Manali and Delhi

The bus trip is better than I expect. In Manali, the luggage boy gets in a scuffle with a traveler who refuses to pay his ten Rupee fee for lifting her bag three feet into the luggage compartment. My seat is double booked. I get there first but the other guy makes more noise so I am relocated to a seat above the wheel well – a seat that seems to violate some of the basic rules of geometry. The person assigned to the seat next to this one is forced to chase the bus down in a taxi after the driver trundles through Kullu without stopping. Just before we reach our destination, the bus stops specifically to allow an entertainer to board. I pretend to sleep through his drumming and singing act but he does not hesitate to wake me when passing down the aisle collecting contributions. Unfortunately, my soap is packed away with the luggage and I am unable to make an offering. The bus lets us off somewhere other than the Delhi bus station, three hours late.

Delhi is less kind to me this time and I fall sick. I will spare you the account of this but it delays my return to Jaipur for two days. Fortunately, this does not cost me the opportunity to catch up with Kevin and Jen.

India Photo Set

Ask The Cricket Expert

Travelling Spaghetti Monster Cricket Expert

"Ricky Ponting is in top form with the bat. How would you go about earning a dismissal of the Australian captain?"

Ponting poses some very difficult questions for a bowling side but a spin bowler who can find the right length on a leg stump offdipper or outflipper delivery can be successful. Ponting uses several shots effectively, most notably the cover drive, the pull, and the pull cover drive square cut. Positioning the fielders to defend these shots is essential. A man at each of slip and double slip offer a chance at catching an edged delivery. On the on-side, station one fielder at wide mid cover and one at backward square deep long leg. Also, have someone at leg. On the off-side, it is important to have two men in the gully and another at gully leg. The last man should be at third man.

Waiting...

I have been waiting for Question 6 to be answered before I move on but my resolve in holding this position is wavering. Searching my notes for something to fill the gap, here are some previously unreported headlines from the past three months:
* Author’s Eavesdropping 98% Below Historical Norms During Japan Visit
* Bangkok Dive Located Without Use Of Lonely Plant Guidebook
* Idyllic Hill Station Experience Shattered By Suns-Pacers Tilt
* Locals Refer To Indian Restaurant As ‘Restaurant”
* India Nears Full Moustache Capacity

Practical Tips: Shepherding

To reduce the possibility of losing a sheep, attach an enormous bell to its neck.

When it is necessary to locate the sheep, return to the place where you attached an enormous bell to its neck.

Question 6

Who is this?

Value: 169 blerns less 8 blerns for each day that the question remains unanswered. Winner also gets 42 blerns to distribute among other elgible contestants.

Jaisalmer dial-up
Behaves like irate camel.
Better in Mumbai?

Manali

Manali is unkempt but cool and cleanish.

Matan fancies himself as a great negotiator and backs it up by bringing one of the top hostels into range of everyone’s budget. Here is the view from the balcony.

The days go largely to chatting idly, playing cards, walking in the hills, and waiting for the rain to stop. The odd couple of Gary and Ehud, based just a few rooms down, provide the comedy.

Gary is in his mid-forties, is overbearing and is usually drunk by the end of breakfast, but rare is the moment that he is not saying something is not worth arguing against. He only has a few weeks left in India though this does not distress him – he can’t wait to get back to England to have some good food. Ehud is in his early-twenties, is quiet and occasionally wears Gary’s hat.

The group slowly disperses, all headed for Dharmasala save one. I book myself on the sixteen-hour bus ride back to Delhi. From there, I will re-launch my previously aborted tour of Rajasthan.

Travel Tip

When trying to convince someone that you are English, the secret phrase is 'chip butty'.

The card was clearly not the one that Gary was hoping for.
"Oh you jammy bastard!" he thundered, throwing his hand face-down on the table.
"Did you bust?" I asked.
"No," he replied quite quietly now. "I'll stay."

Leaving Shimla

Matan uses Shimla as a way to break up his trip from Delhi to Manali. He is travelling by car -- paid by his employer -- and offers a ride to anyone interested. Knowing that I will have to leave Shimla at some point, I accept. Lea and Ida agree to come along as well in the mistaken belief that this will bring them closer to Dharmasala. We work out a plan that allows Ida to keep her fortune telling appointment and allows me one more monkey-riddled sunset.

Himachal Fire Service

The source of the smoke is the vehicle.

To be fair, I am assuming that the Himachal Fire Service is in the business of extinguishing blazes. If this is incorrect, the pictured equipment is in peak condition.

Standings After Five Questions

Maike L: 100 blerns
Michelle K: 90 blerns
Dave T: 88 blerns
Andrew B: 85 blerns
Gord B: 36 blerns
Brian K: 10 blerns
Shaun H: 10 blerns
Hugh L: 10 blerns
Rob A: 10 anti-blerns

If you are curious regarding the origin of all of those criminal geniuses, your answer is here.

From: 'Dave'
To: 'Steve'
Subject: Ready for some adventure?
Date: Tue, 04 Apr 2006 23:15:10 -0700

For your interest:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/04/04/volcano.ap/index.html

This is the volcano that we were planning to climb during the safari.

Dave

Holiday

Last night, James and I went to the movie theatre by the hostel to see Holiday, the latest offering from Pooja Bhatt. We were the only patrons.

It’s not bad having a theatre to yourself. You can be quite deliberate in your selection of a seat and you can discuss the film in detail even if your preferred seat location differs substantially from that of your companion.

The movie was largely in Hindi but lightly-sprinkled with English catch-phrases. James was able to track the plot and I was forced to rely on him for clarification on almost every development until he rightly pointed out that the story was a shamelessly direct rip-off of Dirty Dancing. The review is here. Save your rupees.

Question 5

The head gardener at the Taj Mahal (right) has how many children?

Value: 146 blerns less 7 blerns for each day that the question remains unanswered.

Maike L: 90 blerns
Dave T: 88 blerns
Andrew B: 73 blerns
Gord B: 36 blerns
Brian K: 10 blerns
Shaun H: 10 blerns
Hugh L: 10 blerns
Rob A: 10 anti-blerns

Shimla

I am now in Shimla, a hill station in the north of India.

I have been here for about a week. You could read about Shimla here or just look at this picture (my preference). It is coolish and a bit short on things to do, but a welcome break from a long run of big dirty cities. It is also possesses a bit of altitude and a lot of slope making a suitable training ground for trekking Kilimanjaro with Dave and Noelle in a month’s time. It also has plenty of monkeys, some cute.

I came here after a week shared between Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur, all rewarding but exhausting. The cities here constantly demand your attention. Drivers operate their vehicles as if the horn is the only available safety feature. Touts constantly try to draw you into conversations, through heckling, misdirection, or outright lies. Footpaths are littered with things best not stepped on or in. But it is easy to get around and there are things to see.

I am almost ready to go back.

My blog switches to real-time now.

Most Viewed Individuals Update

For anyone wondering how Rob fared against the established click-drawing powers, he has stalled out in second place. Sadly, I doubt that he will be able to hold this position given the breakneck charge of this shot. I am not sure who is behind driving this picture to the top of the table, but I have my suspicions.

Report: Times Of India Fails To Deliver Value

Despite a modest target of two rupees (five cents), the March 31st edition of The Times of India failed to deliver value to the reader. While distressed at the economic loss, the reader did report some relief at the remarkable reduction in international tensions that could only justify leading the World News section with a piece on the tree-planting activities of Camilla Parker Bowles.