Up too early, achy tired, on another bus, stone seated wandering through river valleys, stop in luhuri and channa samosa and later an odd combination of tarmac and dual carriageway as we joined the road from shimla..the landscape was stunning, the driver sane, as we snaked through mountains gazing down upon tumbling waters hundreds of metres below: a stark reminder of our fragile mortality in these places...and all went well...rekong peo before five, inner line permit...bus to nako tomorrow, the plan was laid, the fates kindly...too kindly...an hour from terminus we met a landslide...a delay of three hours...a dagger into the plan's heart...and then it got worse...there was a detour...and I'd lost my seat...

Stood at the back of the bus, jostled, an elbow in my face as my bag bounced off a head and I left the ground...glimpses through meagre spaces of a landscape swiftly disappearing below, steepening slopes, next gear, bounce, opposing camber, communal breath...across a farm path, lunacy...an emergency stop, descent, ascent..rekong peo, two hours of the most terrifying journey yet...and I'd missed my permit, which means Monday...and then Tuesday to travel...the road to manali needs to be open...already two days back...it's dark again when we arrive in rekong peo, this time the rising shadows are different, a ragged menace carved against the sky, tomorrow...and again after ten hours on buses I'm exhausted...Find a shithole room cheap, scented, slightly damp with a drying puddle but near the busstand...then, invoking the local gods a chance Australian on his way south...word up in kaza is another 8-10 days...Spiti would be overnight stops, mere glimpses upon an endless bus journey through the mountains...