Buddhist Around Taragarh

Buddhist Prayer Wheels 

Inside the Monastery

Hindu Temple

The New Monastery

Prayer Hall under Construction

Working on the Buddha

Prayer Flags

Rubber Tree with scoring to get sap

More Prayer Flags 

Mini-Monks

Bobby's wife in Kitchen

Lunch 

Bobby on left, Vijay our driver 

Veranda at the Palace

Peanut Masala

Scott enjoying the life of a Maharaja

The Maharaja that had trouble having an heir

Dinner

After dinner at the Palace

Today was devoted to exploring the area around Taragarh Palace. It started with the four of us being the only people dining in the large dining room. That made sense because we were the only 4 people staying at the Palace. I basically have given up on Internet here. I will have to post several blogs when we reach the next destination.

Breakfast was highlighted by Poha which I love. It is a hot Indian breakfast dish made from flaked rice and spices. Tom and Scott had never had it before and they also liked it. Our drivers picked us up and we backtracked a few kilometers and drove up to a Tibetan monastery. We had hoped to hear some monks chanting but it being Sunday it was their day off. They were gracious and took us around to show us the temple. The monks have renounced everything except cell phones. They are all plugged in, including Facebook.

There was a long line of prayer wheels that could be spun.

Click below to view Cathy spinning a prayer.

We then drove to a very old Hindu Temple. There the Hindu Priest allowed us into the inner sanctum to pour water on the Shiva Linga. It was kind of surprising to me, we had never before been allowed into the inner sanctum. From there we drove to an absolutely huge Tibetan monastery complex. It covers many acres. The old part of it is still being used while a whole new monastery complex is being built. It reminded us of a Los Angeles Rick Caruso project – like The Grove in vibrant colors. We were amazed at how many rooms it had. Vijay said it can house over 1000 monks. The main temple has not been completed but we wandered in on our own and watched the craftsmen paint intricate designs and sculpt a giant Buddha statue. It is amazing to see it in progress. I know when it will be finished in a few months it will instantly look like it has always been there. There were rubber trees on the hills, with the scores on the trunks allowing them to harvest the rubber.

This is a Hindu state, and most of the residents are Hindu, but these Buddhist monasteries are quite prevalent in the hills. I know we will soon be learning more about them.

Vijay dearest friend is named “Bobby”. That isn’t his real Indian name but that is what he calls himself. We went to Bobby’s small house for lunch. It was a real treat to be invited into someone’s house and experience the real India, not the tourist India. Bobby is 40 and his wife died about 2 years ago. He then married his wife’s sister. She speaks no English, but welcomed us warmly. They served a simple lunch of rice, Dal, Curried Potatoes and Paratahs that Vijay made. We followed it with Masala Chi. They have no dining room, their place has just two small rooms dominated by beds. They placed the food in pots on the bed, and we dished out the food onto aluminum plates. The food was delicious. During the dinner the Monsoon rains started. The heavy rain was accompanied by thunder. When it came time to leave, luckily, we were all wearing rubber sandals. We rolled up our pants and waded out to the cars.

We returned to the hotel and lounged on the veranda watching the rain and the monkeys playing in the trees and scampering across the lawn. The Monkey-Walla with his stick banged on the ground scaring them away. We patiently waited till 6pm for cocktail hour.

The hotel actually began to fill up with guests. We returned to our favorite veranda overlooking the garden and fountain for drinks. We had a different waiter tonight and with his bell captain hat and uniform he actually looked like a character from the movie The Grand Budapest Hotel. It transported us back to an older era as we were served complimentary snacks and drank our wine. The snacks were quite good: Peanut Masala (reminding us of peanuts mixed with Mexican Salsa), a Chinese style pepper chicken and tandoori roasted paneer cheese. We barely had room after the wine and snacks to go to dinner, but we did.

Before dinner the manager took us on tour through the hotel explaining the history of the Royal Family that still owned the palace. We have a favorite Maharaja that we continually laughed at his picture and his difficulty siring an issue. He had 3 wives and was still childless. Eventually he took a 4^th wife and she had a son. Looking at the picture we wondered who the father was!

Dinner was a buffet and the restaurant was quite full. The Internet eventually returned in the office and I was able to post a blog.

Staying at Taragarh actually grew on us. The staff were all helpful, the jungle setting with monkeys run amuck, the slightly run-down dowdy structure, the monsoon rains and the cocktail outside on the veranda, all created a spell for us of days long gone, between the wars in the waning days of the British Raj  when gentlemen and ladies sat back on the veranda and toasted the queen over drinks – while the Indian staff dreamed of independence.

From Mandi to Taragarh

From the Castle at Naggar 

Ancient Hindu Temple Naggar

New Hindu Temple at Naggar

Hour Long Traffic Jam on Bridge

Avoiding Cows while Driving

Rice Patties

Cocktails at last!

A quiet dinner in a large dining room

Our Suite in the Palace

We went to have breakfast and check out of our hotel in Manali. The day was mostly a travel day. When we arrived at the reception there was all kinds of security - armed police and solders with machine guns. It turns out the Chief Justices of Hamachal Pradesh were coming to our hotel for a meeting. Guards were everywhere, the drive leading up to the hotel was blocked and there were musicians playing music to honor the Chief Justices. Drums banged, and Tibetan horns (sounding like elephants) announced their arrival (and our departure). It was a very exciting start to a full day.

You can see a short video of the arrival here.

We had a long drive ahead of us approximately 6 hours to Taragarh the palace where we would spend the next two nights.

We first stopped to see the very old Naggar Castle. It is in the village of Naggar, Naggar in Hindi means city, so I guess the city’s name is City. It is a very small charming hillside village. The castle, an intricately carved wooden structure, was built in the 1500s.   We had Chai on the deck, from where we had a commanding and beautiful view of the valley below. We drove up in the hills a little farther to the Nicholas Roerich institute. None of had ever heard of the Russian émigré to India before. He was an artist, a philosopher, an explorer, a Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and a lover of India. He lived here in Naggar the last 20 years of his life. We walked around his house and museum.

We got involved in a monumental traffic jam it took us 1 hour to get over a one way bridge. We actually got out of the car and walked thru the village and across the bridge, awaiting our drivers. The ride to Taragarh was through the mountain on a very twisty mostly 1-lane road, it had beautiful views into the valley below. Once again we were grateful to have Vijay as our driver. We finally arrived at our Palace: Taragarh in the Kangra Valley. Surprisingly to me it has many rice patties surrounding it – I didn’t expect rice patties in Northern India. The Nawab of Bahawalpur built it in the jungle in the 1930’s.

It is very large wooden and brick palace and is slightly decrepit. I am confident we are the only people staying here – we saw no other guests. It reminds us of the movie Grey Gardens or perhaps The Grand Budapest Hotel. There are pictures on the walls of the people who have stayed here: Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Camille Parker Boles, Harrison Ford, etc. It definitely had its day in the sun.

We had drinks outside on the veranda, watching the monkey-walla beat his stick to ward off the monkeys. They said all the food is market fresh and that we had to order 45 minutes before we ate. I have the vague feeling we ordered and then they ran into the nearest village to buy the food. We ate in this formally grand dining room with pictures of the Maharajas predecessors that have ruled this area of India on the wall; just the four of us enjoying the rather large run dowdy room.

Our experience can only be viewed as surreal. The food was fine, the wine was good, unfortunately we drank the last two bottles of the wine we liked. I am bemused by being here. It will definitely be an experience. I am so used to the creature comforts of luxury hotels, I really think I am experiencing what a luxury Palace would have been like 80 years ago. There is no wifi in the room, which will make blogging difficult. Tomorrow we get to explore the surrounding area. They have wifi supposedly at the office, but when I went there, all of the exterior lights at the palace are off, so I had to use my iPhone light to find my way. The office is closed and locked. Everyone has gone home or to their room. I get the feeling it is just the four of us in the large palace and the monkey-walla here tonight. I know I won’t be ringing for room service!

Up To The Rohtang Pass

Lotus Flower at our Hotel

Zig-zag road up the Rohtang Pass

Nice Yak

Yak Yak 

Tom / Scott / Cliff / Cathy / Vijay / Manooj and Yak at 13,000 Feet top of the Rohtang Pass

Tibetan Buddhist Shrine

Since the trip began (and actually before we left from Los Angeles), there was one item on the itinerary that we were very unsure about. It was a drive to the top of the Rohtang Pass. In Manali we are already at 6700 feet and feeling the altitude. To drive to the top of the Rohtang Pass is to go up to 13,051 feet. The road is one of the most dangerous in the world. This is the source of the Beas River which flows through the Kullu Valley. The Pass connects the primarily Hindu Kullu Valley with the arid Buddhist Lahaul and Spiti Valleys.

We had previous seen Ice Road Truckers on TV, and in several of these episodes the best American truck drivers were sent to drive the Rohtang Pass. All but one driver QUIT. You can watch an episode by clicking this link: IRT. It freaked us out to watch the show. We never thought we would be on that road.

So we have been wondering why would they want us to drive the road? Our trusted driver, Vijay, says “No Problem, trust me”. Cathy can get car sick and doesn’t like twisty roads. This is the twisty road to end all twisty roads. We finally decided to do it in two cars. We needed two cars anyway because the road is so narrow at places a wide van wouldn’t make it. Vijay said if Cathy got sick or hated the ride he would turn around and take her back to Manali, and the other car would proceed to the top.

The road is only open from May to November, because of the heavy snows. It is primarily one lane. When two vehicles approach one moves to the side to let the other pass. Most of the road does not have guard rails. There is no reason to put your seat belts on, if you go over the side, it is a long way down. In fact, however we do use the seatbelts to keep us in our seats when we go over bumpy sections that have been washed out. The road needs constant repair in the summer from the damage caused by the storms in the winter. It has hundreds of switchbacks as it climbs to the top of the pass. It is one long zig-zag with switch backs up the mountain. Many places the road has been washed away and you are driving on mud or dirt.

Here is a clip of the drive up through the Rohtang Pass.

We never felt uncomfortable with Vijay driving. We just stared out the window of the car in amazement as we saw spectacular vistas, mountains, trees, waterfalls, and glaciers. As we climbed up the mountain we would occasionally stop and take pictures. The temperature kept dropping. Soon we were above the tree line. When we started it was lightly raining (a bad omen for mountain driving), but at the peak it cleared up. The peak is flat plateau and it was very cold. We then had the best surprise, we rounded a turn and there in field was a herd of Yaks. I have never seen a yak before. They are shaggy, although the males have horns they are apparently peaceful. (Of course they would be, they are tended by Buddhists). We stayed up on top admiring the view, the yaks, ourselves for braving the ride and especially Vijay for his driving skills.

Here is a clip at the top of the Rohtang Pass.

Here is a clip of the Yaks (our new favorite shaggy animal).

We eventually started down and stopped for some Tea and Naan Bread. Cathy noticed there were hangliders in the sky. We then realized there was  a paragliding business across the street. Tom and Scott decided to try it. I decided to photograph their flight. They loved it. I liked photographing it. Everyone was happy!

Here is a Clip of Tom Paragliding.

Tom / Scott Cathy and I had cocktails on our small deck overlooking the Himalayas. I ordered peanut masala, which is like peanuts combined with a Mexican Salsa. It was perfect with the three bottles of wine we would drink.

We had dinner at the hotel, combination Indian and Chinese. There are a lot of Chinese restaurants in India, but none compare to my favorite in Los Angeles, Newport Seafood.

A Day in Minali

Tibetan Buddhist Temple 

Hidimba Devi Temple

Sacred Tree Shrine

Storage for the Winter

Snake Charmers with Cobra 

Shopping

Your typical street with a cow

Snow Covered Himalayas

Cocktail Hour

I love Flow Charts

We met Tom and Scott after breakfast and walked over to the Tibetan Monastery adjacent to our hotel. The monks had left for a retreat and we were free to walk around into the various rooms.

Afterwards we drove into Minali and up the very narrow congested streets. This is the off season in Minali and the traffic and congestion is incredible. We can't conceive of what driving here would be like when the town is crowded with tourists. Once again we saw lots of signs in Hebrew. Many Israelis visit this area. This is area of the Himalayas is 97% Hindu or Buddhist. There are very few Muslims in this state and the Israelis feel very safe. Although with all of the marijuana growing everywhere, I am not sure what they feel.

We visited a forested temple: Hidimba Devi Temple. The structure itself in the middle of the forest and reminded us of a typical Temple in Japan. Inside however (no pictures allowed unfortunately) we were transported back to an ancient animistic time. There is a huge shelf like rock and underneath this rock is a cave like area that is obviously very unusual. You can see how this became a place of worship in ancient times. Incense was burning and the whole experience was very primitive yet spiritual.

It was a short walk to an open area temple that is based around a sacred tree. There were dozens of tridents leaning against the tree (the trident is the symbol of Lord Shiva). We assume pilgrims come and leave them.

As we walked thru the Minali you could see people stocking up feed for their animals which they will use during the winter months when all is snowed in here.

We saw women walking around carrying large live white rabbits. I assumed they were taking them to get blessed. No, they were waiting for tourists to take their picture so they could charge for posing. We declined.

We returned to the town and walked around visiting other temples and observing the people. There was a public performance of Tibetan music and it was amplified throughout the area we were in. All of the non-western women wear traditional clothing here. No jeans in site on a woman. There was a short rain which increased the snow on the mountains. We were also on a quest to buy wine, for where we were going none would be available.

On our walk we saw a some snake charmers and although it is touristic to do, we couldn’t resist asking them how much to see the snakes. They wouldn’t tell us but soon Cobras were coming out of their baskets and we were backing away from them. I know the story, they are defanged and not deadly. I also know it isn’t the music but the movement of the flute and hand that animates them. I also know I hate snakes. I also know I read in today’s paper of two different snake deaths. We enjoyed the little show and afterwards bargained with them as to how much they wanted us to pay to see the cobras in action.

You can see a short clip of the snake charmers here.

We proceeded down the streets checking out the shops. Since we had two cars and drivers we decided to split up. Tom and Scott went for a walk in the park. Cliff and Cathy returned to the Hotel for a 90 minute massage. Take your pick!

After our massages and Tom and Scott’s walk it was cocktail hour on our deck overlooking the snow clad mountains.

For dinner we took a cab to a famous trout restaurant. The cab cost 600 rupees (about $ 10.00), he waited for us for 2 hours while we ate, then drove us back to the hotel, I have to think what that would have cost us in the states.

Since there are lots of rivers here, there are lots of streams and trout. This restaurant serves trout in about 15 different ways. The trout was good and it was different to have an entirely Western meal (if you don’t count the Chicken Tikka appetizer that was excellent).

Tomorrow we head out for the scariest part of our entire trip: The search for Himalayan Blue Poppy.