A day of voyeurism

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We had a couple of hours before leaving Shimla this morning so we took the lift from the hotel up to the Mall. Shimla is steep - seriously steep. We had to get a lift up from the street to the lobby of our hotel, and then from the sixth floor to the Mall above. There is a public lift next door. Think of the cable car in Wellington, and then go vertical.

The Hide Out coffee shop with it's first floor view of the street served great coffee and provided a wonderful view of everyone starting their day.

The car ride from Shimla back to Chandigarh was uneventful. Our driver must have been briefed that we were nervous passengers as we even got passed by buses. Once we hit the 4 lane highway (with separator) he got up to a spanking 70km an hour.

At the train station we had the entertainment of watching those with 'standby' tickets chasing the departing train down the platform and leaping on. And of course they all laughed and waved when they saw us photographing them.

I love traveling by train, the world just passes before your eyes as if you were watching a movie. I thought I'd only get an hour of this pleasure before night fell and didn't expect the amazing cameos that you get to see as you pass though cities at night. You see the rougher side of the streets but the lights in the alleys and houses mean you get flashes of views into unsuspecting people's lifes. The same applies when we pass another train at slow speed. Of course, the view is reciprocal and they can see me with my nose (almost) pressed to the window.

We are getting used to the stares and the requests for photos. I'm sure there are many photos taken without us knowing too. The novelty factor is working both ways!

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Comments

[Tingting]

H&S Non compliance
Did you write them a process of H&S Compliance on the train???? Reflections on the train, is it you?