Don’t worry, it was a minor bamboozlement. And while I’m too embarrassed to tell you what it was, I’ll tell you it wasn’t paying 10x the going rate for a SIM card. Most definitely not. It also didn’t involve a guy writing down numbers on a piece of paper, spouting vaguely phone-related words, and then adding them all up and me going “doh, well, okay”. Oh! And it most certainly did not include me trusting a guy who started talking to me on the street. That would be embarrassing, to get bamboozled like that.

I’m glad to be out of Delhi. I found it difficult. When you’re on your own, and you’re not paying a lot of money, you have to be on your guard for everyone trying to take more of your money, or worse. Plus it is hot like bejeesus, and it’s hard to find a place to be by yourself or kill some time.

It’s cool though, ‘cause I did see Delhi’s Jantar Mantar

(it is similar to the one that was in The Fall)

and now I’m in Manali, and here is the view from my hotel room:

Looks like I’ll be staying here for about a day and a half, and then heading up to Leh via an 18-hour bus.

Oh, and by the way, apropos of nothing, if you need to reach me, you can hit me up at +91-8130978631. (aka 011-91-8130978631)

Logistical useful notes:

• bus from Delhi to Manali: there are a ton of them, I booked mine through redbus.in

• bus from Manali to Leh: apparently there are many 1-day buses that leave at 2AM and arrive at 8PM. There are some semi-frequent buses that take 2 days, with a stopover in Sarchu (not recommended due to high altitude). Then there are even rarer buses that stop over in Keylong. (it is the 2nd now, there are one-day buses every day, Sarchu buses the day after tomorrow, and a Keylong bus on the 7th.) Finally, you could share a jeep; there is one going up on the 5th that stops in Sarchu. Or you could book your own jeep. Rates: 1-day: 1100-1200 rupees. 2-day: Rs1900-2100. Book your own jeep: Rs12000. Note that these are all for 11-seat minibuses. And booking the day before, I had no trouble getting seats.