The definition for "sublime" means a terrifying beauty, and that aptly describes our rides from the past two days from Shimla to the temple town of Sarahan, to this gorgeous setting of the small village of Kalpa set in a magestic 18 thousand foot snow capped mountain peaks. Our hotel terrace which sits at 12 thousand feet, looks out at the peaks from where we watched, along with some jolly Indian and foreign tourists, a fabulous sunset. Kalpa is a quaint village that seems like time has graciously forgotten it, with traditional stone and wooden buildings, along with some of the ubitiquous concrete buildings, mostly the hotels looking over the village.
A quick re-wind back, John had a particulary exciting day in Shimla, we took a day trip to a chaming wooded area to seek out an old wooden temple, after that, on to a famed golf course where we had lunch and were treated to a concert of local musicians and dancers. On a walk in the wooded area next to the golf course, we stopped to watch a tv serial being filmed. Soon John was asked to play the part of an elderly British man with a trench coat, hat and cane, walking across the road. He was not paid for his services, but if we ever did find and watch this serial, John's name would have been in the credits! Next, Bollywood!
Driving in HP means cliff hanging roads above a rushing river, this time the Sangla river valley. In some places however, the beauty has been destroyed by hydro-electric power plants that make it look industrial and in those places the roads were terrible, a very bumpy ride, but at least then it forced our driver to slow down! Depending on a combination of factors, the type of car (bigger and sturdier is better and well worth the additional cost) the temperment of the driver (laid back or in a hurry) and his music, the ride can be tranformingly beautiful or simply terrifying. We have had both, and there is nothing more exhausting than a day of pure terror which describes our most recent all day drive, so we have learned our lesson to be more careful in hiring drivers. Today we are enjoying a leisurely day making travel plans and exploring the village of Kalpa and tomorrow a day trip on the Sangla valley to see two beautiful towns and more wooden temples that the area is famed for. Then we head out on Thursday for the real fronteir, Spiti, which was described by Kipling as a place where the gods must live because no man could. Its a remote area near the Chinese border that used to be part of Tibet long ago and has many ancient gompas with fresco paintings. We have to apply for a permit to go there. Probably no more posts for the next week until we reach the major tourist center of Manali in the Kullu Valley.
Love, Kathryn and John
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