Penguin Travels: 12 India

Day 13 – Shimla

I woke up at 0430, but could not do anything because it was too dark to read and the hot water did not come on until 0700. So I tossed and turned for ages and tried to get back to sleep. Eventually I gave up and dashed between the curtains to sit in the bay of the window. It was brilliant daylight, so I could read, but I did feel a bit exposed, sitting on the floor in my nightie – and a bit chilly.

I was soon spotted by one of the hotel dogs, who decided to bark furiously. It was the first decorative dog I had seen in the whole of India. All the other dogs we had seen had been very similar, with short sandy-coloured hair and, as often as not, bad mange. They were far too busy with scraping a living even to think of yapping at strange apparitions in windows.

I hoped none of the waiters spotted me, especially when I stood up – never a gainly activity when I have been sitting on the floor.

At last it was late enough to use the bathroom. The shower unit was like nothing I have ever seen before. I think you needed at least two A-levels, if not a degree to be able to work it! It was a silver mass of knobs, a wheel, sundry indentations and two shower heads. I managed to turn the water on and was hit by several horizontal jets of very cold water. It seemed like ages before I worked out that turning the wheel caused the water to flow from one of the shower heads. Eventually the warm water started to come through and I ended up having quite a nice shower.

I got dressed and applied all my lotions and potions – including insect repellent and sun-tan cream – and finally left the bathroom at 0730. Jill was still asleep, so I grabbed my book and dashed out the room to leave her in peace.

I saw Rafeeq downstairs and asked for a chair to be put in the window so I was more comfortable the next morning.

Developed Hillside Around Shimla

After breakfast, I went for a walk to try to spot some birds and met up with Bob. I saw a parrot near to the bus stop at the bottom of the road and then we walked past the shops and round the corner, hoping for views of green mountainsides. We were disappointed, because everywhere was covered in new build, showing how fast the city was expanding.

At 10 a.m. we got into taxis and headed towards the Monkey Temple. We were given all sorts of warnings: keep a tight hold of all possessions; don’t wear glasses; carry a stick; it’s a steep climb with lots of stairs. This put off some of our group, including Rafeeq, so they stayed down by the taxis. The rest of us set off on the climb – and reached the top in no time as it was not very far at all.

Monkey Temple

Monkey Temple and Monkey

There were a few monkeys beside the stairs and I broke one of the rules and stared at it. It hissed and bared its teeth, but that was the only time any of them paid us any attention. Instead they were interested in digging for ants to eat, grooming and a bit of sex. There was a very small monkey who was still trying to master the art of digging and would rather have spent time playing with the other monkeys. One couple looked very cute, grooming each other on a wall. We watched them for a while but it did get a bit x-rated as he proceeded to mount her at least four times. Each time, apart from the last, it was all over in seconds. Just as well, since he stood on her calves, which must have been very uncomfortable if not painful. We were very impressed by another monkey, which climbed onto the sink by the temple, turned the tap on and had a drink.

From the very top of the hill, we managed to catch a glimpse of snow-capped mountains far in the distance, but this was the only time we saw them. We were so busy watching and photographing the monkeys, that we did not have time to go in the temple. We strolled back down to the cars and told the others what they had missed.

Governor's House

Some of the bends were difficult for the cars to negotiate. Some required a three-point turn at the corners to get the correct alignment to continue down. We drove on to another ridge in order to visit the Governor’s house.

Part of the Garden

Friendly Boy Scouts - and Me

This historic building did not open until noon, so we strolled round the gardens, waiting for it to open. The flowers were past their best, but still very pretty. A group of Sikh boy scouts approached and chatted to us. They were attending a jamboree nearby. We took their photo and they used my camera to take a picture of me with them. One of the scouts assured me that they were “very responsible” people, so it was safe to let them use my camera. He gave me an email address and asked me to send the photo, which I did when I got home.

Chandelier in the Library

Wood-Panelled Interior

We were only allowed into a few rooms of the Governor’s House as it is now a study institute. The library was in the former ballroom, so was graced with some impressive chandeliers. All the rooms were wood panelled, with decorative wooden ceilings and floors, giving them the air of a gentleman’s club (not that I’ve ever been in one).

Historic Table

We went into the conference room where they had the meeting to agree the partition of India. Another room had the very table which they had sat around and, on the walls, photos of the main protagonists – Gandhi, Nehru and Jinnah. The final room had a photo display, showing scenes from the historic meetings. Lord and Lady Mountbatten were prominent in the photo display but there were other photos around the walls of earlier viceroys of India and their wives. It was almost incredible that such a small, very British building had such a prominent place in the history of India and Pakistan. But this building had been the seat of government for the whole sub-continent during the summer months in the time of the British Raj.

Ambassador

As we left, I took my hoped-for photo of an Ambassador car and then we had a look in the gift shop and restaurant, which was in the old fire-station. The gift shop was disappointing and concentrated on books which were aimed more at the students in the Institute rather than tourists.

Lift to the Mall

Then we were taken into town, where Rafeeq took us up in the lift to the traffic free “Mall” area, where we were left for the rest of the day. The lift was a wonderful contraption. We went up several levels from the car park and then had to walk to the second stage, which took us up to Mall level.

We were all a bit stunned when Rafeeq left us, and not sure what we should do with the rest of the day. So we decided that the first move should be to eat. By coincidence, we were standing in front of the roof café of the Hotel Combemere, so we decided to go in there. We took up two tables. Sue, Ken, Bob and I sat on one and the rest were on the other. It was quite novel to be in a roof top restaurant at street level, but the views from the far window were wonderful. I went out and took some photos of the hillside. It was quite an adventure to find the facilities. It required taking the lift down to level 4. In the lift, I chatted to a lady who worked in the hotel beauty salon and her daughter. She was very friendly and it was nice to speak to an Indian lady for a change. Then I had to walk across another roof and enter the hotel and then go down a flight of stairs and eventually found the public toilet. Quite a trek! Then back up in the lift where I enjoyed the views once again. The food was very nice and our table was served much more quickly than the others. So we left them to their meal and headed off to explore the Mall.

Shimla - the Mall and the Ridge

Sue and Ken went off together along the Upper Mall so Bob and I decided to start with the Lower Mall. The shops here sold things which the people living in Shimla would want to buy rather than souvenirs. They were quite busy and sold a wide range of goods. At the end of the street, we decided to climb up some side steps leading to the Upper Mall. I was glad that we were going up and not down. There were lots and lots of stairs, some quite narrow and not all well maintained. Still, we made it and eventually came out by a large map on the Upper Mall.

The Post Office

The map pointed to somewhere called Scandal Point, which Bob remembered seeing on the itinerary. So we decided to head there. This involved climbing even more stairs to the Ridge, where we met up with Ken and Sue. We looked at the first church and then the Post Office with its famous red roof. Then we leaned on the wall and watched some monkeys on the other side of the Ridge.

There were two different types of monkeys here. In addition to the rhesus monkeys, which we had seen throughout our trip, there were black-faced langurs with very long tails and thinner, longer bodies. The monkeys’ actions and body language indicated that they were very aware of each other, but they seemed to ignore people completely. I took a photo of one and missed the best shot of the holiday because the others said that a monkey got very close to me and I had not noticed. One small monkey was eating a chapatti on a corrugated roof just over the Ridge.

The Tudor Town Hall

Upper Mall from The Ridge

Sue and Ken vanished and Bob and I kept strolling around. Although the Mall and Ridge area was a traffic free zone, I nearly got knocked over at least twice by the ambulance which passed along the ridge several times. We met up with our scouting friends from the morning and promised to send the photo on. We chatted to four other scouts who said that they were camping together with scouts from four different states a few miles away from town. We said goodbye and walked towards the white church, which was shut and then got back on to the Upper Mall.

Jewellery Maker and Seller

Bob was looking for a present for his girlfriend, so a stall selling ethnic jewellery caught our eye. The lady said that she made most of the items, so I looked at the bangles. I decided to buy two sets: one red and authentic; the other pink and turquoise and not authentic, but a better match to most of my clothes. I put a set on each wrist and took a photo of the lady. Bob bought two chunky necklaces.

We walked on and decided to look for a bank as the hotel did not change money and I was getting low on Rupees. I was also building up a small debt to Bob as I was unable to change a large denomination note and he kept on providing the change. We saw some good exchange rates in the Icici bank near the Post Office. We put our money together and changed £40. It was quite a long process, requiring photocopies of my passport and visa and producing two computer print outs and a requisition slip. I had to sign my life away several times. Eventually we were given Rs3015, which was better than the usual £1=Rs70 given in the hotels. But it was such a performance, that I could see why Rafeeq recommended using the hotels to exchange money.

Love those Hats!

We took some more photos of the soldiers who where wearing fancy yellow hats and then started to make our way down to the main road. As we walked down the hill, we saw a third church and passed some military buildings. Some of the descent was down stairs, but we mostly took the winding roads. There was not much traffic during the descent, but that changed when we finally hit the main road. We were glad of a protected walkway beside the road. Just after we passed the chaotic bus station, we noticed a taxi place. We were quoted a fare of Rs150 back to the hotel, less than Rafeeq had said, so we climbed in and were soon home. Not long after, the other six in our group came back. They said that they had seen us on the Ridge, but we had not seen them since lunch.

Bob and I had coffee and some of the wonderful looking cakes in the entrance to the hotel. The cakes proved to be a disappointment as they were slightly stale. Later on we went to the hotel restaurant as did everyone else except Ken and Sue, who went back into town for dinner. I had a very high carb meal – potato curry, naan and rice. But it was tasty. Back in funds, I tried a local brandy, which was my first alcohol on the holiday and surprisingly pleasant.

Animal Corner