Leaving Shimla

21/4/09
It was with much sadness that we had to leave this beautiful hill station. I can see why the colonial British loved it so much. What's not to love - the heavenly climate, scented pines, rhododendron forests, green pastures and snow-capped peaks. They dotted it with grand buildings and beautiful mansions. Come summer the entire government officers, staff, files and cabinets would troop there. It became the summer Hill Station capital of British India. 

We thought this elderly gentleman looked so good, there was a sort of pride about him, he looked as if he had seen better days, and now he probably had all his worldly goods in that bag. We felt a bit guilty about sneaking the photo from the carriage.

The return journey was much better, we didn’t have to leave so early and it didn’t seem to take so long. I also covered my mouth and nose when going through the tunnels.

Back in Delhi

Bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi

A few yards from Claridges is the house where Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. Despite the horror of that it is now a lovely tranquil place. It has an excellent state of the art museum which details and propagates the life, work and philosophy of Gandhi, through photographs, artworks, memorabilia, film screenings and seminars. The library contains thousands of books and letters. There are also hundreds of wall and ceiling images depicting Gandhi’s life.

Shimla

The beautiful Oberon Cecil hotel is reminiscent of a bygone era,
a celebration of colonial elegance and grace. 

Restored to its original grandeur with wooden floors and period furniture it boasts fabulous views of the majestic Himalayan ranges. Built around a beautiful atrium the rooms offer splendid 
views of the mountains and valleys. 

View from my room 
The only disappointment was no outdoor areas due to the presence of monkeys, lots of them.
I don't like monkeys.

Viceregal Lodge, a majestic sprawling grey stone building ringed by tall pines. It was designed by Henry Irvine, architect to the Public Works Dept of the colonial government and built in 1888 as the residence of Viceroy Lord Dufferin, and was the venue for many important decisions which changed the fate of the India sub-continent. It had electric light when nobody else in Shimla did, and an indoor tennis court! The Viceroy hosted lavish parties and entertained the royal princes and nawabs (governors in the Mughal Empire) in style. It was the venue of the Shimla Conference in 1945. In 1947 the decision to partition India and create the states of Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) was also taken here. 

Now called Rashtrapati Niwas, the Lodge houses the Indian Institute of Advanced Study. 

Hindu Temple

The Mall isn't a shopping mall as we know them, but a wide pedestrian street where the colonial British and locals would stroll to see and be seen! A few locals were wearing jackets and cardigans and the schoolchildren were wearing their blazers and long socks! Although cooler than Delhi I thought it was gloriously warm.

The library and a policeman at Scandal Point, so named because it is said that the king of Patiala had a crush on the daughter of the Viceroy of India and one day while she was taking a stroll in this place the king kidnapped her and eloped with her!

Shimla has some of the world’s finest examples of British colonial architecture, inspired by the Renaissance in England, the neo Gothic structures of the gaiety theatre, Tudor framed buildings, almost Dickensian. 

The next day I had a much needed lie in, then took a taxi to the Mall lift (in 2 parts from the road up to the Mall), traffic isn’t allowed in the Mall. Did a bit of shopping, took a leisurely stroll back then had a fantastic full body massage at the hotel spa in a room overlooking the beautiful majestic Himalyan range. The best and most tranquil massage I have ever had.

Many of the locals wanted to have their photo taken, this little boy was so excited to see his picture on my camera. The owner of the machine was making drinks. He put what looked like bundles of corn into the machine to make delicious looking smoothie type drinks. He offered me a free one but I didn’t know if any water went into them, I’m sure they were ok, and I felt very bad refusing, he really wanted me to have one, but I had just recovered and didn't want to risk being poorly again.

The Trains to Shimla

18/4/09

Very early start (about 5.30!) for our journey to Shimla. We took the Shatabdi Express from Delhi to Kalka, approx 4 hours. It was a very nice journey with spacious reclining seats, air con and meals served throughout the duration.

Kalka station - cows wander around everywhere!

From Kalka we took the toy train for our 5 hour journey to Shimla. 

This rail link was built by the British in 1899 and has a total of 102 tunnels!

It was a beautiful scenic journey climbing up through very pretty locations and stations.

There were plenty of stops at stations for food or toilets

During the journey from Delhi some of our party became very ill. One was sick before we left Delhi and another looked alarmingly pale and very poorly on the toy train. Both left the train at one of the stops and continued the journey by car, which was much quicker. They were treated by a doctor on arrival in Shimla. The rest of us arrived about 5.30 and almost immediately I had diarrhoea and felt very tired. I took an immodium and slept for a couple of hours, after which I felt much better but ravenous. One of my party suggested some plain rice, yoghurt and bread which were brought to my room. It was the most delicious yoghurt and bread I have ever tasted, it was all excellent and did the job of gently filling my by now empty stomach. A good night's sleep meant that by the next morning I felt weak but fine and no more diarrhoea. Seven of us had been ill. I think mine had been a combination of exhaustion and heat from the previous day (40 deg and non stop sightseeing), and the diesel fumes from the toy train wafting in every time we went through a tunnel