KULLU WINS OVER MANDI

The first thing I saw as I got off the bus was a sign which said Hotel Vikrant, fate had decided that I was to follow that sign , like the proverbial star, (only took 10 minutes, mind) and I was premiered for doing so. The short, twenty year old( more or less )leaning against the entrance with his hoodie pulled seemed to be the sort of enployee that I favour. "You want chai with room ?"
"Depends how much the chai is," I logically asked.
"300" Thats a bit steep for a chai! No he said that was the cost of the room bathroom, the chai was10.
"Oh, ok then". And that was that. Santoshe(as was his name), was the maitre 'd, he was the bellboy, nightporter and general mr useful as I found out later when he bought a respectable piece of charas, you know as a sort of we
lcome gift. Some hotels give complimentary tea and coffee and others, well.....
I had so many things to do that I was going to have to stay two nights because of the slothlike velocity of things here. By the time I had completed my purchases I had to find a cardboard box to put them in. An easy task you would have thought, given that the country is teeming with garbage. But no. Here each piece of crap is coverted and I finally had to beg one from a stallowner, who ceded it me, albeit begrudgingly. So, I had my purchases, my box, even had my sealing wax, all I had to do was to find me a tailor as I had done in Shimla. Again I found one. The oldest one, quite possibly the deafest one, by the seems of it he was also the slowest one in Kullu. Just to slow things up a tad more he only spoke Urdu( and Ive actually forgotten most of mine). So he sent for his grandson who sent me next door to buy 3m of cotton cloth. It was 5 chais and 15 pakoras later that the old boy was done. He might have been euphoric that he could still knock a common or garden parcel in only forty five minutes, but I had missed the last post till tomorrow. I felt exhausted and so drained that I had to lie down, which I duly did after calling Carmen

La primera cosa que vi al apearme del bus  fue una senal que decia Hotlel Vikrant, el destino habia decidido que la iba a seguir, como la estrella de marras, (pero solo por unos 10 minutos) y fui premiado por a haberlo hecho,  El chaval bajito, de unos veintetantos ,apoyado contra la puerta, con la capucha de su sudadera tirada con cierta chuleria me parecia a mi el tipo de empleado con quien suelo congeniar."Quieres chai con la haitacion?"
"Eso depende de cuanto cuesta el chai," le conteste logicamente.
"300" Eso me parece algo excesivo por un chai! N o, me explico que eso era el precio de la habitacion, el chai era 10.
"Bueno,vale pues" Y asi fue . Santoshe(como asi se llamaba), era el maitre 'd, el botones, el portero de noche y en general un don util como descubri mas tarde cuando me trjo un trozo bastante respectable de charas, tu sabes, como un tipo de obseqiuo de bien venida. Agunos hoteles te agasallan con paquetes de te y cafe complimentarios y otros, pues....
Tenia tantas cosas que hacer y gracias a la velocidad de un perezoso, que es la que suelen usar por aqui, sabia que me iba a tener que quedarme dos noches. Cuando porfin habia hecho mis compras tenia que encontrar una caja de carton para meterlas. Una tarea facil no, dado que el sitio esta repleta de mierda. Pero no. Aqui cada atomo de mirda es muy cotizada y me vi negro para conseguir una. Al final tuve que goronear una de une vieja que me la cedio a reganadientes. Asi que ya tenia mis compras con mi caja de carton, hasta tenia mi lacre rojo, Ahora solo tenia que dar con un sastre como habia hecho en Shimla. Otra vez di con uno. El mas viejo, probablemente el mas sordo, y tambien que podia ser el mas lento de Kullu. Para retrasar las cosas un pelin mas, solo hablaba urdu( y a ser sincero, casi he olvidado lo que sabia), Asi que llamo a su nieto que me mando a la tienda nde a lado a comprar 3m de tela. Fueron 5 chais y 15 pakoras mas tarde hasta que el viejo estaba acabado. El alomejor se sintio euforico que aun podia empaquetar una caja normal y corriente en solo cuarenta y cinco minutos, pero yo habia perdido el correo hasta manana. Me senti tan exhausto y defallecido que me tuve que acostar, que hice despues de llamar a Carmen.

proposito, ayer fue  el cumple de Martin Vidal de Ziros en Lugo. Un abrazo chaval.