4.40am
alarm, it was hard, but by 5.05 we were out in the street, after waking up the
receptionist (felt a bit bad). Arrived at the station 10 minutes later and
being welcome by hearing an announcement that the train from Kalka to Shimla
had 3h delay! Then later we heard 4h, at some point someone who brought us
breakfast mentioned that the train would leave at 10am.
 |
| our train is here but with engine... |
One of us
was a bit grumpy and we decided that that person should sleep some more, while
the other one decided to write down the blog posts for the first few days in
India. The train did left at 10.22am (5h late, we were actually supposed to
arrive in Shimla for 10am). We were waiting for another train which was full of
our passengers (that would never happen in Europe, if you miss you connection,
tough luck!).
 |
| in the train ready to go! |
In our
carriage, we were the only Westerners, there was a group of Indian students in
their 30s, a young couple in front of us and behind us, 2 old guys travelling
alone and a family with 2 young kids. The toy train ride is not a fast one, it
is famous for its scenery (it is an UNESCO world heritage site). We crossed 886
arched bridges, passed through 102 tunnels, but went up 96 km in more than 5
hours. We stopped at a few stations and got fed on the way.
 |
| Unesco world heritage site sign |
 |
| Barog station |
 |
| Barog station in front of the longest tunnel |
 |
| one of the numerous arched bridge |
We arrived
at Shimla station around 4.30pm (I took us around 5 hours). Not knowing where
to to straight away we waited for everyone to leave and enjoyed the view from
the station which is on the edge of the hill and we spotted our firsts monkeys!
 |
| Shimla station |
In the end,
we decided to walk to our hotel instead of taking a taxi. This was a wise
decision as the hotel is in the middle of the lower bazaar and no vehicles can
reach it! By 6pm we were in our room, showered and ready to explore the town
and find a place to eat dinner. We crossed the lower bazaar always going up to
reach The Mall and The Ridge.
 |
Church on The Ridge
|
We ate
around 7pm, and were the only people in the restaurant, I guess it is a bit
early for the Indians. We have not figured out yet the meals’ schedule. It was
out 1st proper Indian meal (if you don’t count the fast food meal in
Delhi which was super spicy).
 |
| dinner |
We went
back in our hotel, in the dark, going down into the lower bazaar and hoping we
will find it again. We did and had a great night sleep.
 |
| descending in the bazaar |
Slept in a
double bed in Hotel Sidharath in Shimla
No comments:
Post a Comment