Into the lap of the Himalayas

We alight from the bus and enter a deserted town.Most shops are closed,and the few that remain open are but small "chai" or tea shops.But with the mercury level well below 10 degrees centigrade,hot tea seems like a wonderful idea.
We head to the one nearest to the bus stop and order some hot tea and biscuits.There is a "sadhu-baba" sitting in one of the long benches and smoking a "chillum".There is the smell of "hashish" wafting through the air.
This is "parvati valley" in Himachal pradesh which is as famous for its hashish as it is for its rugged,scenic beauty.With perfect micro climate,sun-drenched ridges and healthy soil made fertile by the river parvati,it is ideal for the cannabis plant from which hashish is made.
We head to the hotel "deep forest" which was recommended by our friend who is a local here.The name is well suited for the hotel as it is set high on a hill-top,overlooking the river.We are greeted by friendly staff who immediately usher us to our rooms which had been already booked by our friend.We settle in and wait for our friend to turn up.He shows up after a couple of hours with some apple-cider wine and some hashish,and insists that we must have both.Some bottles of wine and a few spliffs later we head out to explore the town.
Our friend tells us that since its winter not many tourists would be there and only a couple of israelis and an italian guy remain.We meet one of the israelis who is a tattoo artist and introduces himself as "bob the tattooer".The rest of the day passes quite uneventfully.
The next morning,we head out for a trek to "kheerganga".We go to "pulga" by taxi which is the starting point of our trek.We see some construction in progress for the parvati hydro-electric plant.The initial trek is quite easy and we make good time in the trail which gives a nice view of the river parvati.Halfway through,we reach a small hamlet,and there,we refresh ourselves with some hot chai and pancakes.
The next part of our trek proves to be harder as the trail is covered in snow and the going is really slow.But luckily,our local friend has been on this trail many times and knows it quite well.
After six hours and many photographs later we finally reach kheerganga.The view from the top is amazing.We see flat lands covered with snow and a majestic waterfall from the side of the hill.We immediately check-in our guest-house and head for the natural hot springs that we heard so much about.
As we lay there in the warm water and gaze at the snow-capped mountain infront of us,we wonder to ourselves,where else but in "the lap of the Himalayas" can we see such a wonderful sight and feel such peace in our souls.