure to enjoy what the hills of Manali (altitude 1, 926 m) have got to offer. Yet, Old Manali is a definite destination for laid-back Westerns looking for the religious enlightment, mental balance, or thrill. Loose cotton clothes, shabby bags, wooden beads, dreads, a freshly rolled joint to share – this is how one identifies those in the search. Internet cafes, Tibetan eateries showing movies with Johnny Depp, tourist shops with Indian souvenirs and clothes – those are the places where much of the happening comes into life with the blessings of Bob Marley. And the very fact those places are mushrooming indicates that the locals know their customer. It is for the sake of her, for the customer, Old Manali appears as a place of budget quite and isolated bungalows and guesthouses where Westerners eagerly stay and easier find the divine so sought after. Rough, yet plunging you to peace Beas River also contributes to the very tranquil spirit of Old Manali.
One of the town’s landmarks is the Tibetan Quarter and Buddhist Monastery built by Tibetan refugees. Without extensive experience with Buddist temples I can still claim they are very inviting and not-obliging, to put it this way. One can just walk in and feel free to pray, bow (as traditional Buddhists do) or simply wander around. In the center of the temple one finds a statue of Buddha with half-shut eyes.
The paintings on the walls picture the motives similar to those of Christianity – crucifixion, fight between good and evil)…yet the impression this cartoon-style paintings (as opposed to naturalistic once in Christian churches) is so different.
Picture by RoelThe colorful attire of the temple makes it impossible to engage in any painful thoughts.
After all, I think of Buddism as a light-hearted religion of happiness. What else but that one can read from the smiles through the narrow lids of Tibetans.
Picture by Roel
There are a few villages nearby Manali very worth a visit. Dhungri village is famous for its 16-century Hindu temple (Hadimba Devi Temple) that resembles nothing but a typical Scandinavian stave kirke. Its decorations with horns of animals and wooden carvings of plants and animals just reinforce its Viking-style look.
The place is a major point for the pilgrimage of Indian families. This fact seems to be well commercialized by the entrepreneur-minded locals. Right beside the temple it one can take pictures on a yak, a typical inhabitant of hill stations (yak agrees to pose for 10 Rs). Tender-hearted grannies also come up with white and fluffy rabbits to supplement the picture.
The image of a guy proudly sitting on a yak is obviously a wanna-do thing that is much on demand. Yet, how cool is that to supplement the image with a tender rabbit in the masculine arms of the rider?!
I do not know why Roel zaprotestovat to the grannies with the rabbits….
Another village nearby Manali is Vashisht, a growing destination for budget tourists as you can see by the amount of the latter and the expanding infrastructure of the village.
Also, Vashish hosts hot springs of mysterious origin, serving as a magnet for those believing in the healing qualities of the springs or just willing to bath in hot water.
A beautiful waterfall is in the walking distance from Vashisht village: 40 minutes walk through the village, graceful coniferous forest and some climbing up the green grass covered hill at the end lead you to a very rewarding destination.
posted by Olga Tikhonova | 2:15 pm
1 Comments:
Really its very useful information that you have shared and thanks for sharing the information with us.
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