Two months back, we had been to Manali, so I didn't want to go to Shimla now, nor did Vimal. But we ended up here. From Delhi, after eating at Vimal's favorite Chandni Chowk, we got into a long bus, where I had to fight with a very furious lady who wouldn't let us adjust our semi-sleeper seat. Such people ruin the mood and make me hate traveling.
Coming to Shimla, we reached here by morning. It's a little cold here, but not harsh. To my notice, Shimla is super clean. The roadside, shops, even the drainage seems clean, which is surprisingly new to me with my experience of traveling in India. Mostly, traveling in India makes me hate the government for keeping this country dirty, even the capital, where the ministers must be traveling every day, is kept super dirty. This is the first time a place has surprised me totally the other way.
Shimla surprised me in many ways, aside from its cleanliness. The entire hill station is covered with buildings, arranged so elegantly that every view offers a hill of buildings, which are covered with green or red roofs, giving it an iconic look. Even the hilltops have big, huge buildings. Here, lifts are paid for in many places because one has to use them to get to the buildings that are above that level, and you have to climb so many stairs to reach any building. It's steep, full of buildings, yet so organized. Locals here take these stairs up and down with such ease, while I struggle to get from one place to another. We reached our hotel, "The Bridge View", by 8 o'clock. Unfortunately, no rooms were vacant, and we waited in the terrace, which faced the mountains. There, we met an elderly lady who was enjoying a nice cup of tea. She was traveling with her husband on their retirement tour.
Retirement travelers are so calm to watch. They are not obsessed with taking pictures or showing the world that they are traveling; instead, they seem to be simply enjoying the moment. Our conversation continued about the places to see, her love for South Indian food, and more.
I had some work to do, so this trip is more like a workcation for me. I completed my tasks, had breakfast, and we got our room by 11:30. The hotel is really nice, and I would recommend it if you're reading this and planning to travel here someday. It's super clean, moderately priced, and within walking distance of the tourist spots. As usual, Vimal came down with a fever on the very first day. He usually gets fever and cold when we travel to cold places. We ended up sleeping for the entire day. By night, hunger took us to Mall Road, which is a road lined with shops on both sides. It wasn't as crowded as the Mall Road in Manali, and it was a little quieter. Manali's Mall Road was more vibrant, and here the travelers were mostly families, not college students like in Manali. We had chocolate coffee, rum coffee, and dinner. Siddu is the local dish here, just like in Manali but we couldn't get one as most of the shops started closing by 9, and we returned to our room early.
On the second day, we started out by 11, had some food from local shops, including paneer kathi roll and kukrej, and reached the church and the Jakhu Temple. Churches are so calm and serene; I could sit there for hours. When I was studying in Kochi, I used to go and sit in the nearby church for hours. The Jakhu Temple is a famous Hanuman temple, featuring a huge Hanuman statue that can be seen from Mall Road as well. We took a cable car to reach the temple, which is located at the top of the hill. The climb was impossible for us, yet many people were climbing by foot. We had food from the temple, which was indeed delicious. There were a lot of monkeys around, and I swear I saw a monkey with a tooth sticking out of its nose!
At night, we went out again for food hunting, tracked down the famous Trishul Bakers, and had some cheesecake. We also came across Spoony, another dish we had seen on YouTube, but was mediocre. The night was even more vibrant at the pub we went to, called Pyramid. A big family with their kids made it a great dinner night and party. The sheesha was strong, and I almost fell asleep; it was morning by the time I came back to my senses. Vimal was down with a fever again - poor thing! A lot more food that night, some walnuts to take home, and goodbye Shimla!
1/4/25
Shimla
