Local Bus from Rishikesh to Manali

For the most part, my 16 hour overnight local bus from Rishikesh/Haridwar to Manali managed to run smoothly, a very relative term given the virtual absence of infrastructure maintenance in some areas. The bus could have been described as an oversized lunchbox with worn down metal seats dressed in foam, which I can only assume was made during the silent movie era. An occasionally functioning window and no shortage of sprawling Indian men added to the rote environment. With 20 kilometers to go, the driver successfully scraped the side of another bus which was parked on the side of the mountain road.

One second I was being a stereotypical tourist and taking pictures of the Himalayas through the open bus window, the next I am blankly staring into the face of a livid bus driver, mid-flurry of Hindi swearwords, whose side view mirror was poking into my seat space through the same window. Despite his verbal onslaught directed at my driver but received by me, the mishap offered a good opportunity to get out, stretch the legs, and absorb the scenery. I do not think I have ever seen an expanse of mountain as photogenic as the Himalayas. More pictures to come as my journey continues northward toward Jammu & Kashmir.Read more