Forcing Myself to Take Another Bus

Saturday, Aug. 25, 2007--Manali

I finished reading A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway today. I found the book in the lobby of my guesthouse. Someone had left it there for someone else like me to read. Then I passed it on to the Israeli couple who have been living in the room next to me. I gave the book 3 stars out of 4.

It's good I only have about 5 weeks of travel to go. Everything is falling apart on me. The plastic frame inside my suitcase has now broken in several places. Therefore, there is no support other than the fabric when I lift it by the handles. The frame for the handle and to protect the bottom when I pull it are still good and make it okay for rolling along. The leather strap on my shoulder bag that I use daily to carry items such as my umbrella, my camera, my journal, etc., has started cracking. I am afraid that it will break before I get home. I'm now using it only on days when I feel I need those things. And when I use it, I try to brace it underneath by holding the bottom up with my hand to keep the stress off the strap. As I wrote earlier, one of my two pairs of pants is now patched (a BIG patch). My sandals are on their fourth around-the-world trip and won't be able to make another. When I get home, I have to do lots of replacements before time to travel again. But I hope I can get home first before any of these things completely blows out on me!!

I ate masala dosa for lunch today. It was the first time I have had South Indian food on this trip, and I enjoyed it for a change.

I have lingered here in Manali longer than I had expected, because I have been so tired from the bus trip getting here. I had thought of going from here to Dharamshala (10 hour bus trip), the home of the Dalai Lama in exile, and then to Shimla (another 10 hour bus trip from there). But I just don't want all the travel. Also, Dharamshala has a lot of rain, so I would dread being there with it wet every day. Therefore, I bought a ticket today to go to Shimla on Monday morning (9 hours by bus). I will go there and continue relaxing until time to go to Delhi on Friday or Saturday. I dread the trip Monday. For one thing, there is no deluxe bus on the route at this time of the year. That means the luggage will be on top with no plastic cover if it rains. And it also means I will be in a less comfortable seat for those 9 hours. But if I can get past this trip, I can take a train (if seats are available) from Shimla to Delhi.

I ate chicken biriyani tonight for dinner. It was the first time for me to have it this year, too. It was good, but not nearly as fancy as I have gotten elsewhere. There was an Austrian man, a carpenter, there on his own, too, so we talked for about 2 hours. It's his second trip to this same area of India, and he said he has noticed he isn't enjoying it as much as he did on the first trip. I commented that I don't think that returning somewhere is ever as good after the first time. That's why I like to have itineraries that take me to new places when I travel each year.

Sunday, Aug. 26, 2007--Manali

There have been showers off and on all day today. I have stayed inside the room except for going out for meals and being on the Internet. I went to a nearby restaurant for breakfast around 12:30. I've been alternating between western breakfast food and Indian food each day around noon time. Today's breakfast wasn't as good as some of the others I have had, but it was cheaper. I got two pieces of toast (brown bread) with butter, an omelette, hashbrown potatoes, and tea. It only cost about $1.25 U.S.

On the Internet, I sent a reservation form to try to get a room in a private home when I am in Tallinn in two weeks. I want to try to cut the costs of housing while I am in Estonia and Latvia, and staying in private homes is a way to keep the housing down to about $30-35 per night. Since I arrive there in the late afternoon, I need a reservation in advance rather than just trying to deal with housing after my arrival.

I will go to dinner now. I already know what I will have--a spinach-mushroom-cheese calzone. I heard someone order it last night and thought it sounded good. So I'll give it a try tonight since I had Indian food last night.

I'll have to head to bed early. My bus leaves at 6:00 tomorrow morning, and I have to be at the station at 5:30. It will take me 30 minutes to walk there from here (downhill all the way, thank goodness), so I guess I will set the alarm for 4:40. Yuck! I chose the early bus, because the trip will be 9-10 hours. I didn't want to arrive there any later in the afternoon/evening without housing. This bus will give me time to go to the places I've selected and get a room there or elsewhere nearby before it is dark.