Shimla by Mia

The little train to Shimla.

          On Monday morning we got off the night train in Kalka to catch a different train for a long scenic ride to Shimla. We couldn't get a spot on the nice train that had reclining bucket seats so we hopped on the train with straight backed benches. Just part of the experience, I guess, I would have happily waited for the next one! We were the last ones to get on so we got the seats in the back next to the bathroom, which smelled really, really bad.

           The ride was about six hours which is about 3 times longer than it would have been by car because the train was really slow. It was more of a scenic trip than a way to get somewhere, it's even on the World Heritage list! It was really cool though because you were going up and into the Himalayas so the mountains kept getting bigger and bigger. When we stopped at the stations on the way daddy or mommy got out and bought some snacks or tea from the stands. Everything is really extremely cheap by the tracks so it was awesome. We got some musala tea (which is absolutely delicious) and pastries and stuff. That was pretty much our lunch! 

The ridgetop square in Shimla.

           We tracked our progress by the number of tunnels we passed so it was easy to figure out where to stop. There was supposed to be a little more than 100 tunnels from Kalka to Shimla and they're numbered so it doesn't matter if you miss some. On the way we passed lots of stray dogs and cows and stuff as well as people walking along them or just hanging out. Some people had little shacks on the side of the tracks too, perched on the steep hill. We went through a little town or two in the beginning, but it cleared up as we got into the mountains. It was a nice ride, just way too long to do more than once so we are going to drive on the way back!

Bagpipes in one of the parades. So Scottish!

           We got to Shimla at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. We walked up the main street which they call The Mall and got lunch/dinner at a nice restaurant on the main square thing. The restaurant was one circular room with an outdoor patio thing on the side. It's like the only restaurant we went to in this entire trip! Its really nice and really cheap. On the square they have a museum, a church (like the only one I have ever seen in this country, but Shimla has Christians, Muslims and (mostly) Hindus) and a library. There are also big statues of Gandhi and his wife and a great view on both sides because it is on the top of the ridge. There was a ton of army guys with guns everywhere, even more so than in Delhi! It was a bit scary at first because it was obvious that no one had taught then how to hold them properly so they were pointing all over the place, but we got used to it. Every single day we have been here they have done big army parades along the street up to the square and they have the most hilarious costumes. You can just see the Scottish (plaid and bagpipes, luckily no kilts!) and British (weird hats) influence!

The Viceroy's house.

           Shimla is the cleanest and safest city I have ever sean in India. It used to be the summer capitol so there are government buildings everywhere and lots of old British architecture. We went to the old Viceroy's house and it looked like a cross between Hogwarts and London Tower-- it was so cool! The Mall street is closed to cars so you can walk around really easily and shop. Also, there is no littering, spitting and plastic bags are prohibited. They use bags out of cheap fabric or paper instead which is way better than plastic. The bad thing is that most of those laws aren't really enforced. There is still lots of trash lying around, but I guess not as much as the other cities. The other thing that I think is really cool is that they have an elevator to get to the bottom of the hill! The city is on a really steap mountainside so you can we a few feet away from the place you want to get to, but it is only the roof so you have to walk forever to get to the entrance. That's pretty frustrating, but the elevator helps a lot! If I ever come back to India, I am definitely coming here and I will definitely leave space in my bags for shopping at The Mall!