Wake early as we are missing a window pane and we are located in the centre of town. Last night nearby temple chanting went very close to midnight. Soph looking drained. Feeling despondent due to her camera malfunction and concern as to resolution.
Following breakfast we hit the road to the usual audience. Same would happen back home, Bob is not indiscreet and there are probably as many bike tourists in Australia as in India.
Climbing hills and being effervescent is good for the soul I have decided. When on the ascent to Shimla prior to calling it a day at Kandaghat we were approached by a couple of young guys who had just pulled over on motorbikes. One of them asked why we were cycling, was it for a charity or? At the time, when he asked why, my answer was why not. At that stage I was feeling pretty crap with a cold and never say die nose, so did not elaborate.
However on further thought it is for the journey. We could arguably cover more ground and see more sights by traveling faster, get as much local exposure by training or busing from place to place and it is not the cost as we consume quite a bit of food and water to keep the engines firing. But travel by bikes has given us the satisfaction of the expended journey, the flexibility of self determination, the risk and adventure of personal responsibility and the fragility or ? that has assisted to make us approachable to a whole range of people. It has not totally ceased to be about sites and destinations but the journey has subsumed their worth.
Anyway, back to the day. Must be the air in Dharmshala getting to me.
We climb out of the Kangra valley and up along the spur towards the ever present Dhauladhar range. Pass the usual clumps of monkeys. Soph is really feeling the lack of sleep and is looking drained. On several occasions in the past I have been amazed at her determination and today goes onto the list, still I can see the emotion behind the sweat. We have a mini van pull in behind us with two guys, they have Hindi music pumping and as we are traveling at only 6km/hr on this stretch it feels like we have our own theme music for a while. Thankfully they get bored after what feels like five minutes and pass smiling out the window as they pass.
We pass some college aged students, one of whom notices the flag on passing (which has B.O.B on it) and after the usual chuckle yells out Bob Marley. My hair is not that frizzy yet and although I wish I was more tanned it has not yet come true.
Pull into a General store to restock on fizz and cookies. Only have Maaza, which is concentrated mango juice, bottled by none other then Coca Cola. Still it is nice, though these bottles appear to have been sitting for a while based on their sediment and a touch of rust under the cap. It is amazing how much Coca Cola has penetrated the market, with besides Coke, Mountain Dew and Fanta has Limca (Lemon/Lime), Maaza and bottled Waters available in quite a few locations. Similar to back home they appear to have also done deals with refrigerators as quite a few Dharbas and General stores have coke branded fridges albeit marginally larger then bar fridges. I use arm signals to obtain a feeling for upcoming gradient and the arm does not signify good news. When asked by Soph I try to lessen the arm angle but she does not buy it and my attempt at lessening the mental pain is discarded.
We climb into lower Daramshala (yet to know the correct spelling as each map or sign has a variation!) and the oncoming stores bring a light to my hope as on most climbs the stores are situated near the apex, however this is quickly snuffed out by the view around the corner of a continuing climb, and around the next corner and the next. We still have a further 9km to McLeodganj which is said to be at the end of an impressively steep sharp climb.
Finally we see the sign to the Bus stand, where tourist taxis are also known to be located who offer transfers up to McLeodganj. Soph has spoken since Kangra of paying for one and god defend the person to deny it to her. Pre dropping to the bus stand we come across a whole line of four wheel drives and more appealing a goods carrier similar to that we used to climb out of Tattapani. Fantastic because the bikes fit in the back without stacking, without getting grease everywhere and without partial dismantling. However the driver is nowhere to be seen. We get into a haggle between alternate drivers all indicating that they will drive us, but when inspecting their vehicles it is apparent that we will need to put the bikes either on the roof or attempt to squeeze into the boot. Neither ideal options. Finally after three such alternatives declined it is noticed that the driver has been in the vehicle all the time and is asleep laying across the front cab seat.
Following an agreeable price determination we load up and start the ascent, for it turns out to be an ascent which would have seen some serious pushing, if god had intervened and stalled soph's wrath. The single lane road climbs at driveway angles through tight building, stall and people packed streets. It is a long snaking bazaar but on a sharp hill side.
At the top we unload outside the Green Hotel where we obtain a room for our stay. The room smells of pachouli and is nice and light, the absence of a tv is not missed. We then head out to Nicks cafe which serves Italian.. . We stock up on pizza, garlic bread and pumpkin ravioli prior to downing two pots of tea partially consumed for the liquid and partially to extend our access to their free wifi a painful absence since Delhi. Given it is not as high here as in Shimla the air is decidedly cool. Soph has donned her tea pot beanie, again.
Back to our room to update blogs and try and resolve the prior nights absence. Our next door neighbors as we are in a room on the far side of the hotel decide to warm up the night by lighting a fire seemingly outside our side window which is not air tight and so we inhale the plastic fumes wafting our way. Every now and again this is punctuated by the breaking of further wood to stoke the fire. Good thing the rooms don't have fire / smoke detectors. Sleep however comes rapidly for Soph as I listen to little snorts from her side of the bed.