Photos - Angora rabbits

This is a Himalayan angora rabbit. These local Vashisht ladies sit in the village and charge Indian and foreign tourists 10rupees (just over 10pence) to take a photo with the rabbit. They are lovely, friendly fluffy creatures and are well looked after by their owners.

Tourists love having their photo taken with them. This guy is holding 2 rabbits so must have been double the price.

The wee rabbit on the left, being held up by the ears, is getting a haircut by one of the local men. Their fur is a source of income for a local person.

Angora wool products - hats, scarves, gloves etc. It is a very soft and beautiful wool to wear and touch. It is more expensive to buy goods made from this wool than many other wools but, as with many things in India, it is very cheap to buy here. 

The goats heid

The other morning Colin got up and went out to our kitchen on the balcony to make a cuppa. He could smell a strange smell but thought nothing of it until he lit the gas and then thought he smelled the hairs on his arm singeing. When he seen that his hairs weren't on fire he knew the smell was coming from below.

As usual, I couldn't resist investigating. I found Laxmi and one of the local women burning a goat's head on a really powerful gas-filled burner, that's kept outside the main kitchen. They were burning all the hair off to get it ready for cooking. The smell was overpowering between the goat's head and the gas fumes. Poor Tiger the dog was chained up quite near where the fumes were so I had to let him off before he was gassed!

Hair burning complete and ready for the next stage.

Laxmi washing the head in case any hair had remained. For the next couple of days there was the goat's head in the fridge in the morning when I went to get my milk for my cornflakes

Vashisht natural hot springs

Vashisht, like many of the surrounding areas in this region, has natural hot springs which flow freely from the mountain. The water is extremely hot. It is rich in sulphur and is very good for medical conditions e.g. arthritis, skin conditions etc. These are the baths in the village square, located just beside the Temple.

This is the entrance to the baths. Although the bathing areas are communal, there are separate areas for men and women. They are not like swimming baths at home where you go to do a few laps of the pool, but are actually used for bathing/washing oneself and there is no charge to use them. When you enter the walled bathing area there are a series of taps from which water continuously flows freely. This is where you soap up, get washed and then rinsed off. Beside it is a small pool about 4 feet deep where you can relax and enjoy the benefits of the hot sulphur water on your skin and the sun on your face (there is no roof on the baths). There is a small ledge surrounding the baths where you get your kit off so you can get a good soaping, keeping on your knickers of course. Most of the local people use it daily for washing as hot water in households is not common, but tourists are also allowed to use it. It's actually a very social time for the women as they are able to sit around with friends chatting and catching up with local gossip. I don't use it that often as I find the water a bit too hot, which is a bit embarrassing as local women bathe their babies and young children in it! But when I do use it my skin is very soft afterwards.

Outside the main Temple baths, just up from the main village square, is an open bathing area. This is for men only, for obvious reasons.

This bathing area is also outside the main Temple baths just up form the main village square and is strictly for ladies who are menstruating. It is a very small room only big enough for one lady.

Just beside the Temple baths are taps that also flow continuously and local people use this area for washing clothes and dishes and anything else that requires very hot water. The barber where Colin gets his weekly cut throat shave from gets buckets of water from here so that his customers get a hot shave!

There are several other places in the village where there are water outlets and all of them are used daily. This one is located at the bottom of the village where the houses are still more traditional wooden houses that have not been replaced by concrete, which has been unfortunately happening over the last 10 years.

Our Royal Enfield

We have been deciding whether we should buy an old ambassador car (which they use here as taxis) or a motorbike. We decided we preferred a motorbike so we bought a 500cc Royal Enfield Bullet . I have to admit it's not your modern fancy-assed bike with electric start, speedometer that works, no fuel gauge, low carbon emisssions and low engine sounds when you are cruising around. Once Colin manages to kick start it in the morning (a good few attempts), it doesn't go that fast, but makes a great roaring sound when you are cruising through the mountains. Mind you, a fuel gauge would be handy when we are cruising around.

We're getting out and about on it and really enjoying it. A few wee repairs were required hence the gaffa tape on the seat. Colin does all the driving as I wouldn't dare drive here in India avoiding trucks, cars, cows, dogs, donkeys, sheep and people just wandering about on the road!!

A wee day out and about.

Colin got a really good backrest put on it so I can just sit on the back, lean back, relax and enjoy the views.

Always fancied myself as a sexy biker chick clad in leathers. Unfortunately I just look like a Power Ranger.

Photos - Other places we frequent in Manali

The Himalayan Store sells some imported foodstuffs.

We don't eat much processed food here but I can't resist the laughing cow cheese from the Himalayan store.

This is the photo shop and recently, on the left of the picture, a cheese seller has set up his display of cheese. We can now buy local cow and Yak cheese and imported gouda, edam, parmesan and blue cheese - what a luxury.

Colin's favourite Indian restaurant when he needs a good meat feed. Check out the dancers.

A necessity - the bank. The people waiting have formed an 'Indian queue'. So, who is next?

Photos - Shops in Manu market

The spice seller.

The vegetable seller where we shop.

The ladies' items seller.

The cooked chicken seller for take-away or sit-in (there is only one table).

The bhel puri seller . Bhel puri is a savoury Indian snack.

The hot tea seller - aka the chai wallah.

A necessary trip to the toilet. There are pretty posh toilets and check out the fancy ladies sign.

And no day out is quite complete unless you pop into the local 'spa' for a bit of pampering.

Photos - Manu Market, Manali

Manu market is just of the main street and sells most things you need - food, clothes, shoes, toys etc. This is a particularly wide street in the market as most of the street are very narrow. Normally the streets are much busier than seen in the pics as I took them at a quiet time on a Sunday.

This is vegetable (sabji) street and, surprise surprise, the rest of the street not seen in the picture also consists of vegetable stalls. The layout is the same throughout a lot of the market. There is shoe street which sells shoes, lady street that sells ladies items etc.

Narrow streets in the market.

 

Photos - Manali Town

The main street in Manali Town . Manali is about 4kms from Vashisht. It is where we go to do most of our shopping.

Just recently they have closed the main street to cars so it is much better and safer to walk around.

There are loads of sidestreets off the main street.

At the bottom end of Manali is the area where the Tibetan people live. This is the Tibetan Temple.

Tibetan Monks traditionally dressed in purple.