The bus to Manali travels for hours on end, from 23 to 9. We had a sleeper bus with double beds, I and Marlene and boys, Joris, Torben and Steven. It came obvious that we were ripped off as we paid much more for the tickets than other trainees week earlier. That was annoying. So, we reached Manali at 9 in the morning with a little sleep in a bumpy bus ride but what saved the weekend was the clear weather. It was not raining at all although it was predicted bad weather in the forecast for that weekend. There was a roadblock to Manali on that week and due to that, we hesitated  travelling there.

Straight away, we booked hotel rooms in old Manali, which were cheaper than ever (rs.100/person) and had breakfast at the same place. It is off-season in Himalayas as it is monsoon, raining a lot so there were only few tourists around and hotels were almost empty. 

After compulsory shopping tour, we visited two temples, one with a nice hot spring where men bathe, and where Torben had to go also. We watched them trying to swim in the very hot water. Other temple was the other side of the town where we took a rickshaw. The place was very beautiful with spacious yards and locals selling souvenirs. There was all kind of attractions for tourists e.g. white angora rabbits to hold in your arms and riding a Jak. It cost a little but was worth it definitely.

On Sunday, we had a jeep ride to the mountain road, which goes to Leh. Leh-Manali highway crosses some of the highest mountains passes in the world, including Rohtand La, and it is only open between June and mid-September when the snow is cleared from the road. We stopped 4000m high, where air was so thin that it makes you dizzy. The high altitudes and oxygen-rarefied air make travels experience mountain sickness. The road is according the information I got, the second highest motorable road in the world.

Up there we wore all clothes we had and it was freezing cold. Leh is a small town north from Manali. Leh would be worth visiting but because of my lack of time and less effort going there I must skip it, unfortunately. However, it is said to be the most beautiful town in Himalayas, the route there is the hardest for road to be narrow, and condition is bad. We were stuck on that road to Rohtang La and waited an hour because of mudslide blocked the road after the rain and thus big trucks going to Leh with heavy loads of stuff were not able to go through it. Passing by cars on narrow rocky road was scary as we were very high up in the mountains. The view was amazing and we had a chance to see very beautiful landscapes after the clouds vanished for a while. Luckily, it wasn't raining because then the view would have been misty without even a glimpse of the mountains.

At the end, we had dinner in Chinese restaurant and headed to the bus station. It was a great trip and slept too little. I bought some clothes, a bag and shawls, as they were cheaper than in Chandigarh. In addition, we had a very tasteful experience in one of the rastaurants, which had very good food served beautifully, and with good customer service. Prices were around rs.200-300 (4-5e) which is expensive in Indian standards. The best thing what happened was when we wanted to taste dessert before ordering any, we had a slice of it to taste which was enough for everyone to have a share. Still, we ordered more dessert as the food was delicious. We showed our gratitude when leaving and complimented on the food.

After Manali there were days off since no children had to go to school, it was brothers' day. I had time to recharge my batteries (sleep), do some laundry and recover from the weekend.