Workation 2020 - Day1: Acclimatizing to Manali

By the time we freshened up, it was already afternoon. We then went down and talked to the guys staying at the hostel, pretty chill. A huge realization hit me, people here hugged and welcomed us. While living through the pandemic, I had started to think that this kind of warm welcome would take years to return. But that's not true in the mountains, I got to know that there are no Covid-19 cases in Old Manali. People here have experienced the repercussions of nationwide lockdown, they keep precautions, but they're not scared to death like the people in urban cities.

Old Manali Market & Food

Old Manali is settled on a steep slope, so if you're planning to stay over here, borrow a little stamina from the pahadis (people of mountains). There aren't a whole lot of shops over here, but you'll find the best cafes and hostels here. We walked till the bridge and along the river, and had an amazing Chocolate Croissant at this little German Bakery.

Then we went to Drifters' Inn & Cafe for dinner. Most cafes over here close down by 10 pm, so if you want to enjoy the place you should rather go there by evening. I had Fusili Pasta in Pink Sauce, didn't like it.

Bonfire in the hostel

Bonfire, and new people all around. There's a neat system of Bring Your Own Booze around the Bonfire, because pahado me kuch free nahi hota. There were people I met who were road tripping since a month, people running their companies from hills, and a lot of people studying and working from home.

One of the best things about traveling is the stories of people you meet. You listen to the things you never knew existed, and you humbly expand your horizons to let other people in. You understand where are they coming from before knowing them, because they opened a window of their heart to let you in, wrapped in a story.

This is an article in my series 'Workation 2020', which is a 16-Day post-lockdown trip to Himachal. Follow me to live the whole experience along. Check out the posts and story highlights of this trip on Instagram at my handle @divyagolyan!