Weed is Everywhere

After a week or so India decided to take its wrath upon me. Granted not as bad as on others but certainly unpleasant enough. Being that everything is dirty it's hard to determine the exact cause, but recently I've had a combination of lethargy, aches, a cold, and the infamous "Delhi Belly". It comes and goes every few days so at the moment I feel okay.

Em & I departed Manali after a couple of days and head a little south (not far) to a little village called Manikaran en route to Pulga which is a tiny village all still within the Parvati Valley. This region is known for it's high grade marijuana which grows and is smoked freely everywhere. The funniest experience so far was smoking and playing cards with a local Baba (a holy man, like a sadhu) who struggled with the concept of when it was his turn.

Pulga was a nice little town but the weather was far too cold prompting me & Em to contract illnesses and then retreat back to Kasol where we are now. On the way back we travelled on the roof of the bus through windy & bumpy mountain roads which was definately a new experience for me, having to duck regularly for fear of decapitation by power line. I'm keen to see a different part of India so I think we will travel down to Chandigarh to stay with my mums friend and revel in Indian hospitality. Apparently the servants iron the newspaper everyday for extra reading pleasure.

Otherwise not so much to report, the illneses and shitty weather have not been conducive to meeting new people. So as a substitute I have been getting stuck into an incredible book which you may have heard of called 'Shantaram' about an Australian escaped convict who flees to Mumbai. It's a true story and is amazingly well written, it is also set to become a movie starring Johnny Depp despite the fact that the main character professes to being an ugly man. I recommend reading it before everyone starts talking about it (which they already are).

For now I splurged 250 rupees ($8) on a nice hotel to recover in so I am enjoying the luxury of hot water and cable TV, 'Indian Idol' is a great show. Hopefully next time I write I'll have my full health back.