Day 9 - Apr 13 - Shimla

Day 9 dawned with the realization that this is the day we are leaving Shimla. We got up, checked out of hotel and drove to the railway station to put the luggages in the cloak room. Our train was not until 6.15PM and it was only 11AM when we put the things in the cloak room and walked out to roam around the mall road.

We drove back to the lift and climbed to the mall road. Lunch was in the restaurant in Hotel Combermere, which was expensive and the food was just OK. Then we decided to raom around for a while before getting back the station.

J was buying some stuff and we again got into a fight. Then again, we made it up faster than it took to pick up the fight and after lingering around the mall road for sometime, we walked downhill towards the station. On the way lies the 'Indian Cofee house' aka the Indian Starbucks (without the frills and the choices, but then you dont get sambar vadas in Starbucks either). The coffee tasted very good but the building itself looks run down.

Then the moment came for us to embark on the 4.5hour journey downhill in the seperate coupe for the 8 of us. I booked this time in the Kalka-Shimla passenger in first class and it was fantastic. But once the ride started and the sunset was over, we were killing time to reach Kalka. After an uneventful and very boring ride to Kalka, boarded the Kalka-Howrah mail to reach back to Old Delhi station the next morning.

Day 7 - Apr 11 - Kalka - Shimla - Part 2

Mall road was about a kilometer and half from the hotel and we started by walking to the lift. The Lift is actually a lift, of course, and for 7Rs, it takes you to the lower part of the Mall. It was very conveniant as it meant you dont have to walk the steep mountain to reach the Mall.

The Mall road is probably the center piece of Shimla and you basically come out of the lift and you are already in the Mall road. There are shops on both sides of the road and you can walk yourself to the square where the Christchurch is and it is a big area where you can rest or walk around.

We walked to the square area after doing a little shopping and stopped on the top of the Mall. The kids and me along with my brother, sis-in-law and all of us took our turns with the horse ride in that place and a lot of pictures and walked into the Lakkar bazaar are which lies a bit off.
J did a little shopping here and there, ate an wonderful omeltte in the road side and as the night was approaching, all of the mountain is lit up and you start wondering where the mountains are. The entire area is full of buildings or constructions and may be, Shimla would've been a paradise 30-40 years back. We started walking back to the hotel by about 7.45PM (most of the shops are closed by this time). Had our dinner in the hotel restaurant, which by the way, was very good and went to bed.

Day 7 - Apr 11 - Kalka - Shimla - Part 1

Day 7 started very early in the morning at around 4.45am in Kalka. Thats exactly when the Howrah-Kalka Mail reached Kalka after an overnight journey which was punctuated by a lot of stops (Ambala, Chandigarh etc) before reaching Kalka. The toy train ride starts from here.

We booked in the Shivalik Delux express which starts from Kalka at 5.30am and does the climb to Shimla in about 4.5hours time. This narrow gauge train is unmistakeble in the the station with a smaller size than the normal trains with Shatabti style seating arranged at only about 20 seats per coach.

We boarded the coach which unfortunately was dirty and had some old curtains. The kids were all excited to see the toy train and board it. We were seated and there is an attendant for every coach and breakfast is served on board. The train started on time and started climbing within minutes.

There were a lot of small stations on the way maintained probably the same way as they were in the days they were built. It was fantastic to watch the sun rise and feel the slow chilling of air. As for greenery there is not much left as most of the woods are lost and one cannot see a decent mountain/valley view till the Barog station is crossed. Most of the mountain is now feeling the impact of terrace farming and the slash and burn policy that is being followed all around.

Breakfast was served in Barog (which is the only stop in the ride) and it was nothing to write about. The Barog station itself is beautiful with old-British style buildings and quaint little platforms.

Once the novelty wears off in about 1-2 hours, the travel becomes a bit taxing and I started sleeping. When I got up, we were nearing Shimla and the kids are tired and were either sleeping or were bored.

Shimla itself looks beautiful when the train approaches the station and Sibi was ecstatic after looking at the turntable in the station and was explaining what it is to my brother.

We were booked in the Hotel Holiday Home run by HPTDC and we took a taxi to the hotel. Mercifully, the check-in was smooth and after getting into the room, I just crashed. After sleeping for about a couple of hours, pulled myself out of the bed and started for the Mall Road.

Day 6 - Apr 10 - Delhi

After travelling for 4 continuous days with the kids, we thought of taking it easy a bit and roam around Delhi for the day. Left Vanathy with mom and dad and hopped on a car with J, Sibi, Abhishek and Prasanna and headed towards the city.

We drove straight to the National Rail Museum. When I was searching for the things to do in Delhi, this one popped up and immediately landed in the must-see list for Sibi. He still hasn't gotten over his affair with trains and so we decided to show him a lot of trains in the museum.

On entering we realized that how famous this museum is with the kids a lot of school trips going on in the place. There on the display are the different engines and coaches from different time periods of the country's rail network. There is a little joy ride you can take which takes you through the different exhibits and a museum which houses lot of miniatures and artifacts. But sadly most of the exhibits are near neglect stage and will not survive another generation unless somebody takes charge and put things in order.

From the museum we drove to Teenmurti Bhavan, which houses the Nehru memorial museum. The grounds and the house are huge with a lot of care taken to keep everything preserved well. It was a great experience to walk through the house which once was lively with the most aristocratic family of India. Most impressive was the huge library that is housed in the museum and I think Sibi was eagerly listening to J explaining the significance of each of the exhibits and the hundreds of photos.

Next was to Indira Gandhi's house and pretty much the same routine happened. It was actually impressive that one family has produced so many people who have worked, served and died in the service of this country. Most tragic of all was the exhibit surrounding Rajiv and it was a life cut short so young, had he been alive, the kind of vision that would've driven this country may have been completly fresh. But its one of those 'what if?' scenarios which may not come true, after all.

We drove from here to Connaught Circle and had lunch in the McDonalds there. Of course, the visit was primarily for Sibii and whats a visit to Delhi without taking a ride in the Metro. So got into the Metro from Rajiv Chowk and travelled the length of the line and returned back. I should say it was most impressive that the entire network is kept so clean and ofcourse, disciplined.

We drove back to Gurgaon by 4PM and took a much needed break before the next leg of our travel started.

We started again at around 7PM for the Old Delhi railway station and on the way had a look at the Red fort and after swimming through the traffic, reached the station by 9PM to realize that the train we are supposed to take was late. So bought some dinner and waited for the train to come. Train did came at about 9.50PM and we boarded the Howrah-Kalka Mail for going to Kalka and from there onwards to Shimla.