I tried to go straight to Mana pass without maying my respects at the temple, and Badrinath was not having any of it! He dragged me back by my ears. 
One of the world's highest ATMs :) I withdrew money just for the feeling of using one of the highest ATMs in the world! 
As I mentioned in the book, the 'Rawal' or Head priest of the Badrinath temple is always a Namboodiri brahmin from Kerala! 
After a long and involved campaign, I finally got the chance to ride into Mana pass - albeit for a short distance. But I had to deposit my camera at the security post - so no pics of that journey.  But do read about it in the book! It was an amazing experience. 
The road from Joshimath to Badrinath is simple awesome. 
It was a real joy to ride this road. 
lot and lots of steep hairpin bends and road in great condition made this a really fun place to ride. 
The green mountains and the Alaknanda flowing below...
Yet another dam... The Vishnuprayag hydroelectric project...
All this damming and road cutting leads to landslides...
The wonderful Vishnu prayag. 
Confluence of Alaknanda and Dhauliganga