Our last quick trip -- and our last Indian train ride -- was to Shimla in the state of Himachal Predesh. We had some interesting visits on health care and some great walks.
There is no air service to Shimla, so we took a funky little old train through the mountains in the western Himalayas. The train, running on a narrow track, was built by the Brits in 1900 for transportation between Delhi and Shimla.
Shimla served as the British summer capital of India during the 6 months that Delhi bakes. Given Delhi's heat, it was a great decision for the Brits --
and for us to escape to the cool mountains! There are no Brits left, just a lot of Indians living in a cool, clean, marvelous city on the side of a mountain. Lots of wonderful old crumbling British architecture as reminders of the colonial past. And a great train ride.
Known as the toy train
 |
| The snow-capped Himalayans in the distance |
 |
| Shimla about 2000 meters above sea level |
 |
| One of the old British government buildings, now the home of Himachal Pradesh government. We met with the chief State Health Officer in this building. A bit of a wreck of a building, but nifty. |
 |
| The other side of the same building on the pedestrian-only street |
Monkeys, monkeys everywhere and not always friendly
 |
| Perfect day for an English garden in India. Ken took a true nap under a tree, and Caroline strolled. |
One of the prettiest stretches of the 3 mile long pedestrian road in Shimla. This road goes from woods to the commercial and historic center of the city and than back to wooded areas.
No comments:
Post a Comment