Shimla

 The new group.

 The newest part of Shimla.

 The men are wearing traditional Himacheli topi hats.

Easy rider.

 Our guide Prerna.

 The Viceregal Lodge.

 Local policeman.

Shimla is built all on hills.

 The Christ Church of Shimla.

Hanuman the monkey god.

 There are hundreds of brown monkeys patrolling the street, looking for food.

 Read the signs.

 A beautiful shop.

A human pack animal. They deliver everything on their backs.

Thursday, March 15^th.

We left the hotel at 9:30 and headed out for an orientation walk. This city is built on the side of a hill and the main road travels across a ridge, but everything else is either up or down. Anything ‘up’ requires extra exertion as we have gained altitude and you can feel it in your lungs. I watched for bicycles but saw nary a one. We strolled along looking at the buildings that the British built here in the last century. They made this their summer capital and constructed a number of big houses and other structures to make themselves comfortable. some of them have been converted to hotels and guesthouses and others are showing signs of age and as the website says, showing ‘faded glory’. There is a kind of central area that is much more modern and has modern shops. All around this area are narrow streets with typical small shops and eateries. As we walked we observed the local people, admired the vistas and saw the brown monkeys which are everywhere. The local people, including Prerna, seem afraid of them. We stopped for a group photo. Shimla is a no smoking town and anyone caught smoking in public can be fined 200 rupees.

At the end of the road we came to the Viceregal Lodge which housed the British Viceroy during the years of the empire and where many important meetings were held regarding the independence of India, including the one that resulted in the partitioning of India and Pakistan. We took a tour of this old magnificent building which has a three-story room with teak walls and a cedar floor over which they constructed a roof that came complete with water storage tanks sealed with wax and in the event of fire the wax would melt and the water would hopefully put out the fire. Another room had a ceiling intricately crafted with jigsaw puzzled connecting hexagons. The building was also the first building in the country to have electricity. We were not allowed to take pictures inside.

While we were waiting for the tour there was thunder and a little rain and some hail. As we were walking back it began to rain a bit more, so we took shelter in a restaurant and had lunch. When we emerged, the sun was out and it felt like a nice spring day. This is a very pleasant town, with friendly people and a nice vibe. A welcome relief from Delhi and the summer heat. I can understand why the British came here.

We walked around a bit more before splitting up to do our own thing. There was a temple on the very top of the hill devoted to the monkey god Hanuman, which also had the largest statue of that god. It was pink. The hike up was supposed to be very steep and would take about 45 minutes. Some people did that, but I opted for the cable car. It was a short six minute ride but certainly saved my lungs. The temple was small and not too impressive. The statue was huge but there was nowhere to get a view of it except from the base of its feet. I walked back down, which was a little treacherous and slippery.

When I got back down I walked around and bumped into Stephen and we went to the local wood market, which sold all manner of trinkets and dollar store stuff. When the sun went down I walked back to the hotel and decided to go to bed early to catch up on my sleep. I was asleep by eight.