Manali

"Semi-luxury sleeper" was a slight misnomer - the "semi-luxury" might have referred to the fact that the seats tilted 30deg (if you had one) ... however, i am not sure where sleeper came from - the legroom fit for Nepalese dwarfs, constant stopping, liberal horn usage and the drivers decision to keep his window open despite single digit ambient temperature ensured we arrived in the Manali morning looking for a place to sleep.

Thinking the quiet hillside town to be the perfect place for Dirk to learn to ride a before hitting the streets of Delhi we grabbed a 150c and headed to Naggar (a town of people who annoy me). Some would call it foolhardy to learn to ride a poorly tuned bike with a backpacked pillion through the Himalayan valleys and towns at night - and I would tend to agree, had we not invested in woolen helmets ingeniously doubling as beanies. Dirk rode well, showing particular adaptation to the horn - he would have passed had he not failed to bribe the guard to the private mountain road.

The following day we jumped in the "jeep" (a 2wd Suzuki shoebox) for a day of trekking and skiing in the mountains. Too far below the snowline for our liking our "guide" pointed vaguely in the direction of the fog covered mountain and retired to the comfort of a coffee tent. We hiked to about 3500m and despite the abysmally low ski/hike ratio finished the day tired and content in temple spring baths.

The overnight bus back to Delhi was probably just a standard trip but shouldn't be: a bunch of guys trying to push start the bogged bus, ornamental fans and lights, constant throwback onto Dirk from the intoxicated passenger in front, and , being singled out as the only tourists on board, an en route drug search (I felt like telling the sleazy officer that racism does not exist in Australia) ... we subsequently shat ourselves when we read that under a tough new stance even a personal amount of charas can result in a 10 year prison term. I threw my only Manali souvenir out the window.

Finally arriving at our hotel we were greeted by an ever subtle Ben - an AC/DC bandana, cigarette and grin pushing through a tangled mass of hair and beard, all improbably mounted on top of a bright red kylie t-shirt (Perhaps better than the "cant you see I'm on a spiritual journey" tourists that abound in India) - Matt was wisely sidling a disassociative distance behind, it was great to see them both.