Shimla, India

No luck on the jet lag front. Oh well, got a chance to do a lot of work emails between 3 and 6 am.

We left the hotel for the laid back chaos of the Delhi train station. We lost track of our guide amongst the thousands of people but where able to find our way to the train to Chandigarh. We had seats in the executive class car. They served a multi course breakfast (it is the first time that any of us had seen corn flakes served with hot milk). At one point I have to make a trip to the wash closet – it wasn’t completely horrible but all I can say is that I am really glad that we were in the executive section….can’t imagine what the rest of the cars had for facilities.

Our drivers, Vijay, Prakesh, Minoj and Bobby, met us at the station. We were lead to the white SUV’s that will carry us through the Himalayas over the next few weeks. For some reason, I envisioned that 4×4’s meant Jeep type vehicles. Considering the roads that we are about to head out on, the SUV’s will probably be much more comfortable.

We drive through Chandigarh which was a big disappointment. The layout of Chandigarh and several buildings were designed by Le Corbusier. The layout itself makes for great urban planning but a pretty dull drive. Unfortunately, we did not have time to check out the Le Corbusier buildings or Nek Chand’s Rock Garden (a huge garden that is an amazing example of folk art with everything from statues to waterfalls built out of garbage.)

We headed from Chandigarh to Shimla, the summer getaway of the British during the Raj. It is situated in the verdant green Himalayan foothills. The buildings are built into the sides of the hills giving stunning views of the surrounding valley.

Prior to arriving at our hotel, we wandered through the town that featured an odd array of buildings with a mixture of Indian and British (or even Swiss/Austrian) overtones.

Next morning got up and went for a walk through a lovely, forested residential area on our way towards the Hanuman Temple. Over the next 45 minutes, our guide kept saying, ‘We are meeting the cars five minutes ahead. The road is level” as we trudged ever higher. I think that he was trying to make us exercise to help us begin to adjust to the altitude.

The Hanuman (Monkey God) statue was perched on top of a hill overlooking Shimla. There were numerous monkeys hanging around the temple. The monkeys have learned that if they steal things from tourists, someone will throw them food and the people around the temple have learned that if you throw food at monkeys, tourists will pay you for getting you stuff back. Luckily, my driver warned me before getting out of the car so I stumbled my way around the temple with my glasses in my pocket. Several others from the group were not so lucky. Scott’s glasses were expertly pried off his head within seconds of getting out of the car!