Sherpa Johnsons go forth
Trip Start
Sep 19, 2002
1
118
129
Trip End
Sep 22, 2003
Shimla, Himachal Pradesh,
India
Thursday, August 14, 2003
We then changed to the toy train which is a narrow guage railway heading up into the mountains that was built by the British and uses the same carriages even now. The views were spectacular as we climbed and looped for another 5 hours and we felt ourselves getting cooler all the way. As you can imagine, being up at that ungodly hour and then travelling for nearly 12 hours, we were pretty tired by the time we arrived. We'd witnessed several arguments between Indians along the way and there were a few more at the station. As the train pulled in we were swarmed by porters wanting to carry our luggage up the very steep hill to the guest houses. They don't charge very much but they get commission from the hotels so we chose to go our own way. Two porters desperately wanted our business and followed us all the way. No taxis or public trasnport is allowed in the main area of Shimla town so we had to walk and it was very steep. We probably went the wrong way in the end but we were heading towards a lift that takes you up the steepest parts but this turned out to be the longer route in the end. Despite all our remonstrations the porters would not leave us alone and we knew from experience that they would get to the door first and pretend they had introduced us to the hotel meaning we would have to pay more. We walked for over an hour with our bags up the steep roads and were getting really annoyed with these fellows who pretended to talk to someone else when we spotted them each time. At the top and near the guest house we were approached by a waiter from our hotel who walked with us but then we spotted our porters again, one hiding behind a pushchair! I'm afraid I've really got into Indian life and I lost my temper again. I ran (still wearing my backpack!) after the two chaps. One ran off very quickly but the other just looked on bewildered so I started hitting him with my handbag several times. As Pip ran after me the porter ran off as I think he thought Pip was going to join in but actually he was just going to pull his mad wife off before she was arrested. I've turned into a fish-wife! Oddly the waiter who had looked on worriedly decided he wouldn't help us get to the hotel and we later found out that the hotel didn't even have a resturant! Finally we checked in, had a lovely hot shower and collapsed into bed. The room was quite damp as the air is very moist up here and we soon started to feel our colds making a come back. It was really nice to sleep under thick quilts again though!
11th - We had perfect weather in Shimla and we could definitely understand why the British used this town as their summer retreat. In the days of the British Empire the whole Calcutta (and later Delhi) government offices were transplanted to Shimla to escape the heat for about 3 - 4 months. The views were amazing as it was such a lovely day and we were surrounded by pine trees and mountains and it felt very alpine. We spent the day exploring the narrow streets which are thankfully devoid of traffic and felt very relaxed and peaceful. It was so nice to be able to walk around without being barged or having to avoid piles of rubbish and people trying to rob you. There was a pleasant holiday feel to it too with people eating ice-cream and candyfloss and having pony rides and leaning over the ornate railings looking at the views. There is a beautiful church in the centre area which is known as the Ridge and there is a square there where people were practising their marching and band playing for the Independence Day parades on the 15th. Shimla is also home to lots of Tibetan refugees and we strolled through their narrow market waiting to be accosted. In a really pleasant change though, we were able to look and even touch items on their stalls without anyone going for the hard sell. Shimla is certainly a wonderful place to get away from it all!
12th - Woken by the many monkeys of the town staging a fight outside our window. It's the season for babies so there are lots of very cute tiny monkeys with huge eyes scrabbling through the rubbish. That is the one benefit here that the monkeys leave you alone as they have enough food laying about. The rubbish here is no-where near as bad as elsewhere but it's still there.
After breakfast we set out on a long walk to the museum about 2.5k from Scandal Point on the Ridge. No-one seems to know why it's called that but we didn't delve too deeply in case it involved the British doing something naughty again. Our 2.5k seemed to be quite long and wound up and down the mountain but we got there in the end. It was quiet and clean in the area although the museum wasn't very inspiring but it did have a collection of letters Gandhi wrote to Hitler and Roosevelt which were interesting. About 2k from here is the Viceregal lodge and botanic gardens so we set off for there as well. Again the weather was perfect - sunny but breezy and fresh with clear views. We walked and walked and walked. And then walked some more and soon felt like giving up and turning back as we'd obviously gone wrong somewhere. We passed the tented camps of the poor and got a stark reminder of the severe poverty in India. We also passed many miliatary posts as the area is now a garrison town as well as being the capital of the state. Eventually we spotted a regal looking building high above us and began the hike up towards it. When we finally reached it, it was worth the walk. A beautiful British renaissance style mansion with immaculate grounds and flower beds of marigolds (with no slugs!). We had a tour of the building which is now used as a centre for advanced learning for social science and humanities and I was desperate to get among the scholars and into the library. We couldn't go very far but what we did see was stunning considering the age and the fact that all the materials to build it were carried by mule as the railway was yet to be built. When we came to leave we realised where we were and how close we were to the centre. We had walked about 5k out of the way and up and down steep roads when we were actually on the right level in the beginning! Surprisingly though we felt really good and fit despite our recent colds etc. We treated ourselves to some Indian tea served the proper way with the tea and milk and sugar all seperate. Aaahhh, lovely.
