July 5th Delhi and Manali

Landed in Delhi abt 3 PM, no cash no ATMs near the airport, or we didnt find them. Delhi was hot very hot.Took a cab to Chanderlok building. We were pretty tired in the afternoon sun to look for a restaurant. Went to The Imperial , was expensive Rs 2900 for a lunch for two. But we are on vacation well thats all right once in a while.

Manali bus was to depart around 6 PM. Enquired with a travel agency which had its office in that building to be sure we are at the right place, they said to wait in FRONT of the building, while the bus was to arrive at the BACK of the building. After sometime was around 6:10 PM, thanks to a vendor, came to know that the bus waits at the back of the building. Scamperd back with that packed backpack, didnt miss the bus, it was IST timings ofcourse :).

Delhi appeared to be a very well planned city, its THE CAPITAL of course. Took abt 2 hrs to reach to reach the outskirts and soon we were doing > 100kph. The road was good and the traffic disciplined, not that the volvo guys care much abt traffic.Reached Chandigarh abt 2AM abd finally first signs of the Himalayas abt 5:30 AM.

The Himalays didnt disappoint, One glance and you know that these are the highest out there,imposingly standing, after all these have defined the culture, religion and history of India over many centuries.

After stopping for tea and refreshments , with Manali still 131 kms, the road entered the Beas valley. It looked splendid in the morning sun.

Finally reached Manali around 10AM, checked into the hotel. They had some problem with the reservations, got the rooms after a bit of delay.Its a decent hotel "Hotel Snow Park" conveniently located near the Mall. Hot water was there, an absolute essential in these parts,bathrooms were clean. Rooms were a bit small, thats okey for a night.

The hotel guy arranged a cab for local sighting and showed a travel agent who could arrange travel to Leh.Again needed cash, there are 2 SBI ATMS , one didnt have cash, the other one had a long queue, took a long time. The sun felt hot, piercingly hot, even though the atmosphere is generally cool, the sun hits you. It was expected we are around 1000m above msl.