So still in Manali, I'd been hanging around with four Indian lads during the mountain bus tour I did the previous day - Sumamta, Kingshuk, Ashish and Ashit - who were quite taken with being able to hang out with someone from England (wow!). Safely back down at Manali town that evening, they kindly invited me for a night out with them, but them being too tight to go to a bar, it ended up being a couple of beers in their hotel room which was a laugh nonetheless. They were all once again a nice bunch, though one in particular was a bit cocky, but still tolerable - he meant well, but was just a tiny bit irritating. I'd planned to leave town the next day, but they managed to persuade me to join them on another magical mystery tour to a nearby town...
Thursday morning started with a bang, literally, when some 'builders' with a sledgehammer knocked down a wall at the bus station as I was walking past. Nothing was closed off, no warning, just a wall crashing onto the pavement and a dog and some people jumping out of the way. Never a dull moment. The minibus turned up for the days excursion, and would you believe it, it was the same crazy driver as the day before. Great! We headed down to the town of Kullu, stopping very briefly for a screen wash en-route - literally - in just a matter of seconds the driver beeped at a man beside the road with a hose pipe, he stepped forward and gave the windscreen a squirt, and we drove straight on. First on the agenda for the day was white water rafting. The boat and gear all looked safe enough, and with the guys who talked me into doing it in the first place then deciding it was too expensive and dropping out, I hopped in with another bunch of Indians and headed off for a few miles down the river, with just the guide doing the paddling. It was pretty tame by rafting standards, but given India's attitude to H&S that was fine with me, and was actually really good fun despite the water being freezing cold. The middle age couple behind me got soaked right through - like a few others they didn't hire waterproofs and did it in their smart clothes and saris!
Dressed to kill, but soaked right through
The bus then took us down the road a bit, overtaking a car or two on the way. The method for overtaking here seems to be to get right up behind a car, beeping solidly for a second or two. That car then may or may not then indicate (the opposite side to what you'd expect) as if to say 'go past', then assuming you're in a suitably dangerous position, such as going round a blind corner, you swing out and go for it! After these moves we pulled in a few miles down the road for stop two, and I had my first look inside a Hindu temple complex. When I say complex - this place had a canteen, book shop, gift shop, snack shop and ten or twenty shrines inside; no ordinary place of worship this one. The Indian lads were very helpful in explaining what it was all about, especially when we had to scramble under a very low doorway into the cave where one of the main shrines was. It turns out there are over a million different Hindu gods, but most people just worship some of the most popular ones, particularly Lord Shiva and Krishna. It's all extremely complicated, and a little knowledge is enough for me. In one part of the rooms I was fortunate enough to see an Indian wedding ceremony in place, and they were more than happy for me to snap a pic and watch for a minute or two.
Indian wedding ceremony, with everyone sat around an open fire
We left the temple and I'd been told earlier we were staying local, but oh no. Old Colin McRae was to take us an hour and a half up a deep valley, along windy, narrow roads cut into the steep hillside, once again going too fast round blind bends. For the first time ever I was grateful when we got stuck behind traffic to slow us down, and it was also mildly calming to see barriers beside the road in many places this time though. At lunch I watched the Indian lads pose for photos by a bridge - typical of all Indian tourists both male and female, they have multiple photos taken of them in front of sometimes insignificant views and don't just stand there and smile, but instead pose and pout like models, getting kudos from their friends the more model-like the results.
It didn't feel worth the drive at the time, but we eventually got to Manikaren - a natural hot water spring that had been built into a pool beneath and as part of a Sikh temple - yes, it was religion education day today! I dipped a toe in and recoiled quickly - the temperature was so hot it felt like it would melt my skin straight off. I've been in a few hot springs before in Japan and New Zealand and they were pretty hot, but nothing compared to this. There were a number of locals in the water though, and I figured that I was made of the same flesh and bones as them, so if they could take it, so could I, and very slowly inched my way in. It was too hot to stay in for long, so I had two or three goes before it was time to leave, but as I stood up my world started spinning and going white which caught the attention of a helpfully Sikh guy who worked there, who ushered me outside to cool down and sort myself out!
The Indian guys then took me upstairs into the Sikh temple; the first time again I've visited such a place. The rules are that you have to take off your shoes and cover your head, so they gave me a nice white headscarf. It was quite different to the Hindu one earlier - in this case not so extensive or flash, people were using their mobiles whilst praying, and there were many portraits of what I guess were their gods surrounding the room. The complex also included accommodation, and they let anyone who needs it stay completely for free if they need it, whatever religion the may or may not belong to.
We left the main worship room and I was led into a small room where you had to give the guy 10 rupees (£0.10) and in return he gave you a bag of some course and mysterious looking granules which you had to receive with both hands. I have no idea what they were for! We were finally led finally into a big canteen area where you sit cross legged on mats on the floor, and I was told they were giving us free food whether we wanted it or not, made using holy water from the hot springs; taken before not after the bathing pools I must add! Despite only having my lunch an hour or so before, they gave us a big plate of daal, curry and rice and I was told I had to eat all of it as it was 'a gift from god'. Never one to turn down a food challenge I of course rose to the task - I didn't want to seem ungrateful after all. The free food and accommodation are apparently typical of the Sikhs attitude to mankind - it's said that you won't find a Sikh beggar anywhere on the planet.
What a bizarre but thoroughly enjoyable day.
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