McLeod Ganj

No trip to hills is complete without a little shopping, Mcleod Ganj shopping street is filled with singing bowls, Buddha statues, prayer wheels, and flags. You can buy colorful handicraft jewelry, local Tibetan handicrafts, bags, and decorative knickknacks.

Morning was a little chaotic. Packing and bookings had to be done. Superwoman and Naysayer got ready early and left to book cabs and buses for today.Mysterio and I started packing. We also watched some GOT and once everything was done the four of us rested until 11:30am.Around 12:30 we checked out of the hotel, paid our dues and headed to grab a bite.We ate at Vave 22. The food was okay. The bread pizza was yum though! We kept our luggage at the travel agency and started shopping. Superwoman and I were now possessed.

We woke up at 7am and it was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining bright. Dark nights were long gone now. Our clothes were semi dry. Mysterio and I stayed half asleep for some more time. We then got out of our tents and welcomed the sunny morning.

Soon we reached a place in McLeod Ganj where our camps were set up. We had to walk a little more. I had to limp now because I had shoe bites. Mysterio and I shared an umbrella (no point of doing that now I guess :P ). We reached finally. Stood in front of the gates of a hall. On our left side were many tents. It was still pouring. We removed our shoes and entered inside.Ironically my friends and I were the only ones who were soaked in rainwater. Funny story - Mysterio 'knew' his backpack is waterproof. When we unloaded all our stuff, turns out his backpack wasn't waterproof. Thus all our clothes, nightwear, portables, extra mobile phones, toilet roll etc. was soaked too. No clothes to change, nothing to dry ourselves, we picked up a corner, removed our jackets and checked our belongings. My DSLR was damp, it was later I realized that water was not pouring in from the top, but seeping in from the sides. Portables etc. were okay, however, my two lenses and the camera were gone. I tried not to cry in front of my friends. I tried to keep it all inside. This trip was getting way too costly for me. Nevertheless, I saw the faces of Mysterio, Naysayer and Superwoman and decided not to kill their mood and rather put a pin on it.We had loads of tea, rajma, paneer, rice and roti. All cooked by the helpers there. Food felt nice. Brought in some energy. Superwoman and Naysayer weren't that soaked, and they were slowly and steadily getting dry and warmer. Mysterio and I however weren't in a good position. I tried to get hold of a blower or a dryer, but failed miserably. We discussed and realized its a matter of 7hrs now, we will leave for Deodar first thing in the morning. We wrapped an open sleeping bag around us and drank more tea. Superwoman and Naysayer were fast asleep. I asked Mysterio to help me out find the washroom. We gathered the courage to face the cold outside and stole two pairs of slippers, and headed for the washroom. The cold breeze struck my face hard. I was shivering for the past 2hrs and the breeze wasn't helping either. By the time I reached the washroom my body was getting used to the chill. I did what I had to do (pee for almost 10 mins). I found Mysterio standing besides a railing and staring the dark mountains. I joined him. We stayed there for a while, despite the chilling breeze. Sometime later we went back, and when we reached the warm hall again, we found a few coordinators, and the helpers with glasses of whiskey (Imperial Blue and water) sitting in a circle with guitars, ukulele and bongo drums.The jamming session had already begun. The lanterns in the hall had set a perfect ambience. The music was making people sway with amusement. Requests on demand were being played, with one condition - sing along!We forgot about our miseries or pain. Did not feel any distress now. The other two woke up to the beautiful songs everyone was singing. We joined their harmony. It was a fun night now. We were smiling. The guitarist was pleasing to our eyes (for me and Superwoman of course). The place where we all sat was warm now. Cuddled up all well, time passed by. It was already 1am. Many had retreated themselves to the tents while many others decided to sleep in the cozy hall.