Get it INDIA

[Jacques Vert]

Shimla

After driving all day we arrive at our destination, Shimla:

Well I did say we had been driving all day

Our digs for the next two nights were the Radisson Jass...

The outdoor deck area. It was much too cold for me to sit out here. We are at 2,276 metres elevation and it is quite fresh. The short sleeve shirt has been replaced by two jackets, my QPR beanie and my ski gloves (no, there won't be any photos).

Get it India...

The Radisson Jass is a nice hotel and the staff very friendly, service is good.

If you are heading this way, you may also wish to check out these two heritage hotels (or should that be check-in). Both were booked out at the time we were there:

5 Star Luxury Hotels & Resorts in Shimla | The Oberoi Cecil Shimla

Clarkes Hotel Shimla - Heritage Grand Hotel on Mall Road, Shimla

 

[Jacques Vert]

Shimla 2

Shimla is the capital of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, in the Himalayan foothills.
















Yes, that's the Himalayas in the background:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Shimla 3

In a former life, Shimla was the summer capital of the British Raj. The original administrative centre of British India was Calcutta (now Kolkata), before being moved to Delhi. Both Calcutta and Delhi were a little too hot for the British in summer, so from 1864 they would move the administration to Shimla every summer, a distance of more than 1,700km from Calcutta, and back again when things cooled off.

So for 6 to 8 months every year, the small town of Shimla administered British India which at that time consisted of modern day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and at various times also included Aden, Burma, Singapore, British Somaliland and some other territories.

Of course if you're British and you find yourself in the Himalayas, you would prefer things to look and feel a little more "British"; so you build in the Tudor and Gothic style...





Notice the wrought iron fences





and the lamp posts








The building on the right was originally 5 storeys, complete with flying buttresses but was partly demolished when it became structurally unstable.





It is now the Cultural Centre and the Gaiety Theatre inside has survived...




The theatre was designed/built by Henry Irwin in 1887.
Rudyard Kipling and others of his time performed here and it still attracts groups of performers from England








Of course, the Viceroy must have appropriate (and imposing) accommodation from which to represent the King and to deal with the affairs of state. So you bring in a Scottish architect and a few artisans and...





Gandhi, Nehru and many others visited the Viceroy here and it was here in 1945 that the Shimla Conference was held. According to Wikipedia (Simla Conference - Wikipedia):

The Simla Conference 1945 was a meeting between the Viceroy and the major political leaders of British India at Simla, India. Convened to agree on and approve the Wavell Plan for Indian self-government, and there it reached a potential agreement for the self-rule of India that provided separate representation for Muslims and reduced majority powers for both communities in their majority regions.

Talks, however, stalled on the issue of selection of Muslim representatives. Seeking to assert itself and its claim to be the sole representative of Indian Muslims, the All-India Muslim League refused to back any plan in which the Indian National Congress, the dominant party in the talks, appointed Muslim representatives.[1] This scuttled the conference, and perhaps the last viable opportunity for a united, independent India.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Shimla 4

By now I'm sure you realise that Shimla consists of lots of narrow streets and steps (and heavy traffic on the main roads), so lots of stuff is transported manually.

Here are a couple of brickies' labourers hard at work:










And the local delivery man (not quite so hard at work):




There is a cable car that takes you up to...






A Temple devoted to Hanuman, the Monkey God...





Complete with a Monkey God statue:




and monkeys




and the Himalayas are never far away:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Shimla - a last look:

A few final photos of Shimla before he head downhill the following day.

This is Shimla's answer to the Good Guys::





The local version of Ibis Budget?





The Viceroy's garden (with a Rose Garden a little further down the path):




And of course a couple of @drron 's to finish off...

 

[Jacques Vert]

The Toy Train

When Shimla became the summer capital of British India in 1864, everything (including documents, filing cabinets, etc.) was transported back and forth every summer the full 1,700km from Calcutta by a combination of train, horse and cart, and even elephants.

The administration decided this couldn't continue forever so between 1898 and 1903 they built the KSR (Kalka to Shimla Railway).

Note the narrow (2' 6") gauge:








and the small, short carriages:




The combination of narrow gauge and small carriages give the KSR the ability to turn tight corners at a minimum radius of 37.5 metres.

According to Wikipedia, the Shanghai Maglev can reach speeds of >600km/h; the French TGV has reached 575 km/h. The KSR covers 96km in 5.5 hours at an average speed of 17.5 km/h however, to be fair, that includes stops. Between stops we did reach at least 40 km/h on occasions; after all, we were going downhill!

For those who enjoy historic train travel, this is a hoot; for others, a couple of hours is more than enough. We thoroughly enjoyed our journey but I should point out that there were some spare seats in our carriage and it was autumn. Not sure it would be quite as enjoyable in a full carriage in the height of summer.






It's not surprising that the terrain is quite hilly and is, of course, one of the reasons the train is so slow.





One of my new friends on the train advised that the flat area in the next two photos is the new Shimla Airport just (or about to be) opened






The KSR, together with 2 other mountain railways in India, were world heritage listed in 2008.

There isn't a lot of room in the carriages but what can you expect for a fare of $5-24 per person including booking fee? Less than $1 per hour...BARGAIN!

 

[Jacques Vert]

No toilets, no air conditioning, no buffet car

But you can buy food (and go you know where) at a couple of stations where the train stops for a few minutes...










The chap on the left told me that I looked like his Uncle's twin! Given his skin colour and mine, I thought he was having me on at first. But I was assured that a lot of people in this part of India are very fair skinned so who am I to argue?







We didn't buy any food so these three local chaps insisted that we share theirs:

 

[JohnM]

Great stuff @Jacques Vert! You've captured the amazing shambolicness of India perfectly.

Thanks for the Shimla heads-up; I'll be there in September .

 

[jjj777ccc]

Loving this TR!

 

[Jacques Vert]

Great stuff @Jacques Vert! You've captured the amazing shambolicness of India perfectly.

Thanks for the Shimla heads-up; I'll be there in September .

Loving this TR!

Glad you are enjoying the TR; perhaps a little more on the Toy Train...

 

[Jacques Vert]

More on the KSR (the Toy Train)

First a few facts: the Kalka - Shimla Railway has 103 tunnels (longest is 1.14km), 988 bridges, 3 loops and a 3% gradient.

I'm also told that Indian Railways is the world's largest employer with approximately 1.5 million employees, has the third largest network (after Russia and China) but has the highest passenger count.







This gives an idea of how sharply it can turn:



















Officially you are supposed to drive on the left in India and no, this is not a one-way street; there was a similar line-up on the other side of the track and when the train passes you just sort things out. Quite interesting that there was no road-rage that we saw, anywhere; people just work with each other and life goes on...




Kalka station; the end of the line for us. From here it's a short walk to another platform to catch a mainline train. But we were not catching another train as Mob, our driver, was waiting to drive us to our hotel in Chandigarh.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Kalka Street Scenes














The natives are friendly

 

[Jacques Vert]

Chandigarh

Our digs for the night was the Holiday Inn. This would have to be one of the nicest Holiday Inns I've ever stayed at. We were upgraded to a nice suite...












Our view by day...







There was some entertainment as a couple were celebrating a milestone wedding anniversary (excellent)...




There was a sensational buffet at the princely sum of $A23 per head (+ drinks)







Our view at night

 

[Jacques Vert]

Halloween

I'm not into Halloween myself but the chefs at the Holiday Inn certainly were...

Get it India!

 

[Jacques Vert]

On the Road Again (heading northwest)




























Why would you do this to a Merc? Maybe google Amrit Saab or look for him on YouTube or Twitter.

 

[Jacques Vert]

A Roadhouse

There are a few of these roadhouses along the main highways and generally they're clean and with good food. At least the ones Mob took us to were...

 

[Jacques Vert]

Amritsar

Our digs for the next two nights; the Hyatt Amritsar













Nice enough but not up to the standard of the Holiday Inn in Chandigarh.

 

[RooFlyer]

Could you give some idea of the drive time between the various towns? Handy to know as they are rarely what Google would tell you.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Could you give some idea of the drive time between the various towns? Handy to know as they are rarely what Google would tell you.

Hmmm...hard to say as we often stopped to look at sites or have a break along the way.

However, from memory:

Delhi to Shimla: 7 to 8 hours (lots of roadworks particularly after the monsoon season)
Kalka to Chandigarh: 1 hour
Chandigarh to Amritsar: 4 hours

 

[kermatu]

Late aboard, but waving to @kermatu from 1A.

Goes to show how big and private the EK F cabin is - I only just noticed you waving.

Wonderful TR. Had many trips to India as a kid but only just returned briefly for the first time as a grown-up last year. Very keen to visit again (and again).