We have done a lot of traveling since my last post. After catching the opening festivities of the Ladakh Festival, we embarked on a two-day bus ride back to Manali. The bus was more comfortable than a jeep in the sense that we didn’t feel every single bump, but it was still bumpy and the road just as curvy. And while we did not cram the whole journey into one long day, our quick night in basic tent accommodation was not too relaxing. The only real advantage to taking the two-day bus was that we got to see a lot more, as we drove during daylight the entire time. And our eight million 30-minute smoke/bathroom/chai stops were pretty annoying. But all that being said, I didn’t have runs, nor did I barf or get the runs. So although we arrived in Manali nearly 35 hours after we left Leh, I had some things to be thankful for. And exactly 24 hours after stepping off our bus from Leh, we stepped onto another bus for Delhi. This one was only 17 hours, but the entire road was paved and the road straighter.

While tiring, the long journey south was interesting. One thing that I dislike about air travel is that you don’t get to see the geographic, climatic, or demographic changes. You just step into an aluminum tube in one city and then out in another city. But coming from Leh, we saw the majority ethnicity morph from Ladakhi to Punjabi, religion from Buddhist to Hindu, climate from super-dry and cool to super-humid and hot, and the geography from alpine desert to conifer forests to tropical hills to urban plains. Joylani and I agreed today that being in Delhi makes Ladakh seem like another country, which it would be if it weren’t for the Brits (as would most Indian states for that matter). Seeing the diversity and moving through it was an interesting aspect of the journey down.

Although a shock when we arrived a month ago, Delhi has been a refreshing place to return to this time around. After a month of nothing but Indo-Tibetan menus, we treated ourselves to Subway yesterday and McDonalds and Pizza Hut today. I enjoy Tibetan and Indian food, but not for a month straight. I cannot wait until we get to the coast though for some delicious seafood. Besides the food, Joylani and I have taken advantage of the cheap internet and phone rates (about 1/10 of prices in Leh). And we’ve restocked on toiletries and necessities too. And while we’ll depart Delhi tomorrow morning, its been just enough time to rest and restock.