Outside it is two fleece and gloves temperature although bright sunshine is already warming things up a little. Besides breakfast we have a shopping list to attend to. One item that has to be attended to is a seam on D's rucksack that is coming unstitched and needs to be fixed. A tailor is also required to open and hem the bottom three inches of the seams of D's fancy pants new churidwars that will not fit over his ankles. The bazaar on the east side of Manali's Mall is just waking up and we locate an alley with several tailors. The first one looks at the rucksack and recommends the man next door, who in turn suggests a chap three doors down who shakes his head and says "Shoe repair walla" and points in an easterly direction. D does persuade this chap to take the churidwars on and is told to come back in half an hour. We fail to find anybody who looks even remotely like they might repair shoes but we do find a working blacksmith. A lady who might well be his wife is striking hot metal with a long handled hammer and giving it laldy. Next door is a man who has melamine plates for sale, a bit roary but just what we need. A couple more tailors turn us down flat and we decide that it is breakfast time.
The Gozy Restaurant is chosen because it looks respectable and is the first such that we see that does not proclaim itself to be Pure Veg. West of Scotland readers should note that this is not the Indian equivalent of Pure Mince, but means that you can't even get a boiled egg there. R orders Aloo Paratha and D goes for omelet but you probably guessed that already. The food is good and so is the black tea but we have to work really hard to convince them that we don't want sugar in it. A small bowl of sugar lumps is delivered with it in case we change our minds. Over breakfast we consider if we need a plan B for the rucksack. What is 'duct tape' called in these parts? On the way to pick up the chuddies we see a place that might sell such items and we enquire accordingly. "No sir. My friend has that shop (waves up street) and is the only shop in Manali to have duct tape but now is the wrong time. It is out of season". We collect from the tailor who seems to think that 20 rupees is a fair price. He has no change for the 50 we profer and seems quite pleased when we say keep it.
We realise now that we have walked past a trekking equipment shop. Surely they must know somebody who can do small repairs. "Yes sir but he is not here". We ask when he will be in and are told that he has returned to his home town far away. On the off chance D asks about duct tape. "Yes sir. This is the only shop in Manali with duct tape but not now. This is wrong season". He suggests that we try the other bazaar on the other side of the Mall. With nothing to lose we do try that and the first tailor we see looks at the job, says 5 minutes and when asked the price says "As you wish". D offers 100, a deal is struck and we go to do the rest of our shopping. Bananas, sliced bread, butter and curd are quickly located but we draw a total blank as far as Orange Bites are concerned. Everybody has the mango ones but D does not like them as much. We return to collect the rucksack. The repair is undectable from the outside and looks to be a first class job on the inside, where a strip of cloth has been sewn in to reinforce the seam. D hands over Rs 100 to a beaming tailor. It is a mystery as to why nobody on the eastern bazaar wanted to do this. We return to the hotel with our swag. The cleaning staff have been in and closed all of the curtains blocking out the sun and the views. We open them and have a cup of tea.
Himachal Pradesh State Tourism Department has hit upon a great money making tactic. They have lots of places making small charges for entry so that it doesn't seem like you are spending much. Near the hotel is a Nature Park, Admission Rs 20. There is a man in the car park selling tickets and he takes our money but does not give us anything in return. The tickets he hands out are for car parking. We see local people strolling through the park entrance without paying. Perhaps they are season ticket holders. The park is basically an area of conifer forest that has been preserved from those who would like to build more hotels here. Inside the entrance there is a signpost to a Beas River Viewpoint, indicating a path that goes by a building marked Urinal. The man walking ahead of us strides past this and then selects a tree to relieve himself against. As for the viewpoint, it must be the least exciting or interesting view of the Beas River anywhere upstream of Mandi.
We continue our walk which is pleasant enough, but would be even better without the crisp packets and sweetie wrappers strewn around. Several apparently sane Indians we have met on this trip tell us that Mr Modi has cleaned up India. They must want to believe in him an awful lot. We can hear bird life but there is precious little of it to be seen, just a few crows and a couple of great tits. When reach the gatehouse at the top of the park we see that it is virtually derelict and that there is nobody there to collect money. Have HPTDC have missed out on our contribution or are we doing the car park man a disservice?
A short walk brings us to a bridge over a tributary of the Beas on the far side of which is Old Manali. From downstream we hear shrieks and shouts. We head towards the merriment and find another Rs 20 entry barrier. This is the HPTDC's Manali Clubhouse where, in exchange for our money, we receive official tickets saying that we are now Day Members of said club. The clubhouse itself has signs promising billiards, karoom, table tennis and more and there is a sort of small bazaar of food and clothing stalls at the front. On the far side of this is Adventure Land which appears to be some kind of walk through ghost train. D is too mean to invest Rs 50 to find out. A set of stairs lead down to the river where there is a boating lake with swan boats and pedalos and the source of the shrieks. Young Indian men and women are dangling from fixed ropes across the river and being bounced up and down and photographed by their so called friends. R declines the opportunity to participate fearing that the inevitable outcome is a wet bum. We retire to the clubhouse bar for refreshment. The end of year stocktake is in progress but they manage to fit us in
Fortified we walk back up along the river bank and into Old Manali village. Most of the businesses are shuttered up but a few places seem to be preparing for the coming season. There is a very different vibe here with lots of tattoo parlours and business names like the 'Hangout Pub' and 'Moondance Cafe'. One homestay offers a tandoor in every room. We do not sight a single old hippy or even any new ones but do have a conversation with two Kashmiris who speak excellent English and make a half hearted attempt to talk us into their shop. When they hear that we have not visited Kashmir they, like all Kashmiris do, tell us how beautiful it is, how nice the people are and how trouble free it is these days. When we ask why they left Kashmir they answer "Because we smoke weed". Their families would not tolerate this in Kashmir but some places in HP have a more tolerant attitude. They tell us that it will be ten days or so before most of the businesses in Old Manali will open for the season. We also find a shop that has a large bag of Orange Bites.
Carrying on up the village street, quite steep in places and eventually get up to the Manu Temple. This is architecturally different to most of the Hindu temples that we have seen. We sit on a bench and enjoy the sun for a while then take our shoes off to look inside the temple. Curiosity sated we head back towards town but notice an interesting side road which we follow until it takes out of the village and ends at the bottom of a set of concrete stairs. These lead up to the top of a small rise and gives wonderful views up one of the side valleys. There are also small birds to watch including Himalayan Bulbuls and a small russet capped bird that we cannot identify. The sun is hot and we don't linger too much as we don't want to burn. As we set off back R spots two large birds wheeling high up in the sky. They must be eagles but they are too far away for a positive ID.
We have a pleasant stroll back down through the village before climbing a set of stairs up to Circuit House Road where our hotel is situated. More tea while we watch the sun vanish behind the mountains and then back down the Mall to book our getaway car for Thursday. The town appears to be undergoing a power cut. We thought that staying next to the state power company's office might exempt us but no.On the way back to base we call in at the Offie for a couple of beers. We manage to pick the only one in India that does not have Kingfisher so Tuborg will have to do. Johnsons Lodge is running on generator until about 7.30 p.m.
After the cocktail hour we stroll down to LP's recommended restaurant, the Mayur, just off the Mall. It is back to two fleeces on the thermometer. A key feature at Mayur is the magnificent central stove and we get a nice warm table next to it. There is no competition as there are no other diners. We have a splendid Hyderbadi style lamb biryani , with mushrooms dopiaza and quite nippy yellow dal. Really good. We ask the waiter what fuel is used in the stove and the answer is charcoal. He is very chatty and we learn that Manali has had no snow at all this winter, that the town gets busy from the 15th of April and after that the restaurant will get full of crazy people. We commiserate and explain that we have both worked in hospitality and know that some customers are the pits. His boss, who has also been the chef tonight, joins us and we talk food, spices and climates for a good while. Really nice people. Our meal bill, including a shared beer, was £7.
Place looks calm - Off season - No tourists from the country.
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