To the hills!

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After the heat and hassle of Pushkar, arriving in Shimla was literally like taking a breath of fresh air. The elevation, at nearly 2,500 metres, meant the temperature was a good deal lower than in the plains below, and the lack of vehicles from the main part of town has left the air clean... coupled with hefty fines for littering which mean Shimla isn't plagued by rubbish like the rest of the country.

Shimla's history as the summer capital during the reign of the British Empire is probably well known so I don't need to repeat it here. The town itself is actually quite big, with more than 150,000 residents, and it spreads across the surrounding peaks a bit like a plague... although the old colonial buildings along the Mall and the Ridge are quaint, most of the buildings are ugly, ramshackle boxes, many built precariously on crumbling concrete columns wedged into the hillside. Even the older heart of town is now fading and under siege from advertising and general poor upkeep, so that Shimla looks a bit like a knackered British seaside town. But it has a nice, friendly atmosphere, and the Mall is full of people promenading, chatting and generally relaxing. It's a great place to people watch, from the curious policemen with napkins on their heads to the hordes of schoolchildren in ill-fitting uniforms who populate the place at all times of day. There are no beggars or people trying to sell things, and those people who are actually desist when you say no... a revelation after weeks in tourist-central Rajasthan!

Perching above Shimla at the summit of Jakhoo, several hundred metres higher than the town itself, sits a temple dedicated to the monkey god, Hanuman, reached via a short, steep climb from the Mall. The temple is probably best known for its sometime-troublesome inhabitants, several hundred monkeys. Armed with our walking-cum-anti monkey sticks, we made the short climb mainly to admire the views, which were sadly pretty difficult to admire thanks to the dense tree cover. In the end we didn't need protection from the monkeys, which generally kept our of peoples' way unless there was food around. Descending back into town was much more pleasant than hiking up, and we continued down along the Mall (via one of Shimla's excellent coffee houses... so good to have a proper cappuccino!) and out to the Viceregal Lodge, probably the town's best known landmark. Perched on a small ridge at the western side of Shimla, the lodge is a Scottish baronial mansion built for the Viceroy of India. Like a small chunk of the highlands plonked into India, it sits majestically at the head of town, surrounded by small but peaceful gardens. Now used by the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, only a small part of the ground floor is open to visitors, but you can see some of the original furnishings and a table that is wrongly reputed to have been the one on which Mountbatten drew up his plans for the boundaries of an independent India.

Away from the Mall and Ridge, Shimla's two main drags, the town becomes more typically Indian (albeit the population here contains many Tibetans). Litter and chaos increase as you descend through the bazaars, or down through one of the wooded roads to the north, which lead to the Glen, a shady valley with a stream running through it. The lack of signposts saw us lost at the bottom, but we managed to wind our way along wooded paths and through farmsteads to eventually find ourselves at Annandale, home to a helipad and what used to be a racecourse. Getting back up to town was a bit of a mission, and nearly killed Mum and Dad! Thankfully, the western comforts of Barrista coffee shop were on hand to sort us out.

On our last day in Shimla, we decided to head out of town to see some of the surrounding countryside. A number of bus tours are run by the Himachal Tourism company, so we hopped on one that would take us to nearby Kufri, for a better view of the distant Himalayas, and on to Chail, former capital of the princely state of Paitala. Finding the bus was a mit chaotic, but the fun really began when we got on board, as the driver weaved the bus at top speed along narrow roads with sheer drops to one side. Repairs being carried out on the road saw us frequently driving over fresh tarmac or dodging piles of rubble, with centimetres to spare. The journey was accompanied by a loud burp from the lady behind my Dad at every corner... quite how she stored all that gas I'll never know! Unfortunately, our two destinations weren't quite as good as the ride itself. At Kufri, we wandered into the Himalayan Nature Park, which was essentially a zoo. Its prize exhibit was a snow leopard, but the park was in a pretty shoddy state, and it was difficult seeing such beautiful animals in those conditions after months of viewing them in their natural environment. At Chail, we lunched at a former Maharaja's palace before heading back along more winding roads.

As we reached the end of our stay in Shimla, we also said goodbye and headed our separate ways... Mum and Dad by train back to Delhi and me by bus to Dehra Dun. Saying goodbye was pretty difficult as it was going to be a full 8 months before I saw them again... unless I can persuade them to come to Malaysia or New Zealand (go on, you know you want to!!). Mind you, at least there ended our 'tea with separate cold milk' saga, which had played out every morning and resulted, by the end, in 8 different containers of cold milk being served to us at breakfast by our bemused waiter... bless him.

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Photos

Photo 1
Mum, Dad and the distant Himalayas

Photo 6
Christ Church looks down over Shimla

Photo 9
A youngster pretends to be Hanuman

Photo 12
The very Scottish Viceregal Lodge

Photo 14
Looking out over the Glen

Comments

[Alan Smith]

Good Time
Jono It was good to see you and spend two weeks with you. Mum and I had a good trip home especially on the Shimla to Kalka train where we were in conversation with three young ( 6-10) Indian girls. It was hard to say goodbye again for a longer period this time but we know you are looking forward to the next part of your journey. We are both of the opinion that we will not be visiting India again! Keep safe. Love Mum and Dad xxx