Manali, in many ways, was a stop over point for us, on our journey north into the Himalayas. We've been here three days, after a rather harrowing 10 hour bus ride, and have found the town rather sleepy. It's the cleanest place we've seen by far, and our guesthouse is surrounded by pretty and peaceful gardens which we've really enjoyed. The view of the mountains from our balcony is pretty breathtaking too.
We've wandered around the main town, and Old Manali, where we found the regular 'traveller types' and clothing stores upon clothing stores selling the appropriate garb for them. Most of the cafes and restaurants have been incredibly quiet, and indeed, the massive and plentiful hotels are similarly soundless.
Photos by Ben and Mikayla Journee | All photos in this post were shot and edited on the iPhone
Our Guesthouse in Log Huts area, Manali
View of the mountains from our balcony
The river that runs alongside Old Manali
Ben sitting at The Lazy Dog lounge
The Himalayan Nyinmapa Buddhist Temple is nestled in the middle of the Tibetan area of Manali. It is, and felt like, a real functioning temple. It was pleasant walking around, people moved slowly, using the space as they needed and wanted, the colours were beautiful, and it felt peaceful and incredibly relaxed.
Nyinmapa Buddhist Temple complex
"om mani padme hum" - this mantra is associated with the bodhisattva of compassion, and released when spinning prayer wheels
A young, and beautiful, boy spinning a large prayer wheel inside a temple
Others spinning the large prayer wheel
Mikayla walking in front of the Nyinmapa temple - inside is a two story golden statue of Buddha
Mikayla spinning the prayer wheels
Tibetan prayer flags
Relaxed would definitely be the way to describe our time in Manali. We begin our journey to Leh on Saturday morning, a twenty hour (minimum) bus ride, a camp site for the night, and a road that takes us to the height of Everest Base Camp at its most extreme...