Manali

Manali, Mon 2009-Jun-29. Day 5 and the ankle is still swollen. I have time to kill since I have bedridden myself in an attempt to rid the swelling from my ankle once and for all. The pain has still not gone away and now both sides of the foot are swelled to the point I will need more skin for more swelling. Actually it is getting worse by the day. I am taking desperate measures now to address the swelling popping anti-inflammatory pills and bedridding myself and having my foot popped up above my heart level. Manali is a great place to relax and get better. I have a room with a view of the mountains with its snow capped peaks, which I can even see through the big windows from bed lying down, whoa!. And the BEST, there is no honking outside! This is the perfect place to recoup. There is a restaurant on the premises and the town of Vashisht a little ways from Manali where I am at is a quaint little town. The overnight bus from McLeod Ganj arrived at 0500Hrs this morning. Hung out a little at a local chai stand and chatted with the chai vendor. The other 8 people from the van had disappeared, presumably off to their respective hotels. While standing and waiting for the next autorickshaw to pass by to get to Vashisht , another chai stand pulled up next to the first vendor. I exclaimed “you have competition, achaa!” and the vendor and 2 other fellows hanging around to have their morning chai nodded in unison and gave a good chuckle. The van ride wasn’s too bad I was able to trade seats for the front and cock up my leg on the dashboard to keep my foot elevated. Not the most comfortable but it is what it is. Soon an autorickshaw pulled up but 2 other people from my van appeared out of nowhere and got to it first. After awhile they got out and I got in. They had decided to go with a local tout to some hotel. Hm, touts, on my black list. Again, I had to haul my pack over hobbling and being stared at, don’t you just hate that. Now I knew the fare was 50 Rupees to Vashisht but the driver insisted on 100 Rupees. Since it was 0600Hrs and he was the only autorickshaw in sight I really couldn’t care less as I wanted to get a comfy room pronto. My ankle was screaming pain and the swelling was unbearable. I could feel the heat explode from my foot as I stood there arguing with the autorickshaw driver. This is India for you. They take advantage of non-Indian tourists. They think we are all money trees. Can’t wait to get Nepal, I hear from other travelers the Nepalese are not like the Indians. I am getting very sick of this. It is funny thing. I have met foreigners who have been in India for 6 months or more, and they stay. They tell me that it took them to get used to the Indian ways and India is still a beautiful country but honestly can’t stand the Indian ways. Then I have also met the other traveler who can’t wait to get out of India to some more civilized country. For these individuals, 2-3 weeks is about the time limit they can tolerate it. I probably fall somewhere in between. I am after all here to see the country. I am quite disgusted with that I have seen and behavior and attitude for the non savory Indians so far. I think it has a lot to do with which class of Indian society you interact with. I am referring mostly to the non affluent class. Of course if you take a tour package, you will stay in a nice hotel , have a guide, eat and go about with guidance and I really don’t know how much of the real India you will experience if you don’t rough it and take public transportation. Dirty as it was on the public bus from Amritsar to Dharamsala, I did get to meet locals Indians of the less affluent. No doubt it is a beautiful country with lots of beautiful architecture and rich history, but honestly, I don’t care to be in cities like Amritsar, Delhi of Mumbai during the hot months. The dust, the honking noise, the constant attempt to try and cheat you, the staring, the dirt, the so apparent yucky hygiene, it takes getting used to. Here in Vashisht, most of these seem to be absent and the local Indians I have spoken to have expressed shock at what I have experience. It appears they haven’t experienced the unsavory ways of their culture so targeted specifically at non-Indian tourists. The Indian government really takes advantage of the non-Indian tourists. Take for example, entrance fees to the Taj Mahal, for Indians is 20 Rupees (usd0.40) but for foreigners it is 750 Rupees (usd15). A big difference I’d say. But if you are a foreign born Indian, for example if you are born in the USA and visit the Taj Mahal, just keep your mouth shut and just by your looks alone you can get in for 20 Rupees. Quite shocking. It is almost like they want to discourage non Indian tourists from visiting their national monuments. Since my arrival in McLeod Ganj I have been chasing the movie “Slumdog Millionaire”. There are these public home theater set ups in McCleod Ganj which show new hits, including the current showings (yup, the one with the heads in front. You either get this or you don’t) . I was able to catch a version of “Angels and Daemons” whilst there. I made an arrangement with one of the fellows at one of these theaters to screen “Slumdog” at 1pm on Sunday upon my return from Amritsar but I couldn’t make as I was going to walk downhill with my ankle. Today, surprise, surprise, I hobbled to the roof restaurant for lunch and lo and behold, there is a free screening of “Slumdog” tonight at 7pm, woo hoo! The roof top restaurant is such a pleasant place with views of the snow capped mountains. Hmmm, I think I may stick around a little longer before heading up on the 2 day bus ride to Leh in Ladakh state. It is a supposedly pretty rough ride but beautiful with snow capped mountains and Himalaya landscape. As I lie here blogging I can actually see the bone in my foot reappear. I guess the swelling is beginning to subside. Have to by the time I head to Leh, I will have to dig my shoes out, and additional layers. It is rather cool here in Vashisht around 15C. But a nice welcome from the hot and honking noise lower cities.