The Oberoi Cecil Shimla

... Pradesh is divided into 12 districts namely, kangra, hamirpur, mandi, bilaspur, una, chamba, lahul and spiti, sirmaur, kinnaur, kullu, solan and shimla. Roads are the major mode of transport in the hilly terrains of Himachal Pradesh. <br><br>The climate of Himachal Pradesh is cool to cold all the year round and is always inviting the tourists to enjoy a stay amidst the hills and mountains in the panoramic state of Himachal Pradesh.

Shimla is supposedly one of more relaxed parts of India - getting off the toy-train to a Delhi like scrum of taxi drivers, and crowded streets with car horns it was obvious this is "relaxed" for India.<br><br>Shimla clings to the side of the mountains, buildings flowing down the hillsides. The main historic street runs along a ridge, and is quite relaxed once you get there, though with some very strange buildings - old English colonial creations ...

... town. Luckily via the road which leads to Clarks Hotel one of the nicest in town. Flopped in the lounge, was served tea by a waiter in a completely OTT uniform and enjoyed a rest. Wrote up my journal yes I am keeping one as well as this blog - where do you think all the useless info is coming from! After an hour a middle aged English tour group turned up and destroyed the peace and quite. Seeing and hearing these has yet again confirmed my decision to ...

... ook anders gekund hier. En we hebben krokodillen gezien in een stukje natuur waar twee Indiase vrienden ons op de motor naartoe namen. Na Udaipur maakten we een lange treinreis via Delhi naar Amritsar. Voor het stuk tussen Delhi en Amritsar kochten we een ticket van de goedkoopste klasse. Dat resulteerde erin dat we acht uur lang verkrampt in de deuropening van de trein moesten zitten want de coupe was over-overvol. We zijn er levend uitgekomen zoals jullie merken ...

... but the new buildings are, well just plan new. That being said, it felt more like a hill station than most of the other hill stations we've been to. And that seems to be what draws all the Indian tourists here. That and the weather, which ranges from san francisco chilly/foggy to marin warm-sunny but either way it's an order of magnitude better than dripping hot-wet Dehli (no comparison to the US would do, except maybe New Orleans in August). The guide book had ...

... and made arrangements for a guided tour for the next 4 days. I usually also avoid guided tours, preferring to wander around by myself and do whatever sightseeing and activities I feel like at the time. However, Navin and Ankush wanted to pack as much in as possible, so I tightened my wallet straps and joined in. The first day we were driven to a nearby mountain to do some horseback riding. We got some horses at the bottom and were trotted ...

Hi Again, Well I am in Himachal Pradesh and have made some new friends and got rid of a bad driver too. The story with the driver was that he enjoyed his whisky alot and seemed to look hung over everyday. He wouldn't take me to the places that he should do and one evening he was drunk (surprise surprise!) and said that he was not given a drivers room and was sleeping in the cold in the car. Anyway I contacted the travel agency in Mumbai and hey presto I had a new driver who ...

... of it and of a strange looking steam loco that was being filled up with water. A train bound for Kalka was waiting at the platform. I then walked back up the hill and turned west towards where the Viceregal Lodge is located but first I climbed up a very steep track to the state museum which has exhibits of stone and wooden carvings, minature paintings, coins, stamps, dolls, costumes, weapons and guns, Hindu statues and modern art. Then walked about 2km (according ...

... spent one afternoon walking up to the Temple of the Monkey God: A temple complex overrun with macaque monkeys. You rented a stick, a concept foreign to Alaskans, to stave off monkey attack. They wait salivating for approach, eyes on your camera, your pockets, your glasses, anything shiny. As we approached, I saw a mother usher her young one off a swing, and made him follow her over toward us. They planted themselves in front of us, she ...

... he gets stereo sound from this Sony thingamijiggy. Music to the ear(s). 25th July 2003, 11.12 am DJ in tree trunk's mind: 'Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights' - Bob Marley. See picture! Off-tangent: Wall sign sighted around 11 am - 'D.P.E.P ka yeh prayaas Har bachha ho paanchvi paas!' Off-off-tangent: It is a little tough to look out from your window at stare at the mountain road worker in his eye as your bus bellows ...