Heading out of the smog of Delhi once more we caught the train at 5.55am up to Kalka.Bleary eyed and having condensed our baggage to one case- talk about travelling light- we stuffed the ubiquitous omeletes and wiled away the hours rapidly moving into the foothills of the Himalayas. After 6 hours of occupying each other we then frantically made a dash for the toy train- a narrow guage railway in order to wend our way Northwards. The scenery was absolutely awesome but a further 8 hours to travel 96 km pushed all bounds of tolerance- particularly when needing to share our prebooked seats with up to 5 other people- in all sharing a compartment for 10 people with 26!! This is the most 'Indian' train journey we have ever done- even more scary than the rickshaw hurtling through the backstreets of Delhi- and certainly one we're not bothered about repeating! Tired and grouchy having not eaten since breakfast we entered the amazing world that is Himachal, 'land of the gods.' Shimla is incredibly high up and the views are breathtaking.
We can see right down the valley and across the higher Himalayas and everywhere is so...built up amazingly. There are porters everywhere carrying all sorts of goods and immense numbers of steps due to the almost vertical inclines everywhere. Can't believe we're here in the Himalayas. Steve will tell you more about the Highest YMCA in the world which we had a great time at...but for now we'll sign off...must head for the bazaar- too many bargains to miss! Lots of love The Clays
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Finally managed to read blogs! How do you find time to write? Great adventure, you've really wet my appetite 4 riding elephants, hunting tigers, seeing all these amazing places and now, my ultimate dream,in the Himalayas!!never mind the train journey. Carry on having a fantastic time and bring back loads of fotos. Take care, lots of love Barb & Bob
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