Above and Beyond...

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After waiting around in a bus station for 12 hours (not the most exciting of days!) our bus finally arrived for our 10 hour journey up to the mountains and to Shimla.

Let me explain about the bus!.........Not only was it half an hour late, it was also a shambolic government rust bucket with straight backed seat and no cushioning.......all that aside, it was also completely FULL and there were at least 10 of us waiting to get on board! The good old elbows came out again and did the trick to get us on board, but that didn't solve the seating problem! The only option was to sit on the floor in the tiny aisle - not even wide enough for Dans shoulders and he had to sit skew-whiff! Some elderly ladies felt sorry for me and the 3 of them squeezed over for me to fit on too (I was actually comfier on the floor but had to be polite!)

Fortunately lady luck paid us a visit and 2 people at the back got off after about 2 hours and so we jumped into those spaces before anyone else got a chance. Bumpy, whindey, mountainous roads and bruised coxics is all I'll say for the rest of the journey, but 10 long hours passed and we eventually arrived!

It's peak season here and all the well-off middle class have converged, making all the hotels and guest houses charge at least double so we've only stayed one night - that and the fact that it's really not all that here. Bit of nice scenery and hills but we're hoping that the next leg of our journey will totally surpass this.

We're waiting for our bus at the moment, which should leave about 10pm for a small town in the Parvati Valley, in the shadow of the great snowy peaks of the Himalayas - a view we hope to be getting a lot of in the next 3 weeks, a nice break from the heat - might even need to buy a few thermals!

Not sure what the communications will be like up there, so it might be a while, but don't panic.........we'll be back!
Loads of love,
Us.
xxxxxxxxx

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Photos

The English were here!
...In the days of the Raj.

Portable wardrobe??
Shimla's built on a hill and the porters here are amazing!

Comments

[colin s]

beyond
haha the english are everywhere lol looks abit like switzerland! so different the places you visit. glad youse are both well and looking well take care

[Mum Walton]

Moonwalk!!
Hi Dan and Nic Well I suppose if you get short of a bit of money Dan you could always do your moonwalk up the aisle of the train and send Nic round with the bowl!! I'm sure you would be more entertaining!! Have a great time in the Himalayas, at least you will be able to cool down for a while. I heard a rumour that cousin Sam is going there very soon for a holiday, so you never know by some miracle you might bump into her!! Lots of love xxxxx