living in a quiet town near manali

kullukid

In oct through the day will be like a nice summers day in the U.K. however the temperature will drop at night especially in Kashol because the valley is so high & close that it starts to get dark by about 6pm in oct, however i was there last sept & sat out on that wonderful balcony while midnightish every night in just a t-shirt. Malana (not Manali) is much colder as it's at around 9000ft again it was glorious sunshine through the day but at night i was sat outside fully clothed with a sleeping bag wrapped around me. But luckily i found something there which gave me a very warm glow Jeans & t-shirt for me, but the Isreali's tend to go for the "Trippy Hippy" look, you can buy plenty of warm clothes in Kashol if needed. I travel light apart from sleeping bag i took 1 set of clothes & wore the other set (remember it's nupence to get your clothes washed every day if you so wish)in the past i've taken giant rucksacks with everything but the kitchen sink which is a real pain to lift onto the roof of the local bus anytime you want to travel around & you never use half the things anyway.
Bom Shankar KK

JjInCt

OK, Nick

Nick-H

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cyberhippie

From one Scot to another!! You might want to peruse this thread!!

Smoking Pot

By the way paying 600-700 rupees for a tola (11.6 grams) in the mountains is pretty expensive, shop around decent quality can be had for as little as 250!!

Be really careful mate, these are hotspots for hop heads so there's quite a bit of police activity and a bribe won't always do the trick!!

Take care!

gautam

I'd suggest carry atleast 1 jeans coz the weather might change during ur stay from oct to jan [ thats when winter starts ]

Welcome to india scotsman

@kullukid : what does ur signature means..is it someway related to boom shankar..if yes..then what does boom shankar means.

Cheers

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cyberhippie

Bom Shanker is a salutation to Shiva that hop heads recite before sucking on a chillum!

gautam

Excellent ! thanks mate

kullukid

Or you could say it is the invoking of Shivas precense for the lighting of the chillum, sort of an invitation for Shiva to have the first pull! KK

gautam

Something like a holy cheers

Nick-H

Holy Smoke!

kullukid

Shambu! KK

scotsman

Hi again people

Ive now found a flight for £500! thats for a return on leaving oct 15th and return march 15th. I think I may book this flight, jabs permitting (aslong as im up to date)

Well, I got hep B and meningitis jabs today, I am to go back next week for my second then another week later 3rd dose of this. I think Ive had rabies and japanese ensephilitus and a few others... whit there is many!!! unfortonately it was sore this time. The needle was much bigger and those are the types I need boosters! The small needle is a 1 off, big needle boosters required (thats how i looked getting them im 20 years old)

I have more questions today::::

1. How easy is it to travel to parvati from delhi? I know there is dailly buses to malana. Is there a similar service from delhi to parvati? I originally planned to go to malana but with the advice of kullukid that its warmer I would prefer that, and the scenery looks pretty stunning. (Ps is parvati in roughly the same area as malana?) I was thinking of bussing it to malana on the dailly bus then bussing it to parvati. Does anyone know if its easy to bus it to parvati streight from delhi?
Im basically looking for a not totally choc a bloc with tourists himalayan hash hideout, a paradise of mountain ranges stunning scenery and good walks.... but within a few hours of a bigger place that has cash machines and medical "help".

2. I am taking about £1000 - £1500 with me. How is the best way to deal with this sum of money? I have heard cash machines are widely availavle but what about in the himalayas and the areas I have been talking of visiting (parvati/malana) I think its asking for trouble taking big sums (£300+) just on me, down my trousers or whatever. so would prefer to withdraw sums every few weeks. How do you experienced travellers deal with this situation? Ie going to rural india intending to stay for a few months but needing the dosh? do you keep the money on you? withdraw £200 from a nearby city then bus it back to you're spot? How am I to deal with the money situation? This question is very important so plz plz help me on this as im clueless!


Oh yeah. Whats the weather going to be like in northern india from october - december? I will be spending the first part of my trip there.

The 2nd half will probably be in the southern reaches. Nearer Kerala and in this area. With possibly a visit to Bangladesh to see some old faces... in the 2nd part of my trip. First its off to the himalayas to see if its anything like I dream of...

Thanks! This forum is pure quality

kullukid

Hi Scotsman, i'll try & answer some of your questions but i think you may be getting similar names confused

1.I think you are confusing Manali with Malana, Manali is where you originally planned to go & is the place most people visit in the Kullu valley from here you can visit Vashisht a small touristy but fairly laid back place that is famous for its hot springs, it's a nice 30min stroll from Manali & has stunning views of the mountains. You can also visit a small village called Nagar where there is a wooden castle & the home/museum & gallery of a Russian artist come mystic called Nicholas Roerich who lived there in the late 1800s early 1900s its about 30 mins from Manali by local bus or taxi (i prefer the buses).
You pass the entrance to the Parvati valley on your way up the Kullu valley to Manali it's an hour or so below Manali near a place called Bhuntar.
The first village in the Parvati is called Jari & you tend to find some long term travellers staying here, next is Kashol which is a popular place to stay (especially if you are Israeli!)it's a small 2 street village but with plenty of shops & cafes providing for western travellers from here another 20mins up the valley there is a place called Manikaran which is a pilgrimage place for Seikhs & has a temple by the river where there are hot springs, you can take a hot bath there, the seikhs cook rice & potatoes by placing them in the hotwater from the springs. From here you can catch a bus to Bershani(about an hour) where the road ends & then walk to either Kalga (a steep 30min climb)or preferably Pulga (where you will find what you are looking for!)Pulga is still a fairly unspoilt Himalayan village because there is no road directly to it, people smoke chillums etc very openly here!Fom Pulga you can trek higher up the valley to Khir Ganga (where Shiva meditated for 2000 yrs & a few sadhus live, again more hotsprings.
Kashol is probably the best place to set up base while you get a feel for the valley (i mentioned Chalal before which is a village with no road 20mins walk along the otherside of the river from Kashol, you will be happy with what you find here too!).
Malana (not Manali) is another village which you have to do a 3 hour trek to all up hill & is at around 9000ft above sea level.The village is inhabited by some strange people who claim to be descendants of Alexander The Great & also claim to be high caste Brahmins, because of this they have some strange laws in the village such as you are not allowed to touch them, because to them we are all spiritually unclean & will contaminate them! So if you wanted to give them anythingyou have to put it on the ground which neutralises or cleanses the item before they will pick it up. But more importantly to you Malana is a village where their main industry is growing & rubbing charas, alledgedly the best charas in the Himalayas it is called Malana cream & is world famous. (just do a google search on Malana & Malana cream & all will be revealed. This trek to Malana is one of the highlights of visiting Parvati & i would HIGHly recommend it, however it will be getting very cold up there by this time so if you are going to do it try & make it sooner rather than later before it's too cold, you only need to stay there a night or two & i would recommend you try & tag along with others heading there rather than do it alone (you'll meet someone).If you look back at some of the older posts in this H.P.section you will find lots of interesting threads on this area & Malana.Here is a link to some of my pics of Malana & the entrance to the Kullu valley http://www.theindiatree.com/forum2/i...album&album=14
It sounds like you have plenty of time to spare & there is no need to rush, so i would suggest you visit Manali area & Parvati/ Malana area, you'll love it all, you can catch an overnight HPTDC bus from Delhi directly to Manali, but you could jump off at Bhuntar where there are plenty of buses heading up the Parvati to Manikaran, i would suggest doing Parvati first then head to Manali later it's a great place to spend Christmas! Alternatively bearing in mind you have plenty of time you could break the journey up & spend the first day travelling by train from Delhi to Kalka where you swop trains & catch a toy train to Shimla, spend a day or two in Shimla from where there are plenty of local & tourist buses heading for the kullu valley.I think you will find a post on here by Sabby regarding the bus times from Delhi to Manali.
2.I'm probably not the best person to answer this as i tend to take cash with me & change about £300 as soon as i get to Delhi airport, then change as i go along,you'll always find local shopkeepers are willing to change your ££s at a slightly lower rate! I have a large wallet which is big enough to hold wads of Rupees plus my flight tickets & passport & i have adapted the tousers i take so that they have a large deep pocket to keep it in, this way i can constantly feel them on my leg & don,t have to keep worrying about where my valuables are.
Just a suggestion but on your way back out of the Kullu area you could catch a bus directly to Dharamsala (McLeod Gange home of the Dalai Lama of Tibet) This would be another great place to spend Christmas (full of Tibetans)if you do try & stay in Bhagsu or Daramkot, this is where the smokers tend to levitate to!& again up here you can smoke fairly openly in some of the restaurants & guesthouses with no hassle! From here you could pay a couple of days visit to Amritsar (Golden Temple) on your way back to Delhi. The weather through the day in Oct will be like a warm summers day in U.K. but the temperature will drop a bit at night by nov-dec it will start to cool & night times could get very cold especially in Malana. Bom Bolenath KK

manreet_16

oo wonderful data collected..really needed by me..
hi, kieran shorts and t shirts will be fine..Plz make sure that u will bring only those clothes in which u r comfortable..
Thanks to kullukid for his valuable data..plz send me more information on this..thanx
regards
manreet_16

scotsman

That information is more valuable than I could have got spending 10 hours searching through this site and google combined! I appreciate it mate

I now found a flight from heathrow for £329! (trailfinders) Saving me about £200! but I have to book before 26.9.06 ... and ive to send away my passport application still (its crumpled and is up in may 07 anyway). Well it takes a max of 4 weeks and that is the absolute maximum so booking a flight for oct. 20th seems a safe bet. bus it from scotland to london but its worthwhile when the flight is £200 cheaper

malaria tablets much cheaper than i thought too (10 or 20 pounds only) travel insurance paid by my mum an dad.... the only very expensive thing bar flights is going to be the innoculations. Ive not been given a price yet but ive been told between £100 and over £200

Im going to print out your last message kullukid because it is fantastic info

lata!
kieran