Saturday 29th

Got up about 8am, best sleep in so far. 

Brekky downstairs as always. Then packed and ready for the others to get an 11.30 bus that left about an hour later. They got to Chandigarh around 6pm. What an epic, as bad as my journey. 

The start was very peaceful, with spectacular views for a couple of k's. Then it was on the main road, fine if you're moving, less fine if you get off to push. Not very comfortable, not much space on the edge, cars overtaking on the wrong side of the road etc. 

Chatted to a shawl maker with a very nice large shop,  at the top called Shimla Shawl Factory , here:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/TCgB2pn8Fy273J4x8?g_st=ac

 

Then it rolled down pretty fast to Theog, strangely pronounced as it's spelt. This is a very pretty little town with a winding pedestrian street,  lined with shops, and the odd view over the surrounding huge valley. 

A guy says hello when I stop. I'm looking for Monty palace,  and the guy introduces me to Monty who is standing 5m away. We chat, where are you from, what do you do, people here are helpful etc. He observes they love to help travellers but won't help the local derros. True for us too. He warns me that some young people are hooked on Afghani heroin, so to avoid young people, and don't stay out at night. 

Later, there are plenty of people so it seems not an issue. 

I wish I could stay right here in the middle what a dream, so quiet. He doesn't have room, so passes me onto the Hotel Ashish. 

Hotel Ashish is a super weired place run by a kind lady. 

Tiny concrete room, with bedding that hasn't been changed for a long time, and an ensuite (I found the switch yay!), and the doorway is so low that I crack my head, twice (about two more in the morning also). It's still sore sore in the morning. 

Glad I have toilet paper and a bed sheet! It's generally clean, but I won't be staying two nights.

Dinner was a veg thing plus a bread at a little stall, with little plastic chairs. The young kid quotes me 30 for the bread, then the old guy charges 40 for the whole meal. I hand him a 50 (about 88 cents) and tell him to keep the change. 

Back in the concrete room, coughing away, writing this, wishing for a heater.

Friday

It's a day off. A cable car takes us up to visit the monkey God statue. The green monkeys up there steal things, chase ppl around, making it not heavenly. Harrison's sunglasses are stolen and destroyed. Anna was giving them nuts. When she turns her head, her bag is plucked from her hand. By miracle, her phone dropped oit onto the ground.

The monkeys take it onto a roof, and go through the contents. One puts on a beanie and dances around. Harrison swaps how drink food some of the things. The guys at the restaurant sell me biscuits to trade the rest, but all that happens is that they all close in on me like a horror movie. Me, Lou and Marie get out of there.

The afternoon is shopping. After loading up I need to cull down!

Dinner and drinks tonight but I need to try to catch some sleep. 

Weds 26th Nov the wedding

The typical day starts with hotel breakfast. Apparently you can walk between balconies. Brock's door can be opened. Harrison walks in on him showering. Luckily the view is only from the waist up as he pokes his head past the wall and issues av surprised wtf!!

After this, everyone gets henna tattoos on their palms, including the blokes. Navdeep suggests wrist only, so your hands are free but it ends up looking like bondage bracelets. 

For the evening we get dressed up. A band with drums and trumpets plays traditional festive folk music, v loud. Dancing to it us like Hari Krishna style, so easy and fun. 

The barman shots are like triples every time, so Steven ends up puking it. I'm lucky to escape unmauled. A great night.

On the second day, Manus has to parade around on a horse. He is dusty and I'm sure not happy to have to get out of bed early for the 10am start. 

This is followed by the actual wedding, where there is a lot of chanting, the couple walks around the fire a few times, throws puff rice around or similar.

 

An arvo nap is in order then a walk around town. 

Left: Issi's Mehendi.

The dinner before the first day of the wedding

Hotel Woodville!

Brock, Alexandra, Lola, Holly

Me, Oli, Lou, Charlie

Anay, and the cousins

Lol, Charlie, Holly

Max and Harrison

Marie, Sudipto, Ang, Brock

Holly, Evonne, Charlie, Lola.

Yoghurt and tumeric ceremony! Each person takes a spoon, gets some from the bowl, and smears it on the bride and groom.

Day 5-Shimla, collect bike from near Jutogh

Today we are in Shimla and is a day off. Wandering around, there are types of monkeys everywhere, and a flying fox. The kids see him spread out and fly down then back up again after building speed.

I set off to collect the bike. Uber won't respond so a helpful local shows me the bus to take. The gps let's me follow exactly where to get off. Lunch with my man, dahl and something like chole but with beans. 

The ride back is uneventful.  At the whiskey booth a man wants to chat. He's from Punjab and has a brother in Melbourne who isn't picking up the phone. I have to say I'm going now about 5 times. If you need a chat, he might still be there.

After dropping the bike, I have a second lunch of everyone's leftovers at the 1873 Cafe.

The evening we have a formal dinner and dancing. Sona's niece shows us the moves. Have to admit I love Indian music when it's got the powerful back beat. 

Day 4 Kuthar to Shimla

After a night in Kuthar, breakfast is at 8 so I go for a tiny wander to look over the town. I can go about 100m on the level but don't want to go further as then the road dips sharply down. The entrances are via bridges into the front door. One building goes down about 3 levels from the road,  and up 2.

Walking back to the room, turns out there were other guests at all. He makes music on YouTube, and makes enough that he can do it do time. Him and his buddy are lovely, from Delhi, rolling back today. His best video got 17 million hits. He is famous in the north. 

About 10 mins after 8, they announce breakfast will be in 20 minutes. It's not the early start I was hoping for. 

The other guys might be famous, but all the staff stood around filming me while I attached my bags, put on my gloves, and cycled the path out the gate.

At least the road is not too bad. The steep bits are easiest walked, then your legs get a break, and the next ridden part is easier. 

But sure he I ended up 3ks off route. Took a while but returning down was fast once the error was found. It took me 4 hours to work out the ATM. The town here has a big military area. 

At least the progress seems decent,  despite doing regularly to try adjust the tension. 

I stopped for a chat with Karam the local school guard.

At Kunihar, I get a well timed call from the mechanic, and finally I can get 1st gear. It wasn't too last sadly. There's something with the cable and the selector. 

There was another group of monkeys in the trees. Got a video this time. 

I'm so close I can feel it as the sun is setting. The town is so big and sitting perched on a hill must be it right? It's not.

A random kids talks Hindi excitedly to me about the bike. His dad comes up as well. It's fine dark but the streets and shops are lit up like Christmas and the road is so jammed, progress is easy and stress free.

After town though it's hard to see, the shoulder is non existent in places. It is way too dangerous to continue. I message the group that I have to stop, and I'm going to seek help.

A food place is right there, perfect timing. One guy leads me in. There guys in the hut are sitting around a fire, and one jumps up to offer me a chair. I say my name is Ted in Hindi, then we're all shaking hands, getting names, asking about work, kids etc, offering a cup of tea. 

We try to coordinate group 2s bus to get me but it's not possible. One offers a lift and to leave the bike for the night.

 

The poor guys must have driven a good half hour in the traffic around tiny tiny roads choked with cars, crawling through tight spaces, doing a 3 point turn, and hill starting up a steep incline, gave me a traditional sweet.

At the hotel, Marie, the boys and other family members are getting off the bus. I want to hug everybody!!

Day 3 to Kuthar

For future reference, my path was:

-through the grid onto Udyog Path, which bends 90deg to the right, left onto Madhya Marg, around Khudda Lahora, on the road that disappears into sand etc via Majrian to Maranwala, then state highway, SH16 to Jutogh, and the 205 to Shimla.

Rolled out of The Fern Residency Chandigarh bright and early. Stopped once to get directions. Went around Khudda Lahora, well out of my comfort zone,  Looked up directions again.

It's amazing all the villages through here. People are spread throughout, everywhere. 

Left: went slightly the wrong way. A dog guards the way forward.

I think this is about the hardest ride I can remember doing. It started on bitumen, followed by hard dirt.

Deep fine sandy dirt made it hard to keep control (see pic to the right here). Going was slow to say the least. I ended up pushing the bike a few times. 

Saw a peacock 2 times.

Doing a left right from the 105 to the SH9, there is rubbish just everywhere along and around the river, big piles of plastic. The town asking the road had many small shops, the owners taking up a lot of space. I've got to go in one time but I can't speak the language so it'd be even more awkward.

You just gotta roll with the traffic and they'll move around you, while honking a lot. The road is single lane bitumen, dirt sides. For busses and trucks I get off right off the road. Some kids stare at the bike, some point and laugh. People don't say hello in general. 

I saw a magic looking greenish brown monkey about a foot tall. There were several 2 foot tall ones doing Rambo jumps down into trees a good 3m below. Very noisy. 

One guy did stop to talk but we couldn't understand each other. A truck also stopped in the middle of the road to ask where I'm from, that kind of thing.  He couldn't block the road for long. 

I held on my wee for a while, but finally found a side street. Stopping to get a bottle of water, I finally ask if he has a menu. He says no,  it's just roti and mix veg. This is peak, finding someone who speaks enough English that I get to ask for lunch. It's pretty delicious. I haven't hit any properly spicy stuff yet. The lunch man advises visiting Kuthar. Turns out to be bad advice. This place is a truck stop and car wash. Not much point when it's going to get coated in dirt the minute you leave. 

The greenery, scenery get better, while the rubbish decreases. 

I stop in Kuthar and go to the dirt that has 4.7 star rating. At a glance it looks great, then you realise you are the only person in the place. 

At 5.36 I get there. We try both cards to pay. Then they ask if I have UPI. Then they want cash but I have to go to the ATM. I hunt for the first, is out of service, then try to find the other but fail after going along a tiny side street that is also the shopping strip. It's getting dark. 

I try to go to the other hotel after getting the rage coming on, but they're not there and not answering the phone. 

I explain things and then he asks for the cash. Clearly he's not understanding. 

Then I come up with the idea of a bank transfer. The boys calls 4 times, eventually it's done. 

The water takes ten minutes to heat and about the same time to use it all up. I cook, then work out the cold tap then freeze again at the end. 

Going to the dining room, no one is there. I wait for a while. There's dirty table clothes up there still. I consider not eating for a minute but I don't think I can. I then go hunting for them and give the order. Back in my room I am cold, hungry,  and the Ac remote does not work. I feel this is the Indian version of the Bates motel. All 5 of the guys stumble around to get things. I genuinely don't know how they are still in business. This place is horrible. The food was surprisingly nice. I read they get a restaurant to do it.