9. Manali
“Look at the commercialization maan!” – SF on Manali, upon arrival
“You know what Vishnu, I think Manali is the closest to the Himalayas, the “not so fit” people can reach” – O on Manali
It
must be close to 7 when we reached Manali. The place, I tell you, is
totally in contrast with Leh. Commercialization has spoilt the beauty
of Manali. It’s a honeymooners’ paradise. We did see quite a lot of
couples cuddling and walking with hands around the other’s waist and
stuff like that.
We had a train to catch from Delhi the next day.
The
19 hour bus journey had spoilt any enthusiasm that was left in us. We
hardly spoke. The waiter at “madras café” in Manali stood by our side
for 15 minutes waiting for us to order. That was the scenario. We found
ourselves seconds away from drifting to sleep when Oneiro asked me to
pass the water bottle. I turned and turned back with the bottle and he
was fast asleep.