Cool Shimla
Trip Start
Sep 15, 2007
1
4
59
Trip End
Jun 2008
Shimla,
India
Saturday, September 22, 2007
We're about to leave Shimla on the bus tomorrow morning heading to Mandi after a restful few days in Shimla. We've had a nice time here and feel like we've shaken off the malaise that we felt following Delhi.
Activities in Shimla itself are limited but it is a beautiful town with spectacular views all around. We had a sight-seeing tour of the area yesterday and ascended the nearby Hatu peak at 3400m. Bizarrely (to us) there's a Hindu temple at the top where a kindly priest painted a red spot on our heads and gave us sweets and flowers. No idea why - our driver and guide said it was a gesture of good will. The views from the top were amazing even though the Himalayas were obscured by cloud. Unfortunately we had quite a bit of rain making us feel at home
Baby monkeys. No, we can't keep them Helen.
.There are also some nice walks to do in Shimla. A 'monkey temple''can be reached at the top. It's dedicated to some sort of Hindu monkey god (Hanuman) but appropriately many of the numerous resident Shimla monkeys hang out there.
Other than a few walks and excursions we've been taking it easy recharging our batteries. The food here is excellent - this time very different to the Glasgow curry houses. We've sampled the delights of many of the restaurants and Dhabbas which have all been really good. We've particularly enjoyed the potato patties and daal available for about 15p each!
So, tomorrow we'll experience our first Indian bus (hopefully the right one first time). We're not sure if we'll get a seat or be hanging on to the roof like a lot of the folk we've seen... Oh well, in for a penny...
Helen and Iain xxx
Comments
Wow!
It all sounds amazing. We wish we were 40years younger and able to embark on such a wonderful adventure. Can't wait for the next installment. Love. Frank n Ruth
hello how exciting
Hello, we're just back from a slightly damp holiday in the bus in ireland and very excited to read all your entries so far.
One minor point regarding the initial prologue from glasgow as i believe you are neither in your mid or late twenties seeing as my favourite brother is now well into his midlife 30's!
Sounds like you're getting used to Indian driving and have had the full train experience already, hope you managed a successfull first bus journey.
Dave got frostbite in the Imperial Hotel in Delhi due to the excessive efficiency of the air conditioning/ punka wallah efforts, interesting factoid.
Looking forward to keeping up with your travels and hope Bobs cold hasn't spread any further than other sister vic.
Ps football updates- Jose left Chelsea 'by mutual consent', replaced by random man lacking correct football qualifications, man city kind of ok, aberdeen kind of second bottom of spl, scotland going to qualify for and win the European and World cup.....
Lots of love (and jealousy) from Iains sister Louise xx