Day 18 (Shimla - Dharamsala/McLeod Ganj)

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I had planned on getting up at 8am and heading to the bus station to catch the early bus for the 10ish hour journey to Dharamsala. This did not go as planned, it was mainly my fault on account of me turning off my alarm and going back to sleep till about 11. When i did finally decide to get up (and I wasn't happy about it, i seemed to have dreamed that I'd done all the things i was supposed to do that day and the realisation that i hadn't wasn't a happy one) i got my stuff together and checked out of the hotel.

It was much nearer lunchtime than breakfast so i went to the place i had been for the egg, chips and mystery sausage. It was much busier today and i ordered myself chicken tikka and rice. The uniformed waiter returned to my table a few minutes later with a large white table cloth and some cloth napkins, i looked around and realised i was the only one who had received such service. Now I've got pretty used to being stared at almost constantly since i arrived, but to be stared at whilst the waiter put down the table cloth was torture, i told him the table was fine and he gave me the classic Indian head wobble and continued, carefully placing my cutlery into position around the plate (on my last visit they were wrapped in a paper napkin). And the people stared. I gave a helpless look and buried myself in the guide for 5 minutes until my food arrived.

After a delicious meal and some lemon tea i paid up and headed out to sort out my travel, i had hoped to leave as soon as possible but at the tourist information center i was told that there were only two direct buses each day, 9.30am and 9.30pm. I thought after i bought the ticket that leaving that late would be a good thing, I'd be arriving at my destination in the morning, around 7.30, rather than at midnight, which would have been the case if i had left straight away. That left me with about 7 hours to kill. I decided a good first move would be to find where the bus stop was, so that i could find my way there later on when it would be dark, it was easy enough to find, all roads through the main bazaar (except one that i found) led to a road that cars are allowed down (Shimla center is strictly walking only, there's also no littering and no smoking, all are punishable by fines of 200 to 5000 rupees). The bus station is on this road. on my way back up i seemed to find the one road that didn't lead back up to the center. The stalls slowly dropped away and i was surrounded by identically painted buildings with green fences all around them and very few people. As i walked further i got more stares, but they seemed more curious than usual, then some uniformed soldiers walked past, then a few more did. One in particular slowed down as if he were going to talk to me, then he hurried on, looking back a few times. Then i went through what was definitely the entrance gate of some sort of military compound, i had somehow walked straight in through the back and i was leaving out the entrance. An armed guard looked at me as i walked out, again looking as if he were going to say something, but then he looked away and i carried on, i had the distinct feeling that i was somewhere i perhaps shouldn't have been and im sure if i had tried to enter through the way i had left the guard would certainly have stopped me. I walked for 5 minutes more before i found a small road up to the main road.

Back on familiar turf i decided to spend some time reading, i sat on one of the many benches along the main road and read, looking up occasional at the people walking about. Shimla is different to everywhere else i have been in India, it seems that here many people just like to go for a stroll, something i found quite amusing considering that some part of the main road look like they have been transported bit by bit from Brighton beach, including the man with the horse who takes people for rides along the main road. While i was sitting an reading a tout that i had run into a few times came and sat down and we had a chat about my plans and a few other bits of conversation, he didn't offer me anything or try to take me anywhere, he was on his way to the station and we just had a chat. Shortly after another tout that i had run into came and did the same. After id been reading for a while i decided to go for another walk so i grabbed my bag (best decision i made was to pack super light) and went for another wander. I stopped in to an internet cafe and stayed there for about 3 hours, doing some writing and checking emails and stuff, even tried to watch a film over Skype (doesn't really work but it was nice to see my girlfriend for the first time in almost 3 weeks), after that i headed off out again. After a while i found another place to sit and read for a few hours more, finished my book (good book but i was annoyed by it a little). Then i decided to come here to this internet cafe. I have another hour until my bus leaves so im gonna head down there now and try and get a good seat for the 10 hour journey to Dharamsala.

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