Wednesday 12 February

Shimla

A quiet, restful day in Shimla. A few days ago I had an irritating cough that has now become a proper cold and I fear that I’ve passed it on to Matthew, who I’m pretty sure had a slight fever. Ugh!

We had a nice breakfast in the hotel and chatted with the Australian couple who were beside us in the train yesterday.

We wondered about taking a walk to Chadwick Falls – about 5km / 3 miles away, but reception staff advised against that as there’s very little water falling at this time and year. 

Instead of Chadwick Falls we went for a stroll into town. Shimla has many buildings in the Victorian gothic, Scottish baronial and Edwardian ‘Jacobethan’ or ‘Tudorbethan’ style … some have new bright red or green metal roofs. The buildings are stacked against the steep hillside.

Some of the signage on the shops is from the 1950s … or even earlier. The main street in Shimla, The Mall is traffic-free – so it’s a nice place to people watch and enjoy the sunshine. Just above the Mall is a plateaux called the Ridge – a high point in Shimla with with wonderful views in all directions. 

Lots of British built buildings in Shimla have been repurposed – the viceregal lodge (Rashtrapato Niwas – or presidential residence) was built in 1888. The Simla conference of 1945 to finalise the plan for Indian self-governance took place here. The decision to carve out Pakistan and East Pakistan from India was also taken here in 1947. The building now belongs to the Ministry of Education.

Near our hotel ‘The Retreat’ is the official summer residence of the president of India. 

The Ridge had a statue of Ghandi ‘the father of the nation’ and a plaque explaining that in Gandhi visited Shimla several times between 1921 and 1946 and that in 1931, Mahatma Gandhi addressed a huge rally on the Ridge. Christ church is also on the ridge – a very recognisable Anglican church with a square tower – although it’s painted yellow and gold.

It was amusing to notice so many locals wrapped up warm in puffa jackets and woolly hats – whereas we found it comfortably warm!

We headed back to our hotel for the afternoon – we’ve a lovely balcony view and it was good to recharge a bit before we make our way to Delhi tomorrow.