Shimla:)

"We're going to Shimla", mom said. 

"NO WAY!", I screamed. But, obviously I strained my voice box unnecessarily because on Sunday we were sitting at the airport waiting to board the flight to Delhi. 

We reached Delhi a couple of hours after noon. We were greeted at the airport by my dad's friend. We were going to Shimla accompanied by uncle and aunty. It takes six hours to travel from Delhi to Shimla by vehicle. The journey was extremely smooth. The roads were so much better than the ones we had while travelling to Gangtok! We also stopped by a "dhaba", just for the experience. While these guys enjoyed tea, I was making unsuccessful attempts of capturing the setting sun. 

After we reached Shimla, we were really tired and straight away went to bed!

Next morning, we got ready and started exploring Shimla. The people were very sweet and helpful. Life's hard there. Climbing the slopes will leave you breathless(literally). Yet, students of all ages travel long distances on these mountains to reach their school. 

That day we visited Kuffri and the view from there was breathtaking. Here, you could see buses filled with tourists from all over India, who had come to soak in the beauty of Shimla. 

We also visited Chail Palace. In the evening, we went to the Mall Road. We saw the Church there, took lots of pictures and also visited The Indian Coffee House. The shops and buildings in that area had a victorian-era feel attached to them (Shimla had been the summer capital of British India). 

We went back to our hotel and I treated myself to a lavish dinner that involved about 5 different kinds of desserts! After that, we retired to our rooms. 

The next day, after breakfast, we started exploring Shimla once again. This was our last full day in Shimla. We visited a temple, which was built in a 'huge' area. Some construction work was still left. So, not many people were there. I felt that's how temples should be! Calm & peaceful. In most of the temples, we are constantly being pushed around and we hardly get to see the idol! 

The best part of the day was the Train ride. It was absolutely amazing. I recommend it to everyone. The train moved with moderate speed as the sun set behind the mountains, the trees partly hiding it from our view. We sang songs throughout the 45 minutes of our journey. We got down at a really small station where the car was waiting for us. 

The next day, we began our journey to Chandigarh, from where we had to board our flight. This trip had been great. We had a great company and that just added to the fun! So long Shimla! :)

Will post pictures sometime soon!