On Sat 28th July, bright and early the five of us caught the early Shababti express train to Kalka from New Delhi station
From Kalka we took a taxi for a 3 hour ride to Shimla. The temperature was cool - in the mid 20's and it was misty with intermittent rain
Shimla was the summer centre of Government during British Raj days so there is a great blend of Britishness...
and Indian charm...
We enjoyed the shopping with a view...The Ridge was especially pretty and reminiscent of a Lowry painting:
Next day we went for a ride on the narrow guage mountain railway or "Toy train" as it's known, followed by a tour of the local sights
It was quite atmospheric in the mist:
After visiting a Hindu temple we went to the Viceroy's Lodge at about 3000m:
When we got back to the hotel we discovered that Shimla, along with 1/4 of India had a power cut!
Next day it decided to throw rain at us in buckets but, undaunted, Julie decided she wanted to do more shopping while the rest of us wanted to climb the mountain to visit the Jakhu temple on the top, dedicated to the monkey god, and teeming with monkeys
Down the mountain again, we were soaked through despite umbrellas and really fancied a cup of tea. Unfortunately, no tea was available as there was another power cut. This time 1/2 of India's population were affected. Trains were stopped and traffic in the cities was even more chaotic than normal due to lack of traffic lights!
I have never seen so many umbrellas...
By the next day everything was back to normal, and apart from a short hold-up at a landslide on the way down the mountain, we made it to Delhi in good time.
Back to Asha the next day...
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