inconvenience deeply regretted

We left Leh at two a.m. and arrived in Manali just 21 short hours later. In truth, the trip back was fifty times better than the trip there. I saw a number of clearly insane individuals biking along these roads. On a bicycle! I cannot fathom ever thinking that would be a good idea. But a word to the wise traveler, if you plan to visit the Himalayan regions, go by helicopter. That, or wait a few decades until the roads are better. I didn't get sick this time though, which made it much more enjoyable. Still, just riding along in the vehicle feels like strenuous cardiovascular exercise. There are all these signs along the way that say "Inconvenience Deeply Regretted," wherever there is road work and you have to take a "diversion," which is what they call a detour. These differences in diction are endlessly entertaining to me.

Our "deluxe tempo traveler" held ten passengers, each with their own personal seat. Caroline and I were riding alongside a family of South Koreans with three young boys who were all so quiet and calm, they were almost invisible. In front was Aldous, the Canadian guy who reminds me a lot of Tom from Maine. Then there were two Australian girls who'd been volunteer teaching English here for four months and are headed to Nepal for another two. I found out they're 19. Nineteen! Just out of high school. I was so impressed. When I was 19, I "braved" the posh city of London and took weekend trips to other civilized Western European spots. India is not an easy place to be.

I'm reading a great book right now (have temporarily shelved Anna Karenina) -- it's called Holy Cow! The author is an Australian woman with a love/hate relationship with India. She lives here and travels to a lot of the places I have been or am going. She writes with a good mix of historical facts and personal anecdotes.

Yesterday evening as the sun was setting and I was already composing this blog in my mind, our van stopped dead in the middle of the rocky road. The driver kept turning the key, and nothing. So, we started joking about spending the night there, or creating some makeshift rafts and riding along the nearby river. Ha, ha. So funny. I was actually not laughing. We were 80KM away from our destination, but at the rate we went, that would take four hours. As it turned out, the gas gauge had punctured and leaked. A public bus pulled over and the driver came and helped. In the end, amazingly, it was only a 30 minute delay. They were total McGuyvers. They taped it up or something. We managed to arrive without exploding around 11:00!

I have nine days left in this country. Next stop: Dharamsala/McLeod Gang, home of the Tibetan Government in exile.