Wrote this from a coffee joint with free wi-fi, previously before my memory card crashed. Picture was taken just now.

View from up here is magnificent. This is Mcleodganj. Named after a white guy who had resided here long time ago. This is also the home for tibetans who seek refuge for more than 50 yrs. The dalai lama also resides here.

via BlackBerry, on free wi-fi

The ride from Manali yesterday took about almost 9 hours and 270km. Looking for a room to sleep was very hard as there was a Pooja going on last night and there were no vacancies at all except for this one place, a bit further from the town. There were two rooms available up in the corner; very cheap and very very quiet. The owner showed me the rooms but I felt so uncomfortable. There was an eerie feeling about this place. I told the owner to give me few minutes to decide. Walked around and my guts told me not to take it. As I told him that I won’t be taking the room, Lil G suddenly fell down on flat ground, no wind nothing. It just fell. The front cowl cracked and scratched. Nothing serious though. Bad sign, I told myself. Better for me to move and pay a little extra for comfort than stay in the spooky place.

It was getting dark, was really hungry and was in dire need for shower. Went around like a madman until I met this wonderful lady, Shashi. Shashi runs a small cozy herbal tea shop in Tipa Road. She helped me made few calls and even tried to get me a place to put up a night. 3 hours of searching and making calls, still no luck. She offered me a place to bunk in if I fail to find a room. Lady luck was on my side and I found a place run by monks. Super clean and cosy!  Only thing was that Lil G have to sleep outside. It is very difficult to get a place with secured parking here. Gonna be costly. What choice do I have?

Had a good shower, did some laundry and had good dinner; Tibetan food.

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Morning sun was really beautiful here. Woke up before sunrise and enjoyed the morning sun. Good hot shower and I was out for local breakfast. Walked around and met Shashi. She was about to open her tea shop. She invited me for breakfast; a coffee with Tibetan bread. Spent the whole morning sharing our life experience. Shashi is a lady of wisdom. If you are ever in this town, do drop by Shashi’s shop for a cup of good coffee, a plate of Tibetan bread and a bowl of wisdom.

Roamed around to find a bike shop to fix Lil G’s crackle. But it was too bad, most of the shops were not yet open even it already passed noon. Maybe their working hours are later after lunch. My tummy was not feeling too well since morning. Guess the clean and nice lavatory makes my tummy wanting to frequent it. Hahaha.

I should be fine, nothing that serious. Just disposing waste that couldn’t be done in Manali.

I will be heading up north tomorrow if all is well. Long way before I reached Leh.

Have a good week ahead people.

Khoda Hafez.