Manali, and our last week

Alo! Again we apologize for the delayed/sparse blogging as of late. We've been on all sorts of ups and downs these past few weeks and time has been tough to find. I'll provide some details of our trip to Manali, since that was our last adventure and there are some pretty cool pictures. If you notice some pictures that appear to be repeats, it is because we have a combined album of our pictures with Andy's and Jen's.

So we got to the airport on Saturday morning at about 7:00, but we soon learned that the plane was delayed for another hour. We waited around the airport for a long time, talking and passing time. Once we were told it was time for boarding, we hopped on the bus and drove to the plane. Any annoyance that we felt because of the delay soon melted away once we saw the plane. They could have taken however long they needed for all we cared, just as long as all is well. You can see the inside view from the album, both the cramped seating as well as the amazing views of the mountains. The flight only lasted about 1.5 hours, and it was quite a thrill. Weaving our way through (literally through, not so much above) the mountains, we landed at the airport in Kullu.


We hired a cab and headed off for Manali. I had previously contacted a hiking/adventure guide and he happened to be in the area for a wedding, so we picked him up on the way. Among the sights along the route were kiwi trees, Buddhist monasteries, people making gravel (no joke), and the intimidating Beas river. We discussed our various hiking options, such as the lightning temple, waterfalls, and mountain lakes. Whitewater rafting was definitely something we wanted to pursue as well. Sadly, we would only get to go on one hiking trip, since it rained for the rest of the time we were there.

Arriving at the hotel, we checked into our cabin. Since there was 5 of us, we thought it would be cool to reserve a 5 -room cabin, which definitely paid off. The hotel was also famous for its trout, local to the area, and we were sure to indulge. Following a quick lunch, we drove off for the mountain hike. Soon we came across a field where you could paraglide or roll down the hill in a huge inflated ball. At that spot there was also a rope, controlled by a silly old man in a pink hat, that kept illegal cars from going further up the mountain. Our guide had to argue with this man for a while before we were allowed to pass. Two other items of note, at one part of the road we had to drive through the river and another part there were a huge pack of vultures eating a dead cow.

The hike itself was awesome. Such amazing views and people living on the side of the mountain itself. At one point we paused by some children so Andy could do some of his amazing yo-yo tricks. He's a national level yo-yoer and the kids were rather excited about it... that or the candy bars we gave them. (We also have some video of Andy's yo-yoing following the 4th of July party, I'll post that later.) To say that the hike was a challenge would be a vast understatement... it killed all of us, and we're all experienced enough hikers. The hardest part was the fact that the air was so much thinner, we would all be gasping for air after only 10 minutes of hiking. We took a bunch of breaks, which helped. The bridges over the river were also pretty intense... some were better than others, all were pretty exciting. Sometimes there were no bridges and we had to leap from rock to rock. Don't worry moms, no one got hurt! There were cows, birds, and buffalo all over as well, a very beautiful and rewarding hike. Dan V also decided that we must touch snow (ice) in India... so after we reached one of the peaks, we romped off the trail and climbed another part of the mountain and stood on the mini-glacier.

Much more excited, we began our trip down the mountain. Very quickly, the clouds rolled in and we found ourselves literally in the middle of a rain cloud, complete with a mild downpour. As soon as our guide started pushing us, we basically began running down the mountain. Drenched head-to-toe, we hopped from rock to rock, doing our best to avoid oblivious cattle and raging rivers.

We had plans to do more hiking, but like I said, it rained for the rest of that day and the next day. So we spent the rest of the trip hanging around Manali, shopping, and enjoying each other's company. Of course, Monday morning, the day we had to leave, was absolutely perfect... see pictures. This made for a spectacular plane ride, as you can see.

This is our last week, in fact we leave on Thursday and we'll be in the US on Friday at 10:30am!!

We are sooo excited to be home. Packing has been a hassle, but Courtney has done an awesome job of getting everything prepared. I got 2 suits tailored, among other things. We can't wait to see/talk to you all in person! I've been taking some random pictures of Delhi/Gurgaon so that you can see some more of our daily life-type shots. We'll add some comments regarding our post-India feelings, as well as some more videos (the one of our car crossing the river on the mountain is awesome as well as the one of us trying to cross the road by India Gate). Be well till we see you, we'll talk soon!