The ride to Mandi was incredible. Once again and after a fair amount of hill work I was treated to a superb run down into the riverside city of Mandi. It was just as well since the temperature was unusually high. Mandi itself is not terribly interesting but a focus for traffic in every direction. The cheap rooms I viewed close to the central sunken garden square were very poor. Having finally viewed one that smelled like the worst kind of public toilet I opted to ‘splurge’ out on the Raj Mahal hotel. It was still time to recover from my traumatic experience at Bir and the secure comforts of the old palace helped assuage my anxiety.
Mandi has many beautiful Hindu temples by the riverside. I took a long walk that took in the island which divides the river and circled the city back to Victoria bridge. I dined like a king in the the old palace hotel and decided to head for the tourist playground of Manali. Time was on my side and I needed to get out of the heat.