What?

The first day was crazy but after sleeping the next morning I felt so much better. The next few days we spent our time getting adjusted and getting to know the town.  The weather is beautiful is here and the people for the most part are very friendly. I went to a few shops to get my tunic and more traditional Indian clothing. I was shocked how cheep the clothes were. I got two tops, two pants, fabric and hand tailored all for 1,040 rupees, about 22 American dollars. I walked around town with my roommate and we met a few local children. They were adorable, we took pictures, tried to converse with each other and I even showed them how to use my camera. I wish I could bring them home with me! We also walked to Old Manali which was also beautiful. I was full of shopping, street vendors, and so many people. In addition we also walked to a different part of Manali, less populated. Out of town was exceptionally dirty, full of stray dogs, cows, beggars and weed. Manali is commonly known for being able to grow very potent weed. Weed grows everywhere here, I couldn’t believe it. It’s on the side of the road everywhere I go. You would never see that in the United States!

Day 1

Once we got to the Kulu airport is when I actually learned how small of an airport this was. They said they only have one flight coming in and out of there each day.   We were greeting by the workers at the airport and served tea. We waited over an hour for our cabs.  We drove up the mountain to Manali, the road and driving are unlike anything I have ever seen. First of all people drive on the opposite side of the road than we do in the United States.  People constantly change lanes, speed past each other and run into each other as well. I was scared to death, I was afraid we were going to be hit of drive off the mountain. Also we had to watch out for cow, chicken, dogs and people.  I have never seen so many cows and stray dogs in my life. The way people drive is INSANE!!! We arrived in Manali and found our hotel. Honestly I was up for an adventure but I’m surprised after the first day no one wanted to go home including myself. The floor of the hotel was concert, the electricity was out, it was raning and my bed is a wooden slate on a frame. The hotel did have western style toilets which is very uncommon here but no shower. My shower is a bucket of water. After getting to the hotel we decided to go into town to get SIM cards for our phones. That was an experience…. I had to get a copy of my passport, visa and then register myself with the company and like everything else here it took forever!!! It seemed like a lot of trouble to get a phone card…. I learned later it was to protect the public from car bombing! THIS IS TOO REAL!!! By the end of my first day I was so tired because of the time change, hungry, and freaked out because I felt I had been dropped in the middle of nowhere! I was very hesitant on this whole trip!

Departure

I was scheduled to leave from BWI at 5 pm on the 24^th of May. The flight was delayed over an hour and a half because the New Jersey airport had bad weather. Luckily we were able to make the connecting flight to India. The flight to Delhi was fourteen hours. Flight path was north over Canada, across the Atlantic Ocean, over London, Berlin, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Over the Baku Sea, then Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and then finally arrived at the Delhi Indira Gandhi International airport. Total Mileage from Jersey to Delhi was 7,850 miles. Flight was long but not actually that bad. Watched a lot of movies and slept.  We arrived in India at about 8 pm.  We had a connecting flight into Kulu but it would be at 6 am the following morning. Had a 10 hour layover that was spent sleeping on the floor of the Delhi airport. I slept about an hour that night in the airport because I afraid of someone steeling my passport, luggage and money. Went through customs and security which was an interesting experience. The man checking my passport did not greet me, look at me, or even talk to me. When going through security they had different lines for men and women. Men were checked how they typically are in the United States but women are taken into a small room and patted down inside out view from anyone. I think this is probably a cultural thing where women are never to expose themselves.  Flew into Manali the following day on probably the smallest plane I have ever been on. The propeller or the plane was right outside my window, slightly terrifying. Flight was about 2 hours. Manali is small town in Indian that is surrounded by mountains. The view was unbelievable!!!!