Aub´s Top Recommendations in Shimla

Check out the Harry Potter film set that is the Viceregal Lodge
Get lost amongst the alleyways of the Middle Bazaar
Spend the sunrise at Scandal Point and along the Ridge. A great place to people watch at any time of day
Enjoy a espresso machiato at Coffee Day on The Mall
Enjoy a sunset snack at the Fiesta Food Court, next to Hotel Willow Banks and Spa. A grilled chicken and cheese sandwich with coleslaw and fries, plus a glass of limca will set you back Rp135.
Stay at the clean and friendly Spars Lodge. The steamed trout is awesome and they boast some of the softest towels in India!

Shelter and Sustenance in Shimla

Taken from Lonely Planet´s “Our Pick”, I´ve been staying at the clean and quiet Spars Lodge close to the State Museum. At Rp615 it is more expensive than I normally like to pay, but having checked out some of the surrounding hotels and guest houses, it really is good value, even if it is a bit of a walk into the centre.

The best meal I have eaten in Shimla has been the Lodge´s Grilled Trout with veg and a choice of potatoes in a lemon butter sauce. Rp250/300/350 for small/medium/large fish.

Whilst the food has been fair/good, I did not find anything excellent.

I did try and check out the exclusive Oberoi Cecil´s dinner banquet. After all, this town has a reputation for Raj extravagance. However I´m told they are very busy this week and “cannot accommodate” me. Maybe it´s because I´m looking a bit like an an unshaven ageing hippy. Lonely Planet quotes the set dinner at Rp780. The hotel does looks packed with elderly Yorkshire couples and American tour parties.

Tara Bhojnalya offers both veg and non-veg Indian and Chinese snacks and mains. The chicken tikka was succulent although overly garnished with coriander for my tastes. It lies to the west of the Mall opposite the junction with Cart Road.

The Dim Sum Chinese restaurant on the western side of the Mall offers an interesting menu of Chinese veg and non-veg dishes including chicken in orange and plum sauce and garlic butter chilly prawns (Rp230). Prices for mains cost Rp125 up. I had the golden fried lamb chops which was a little overcooked and heavy on the ginger and Five Spice.

I couldn´t resist the Domino´s take away. Good 10” pizzas will cost fromRp220 for veg and Rp280 for non-veg.

I have been enjoying breakfasts at Indian Coffee House also on the Mall. Looking a little worn, the waiters are still dressed up to the nines. A little touch of the Raj. A cheese omelette, two buttered toasts and a black coffee can be had for Rp60.

The Coffee Day Café has branches in many major cities and larger towns throughout India. An assortment of hot and cold coffees and a variety of sandwiches and snacks are also available. An espresso will set you back Rp29. There is also a Barista which is currently being refurbished.

The Fiesta Food Court is on the Eastern side of the Mall next to Hotel Willow Banks. Another nice terrace, particularly pleasant at sunset. The do veg and non-veg snacks. I can recommend the grilled chicken and cheese sandwich with fries and coleslaw. Throw in a Limca and it will cost you Rp135.

Himani´s boasts an excellent roof-top bar and restaurant with a prime people-watching location. A must for beer-drinkers, but if you are tea-teetotaller like myself, they do a mighty fine sweet lassi. Smoking is positively encouraged!

The Honey Hut offers a variety of honey-based drinks and snacks. The honey lassi was okay, and their honey softy ice-creams are a Rp10 bargain. A variety of liquid golden amber are sold in jars.

St Michael´s Cathedral and Lower Bazaar

This afternoon I checked out St Michael´s Catholic cathedral on my way to the Lower Bazaar below the Mall. The cathedral dates from 1885 at the request of Lord Ripon, the then Roman Catholic Viceroy. Originally named St Michael´s and St Joseph, no-one seems sure why his name was dropped. Both saints are honoured on stained glass windows.

What a contrast between the Mall and the Lower Bizarre! The maze of small alleyways was crawling with shoppers. The bustle and noise reminded me this is a thriving town rather than just a hill-station and a popular place for Indian honeymooners.

Everything is up for sale - from haberdashery, shoes, food, fruit and veg. Chaos abounds in true Indian market fashion!

The light in the late afternoon was gorgeous today.

Some more photos can be accessed here.

Jakhu/Jakoo Temple

Dedicated to Hanuman - the Monkey-God, little is known of this temple´s history. First written evidence appeared in the journals of Captain Alexander Gerard in 1817. One popular legend claims that Bhagwan Hanuman dropped a sandal here whilst searching for the Savini plant, to cure the mortally wounded on the battlefield in Lanka.

Situated at an altitude of 2455 metres to the East of the Ridge, it is a steep climb up. I decided to hike, but you can ride a horse up for about Rp400 of a taxi will set you back Rp250 return.

The hiking path can be found to the left of the church. A sign at the bottom of the path from the Temple Trust asks the hiker to “Test Your Physical Fitness”. It claims that for those aged under 30 will score the following times:-
Less Than 30 minutes - “Absolutely Fit”
30 to 45 minutes - “Fit”
Over 60 minutes - “Unfit”

Those over 70 are “Fit” if they can climb the trail at all!

The path heads up steeply through monkey-laden pine forests. My drink seller insists I borrow a stick for a “mere Rp30”. I arrive at the top without assault from monkeys in 24 minutes. "Superhero Fit" status methinks.

There are a couple of cafes at the top.

Himalayan Bird Park

Found opposite to the entrance of the Viceregal Lodge, this small aviary boasts a few geeese, and lot of chickens, which seem to often squabble with a few colourful pheasants. One of these pheasants is the camera-shy Monal Pheasant (photo below), the official state bird of Himachal Pradesh. It´s plumage is even more beautiful than the mythical Norwegian Blue.

There is also a display of some rather warped examples of taxidermy. Moth-worn exhibits include ibex, assorted dear, a brown bear, leopard and snow leopard.

Admission costs Rp20 with an additional Rp10 camera charge. It is open Tuesday to Sunday between 10am - 5pm. It is closed on Mondays.

Himachal State Museum and Library

I felt as this was the State Museum, I would ignore Paolo Coelho´s travel advise and visit this state showpiece.

The museum boasts an impressive collection of a variety of stuff including weapons, embroidery, jewellery, temple carvings, brass statues, etc. from the region set in several rooms on two floors.

Coins, dolls and stamp collection, don´t really do it for me, but I particularly enjoyed the wall relief, wall paintings and Mogul miniatures.

The museum is open from 10am every day apart from Mondays when it is closed. It lies west from Scandal Point along the Mall. Admission for foreigners is Rp50 with a very hefty Rp100 for cameras.

Viceregal Lodge and Botanical Gardens

In typically flamboyant Raj style, the Viceregal Lodge was designed by the Irish architect Henry Irwin and was built in 1888 for the Viceroy of India, which during the time was the Earl of Dufferin.

It became the official headquarters of The Empire used for almost seven months of Summer (March to October), until Indian independence in 1948. It was also used to discuss the partitioning of the sub-continent.

Accurately described by Lonely Planet as a mix between the Tower of London and Hogwarts, the opulence of such a building is frightening, especially when you think of all the materials required being transported up 2200 metres by mules.

The interior on the walls and ceilings, is made from Burmese teak and the floorboards from local pine. Almost all the features are original, including armchairs, a sprinkle system activated when temperature rise above 60 degrees and even electricity sockets!

You can enjoy a half hour guided tour of five of the lower rooms which includes the entrance hall, a meeting room, a waiting room and a room now converted to an old photographic gallery. You can also see the table where the Declaration of Independence was signed. I am in a group of about twenty Indian tourists, with 50% behaving badly! The guide scolds them in true teacher fashion!

The building was given an extravagant present to Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, and the post-doctorate students inhabit the upper levels of the building. Those must be some student digs!

Although the lawns are immaculate and the bedding neat, apart from marigolds, there was not many flowers despite the Spring weather. Qidditch anyone?

Admission costs Rp50 for foreigners and a Rp10 charge on cameras. It is open daily from 9.15am. The Lodge and Gardens can be found by sticking on The Mall heading west from Scandal Point for about4-5kms. Keep on the main trail; unfortunately it is not clearly signposted.

Other Henry Irwin buildings include:-
Madras High Court, Chennai,
Law College Buildings, Chennai
State Bank of Madras (now State Bank of India) Headquarters, Chennai
Government Museum, Egmore, Chennai
Madras & Maratha Railways Headquarters Building (now Chennai Central ), Chennai
Ambas Vilas, the Maharaja’s Palace in Mysore

Out and About in Shimla

Shimla was just a small village in a glade until the arrival of a Scottish civil servant who decided to build a summerhouse here in 1822. By 1864 Shimla became the summer capital of the Raj and until 1939 the entire government would scurry up to avoid the heat of the plains, assisted by the unlikely construction of narrow gauge railway lines, which are still in service today.

Of course Shimla gained further popularity following the catastrophic earthquake that hit Dharamsala in 1905. Shimla lies well off the fault-line.

Shimla is the state capital of Himachal Pradesh, boasts a population of 145,000 people and is quite a sprawling place. It is at an elevation of 2,200 metres. They have endeavoured to maintain the old Raj architecture and shoved in loads of statues of local governors.

Today I have just hung around the central part of town, known as the Mall, Scandal Point and the Ridge. It certainly is a lot more “civilised” than Dharamsala. Puma and Adidas stores rub shoulders with national coffee houses (Barista and Coffee Day) in a clean, pedestrianized area. There is even a Baskin and Robbins and Dominos Pizza! Signs can be found every few metres warning of a Rp500 fine for smoking, spitting and littering, which they must clearly implement. Those with small children can hire pushchairs which come with a standard fit keyboard!

The Himalayan makes a mighty fine backdrop to the pine forests. No wonder it remains one of the truly great hill-stations of India. There are by far more Indian holidaymakers here than international travellers.

There are however similarities to Dharamsala; similar altitudes, flora and fauna and a precariousness for trying to build too many structures on sharp ridges.

Where did Scandal Point get its name? Popular lore is that the king of Patiala had a crush over the daughter of the Viceroy of India. One day while she was taking a stroll in this place, the King of Patiala kidnapped her. From then onwards the place came to be known as the Scandal Point of Shimla. The king was exiled to Chail, 65kms to the south.

I had two important firsts in a while. My first fish (fresh local trout, steamed to perfection in a lemon butter sauce) and a double espresso machiato for months.

Tomorrow I´m heading to the Viceregal Lodge, home to the old Viceroys, the Botanical Gardens and the Himalayan Bird Park.

As always on my travels I include Shimla: A Work In Progress which you can access by clicking here.

Monkeys Become an Election Issue

With elections starting soon, a report in the Hindu News states that monkeys are now a major electoral issue in here in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

A variety of “solutions” to the monkey menace have been tried including sterialization and relocating them to Tajikistan. Yet they continue to destroy crops in rural areas, and increasingly aggressive behaviour in urban areas. Many farmers are pressing for a “scientific cull”, but politicians are wary of offending local sensitivities – after all Hanuman is revered and worshipped by many Hindus.

Indeed, Shimla, a hill station 246kms out of Dharamsala has been terrorized by monkeys for years. The Lonely Planet guide devotes a quarter page of text box to this menace. Certain thoroughfares require the pedestrian to carry a stick which can be bought or rented. Hotel windows should be closed at all times and don´t hang your laundry on balconies. It warns against smiling or making eye contact with these psycho-simians.

There are two direct buses to Shimla from Dharamsala, at 8.20am and 9.30pm costing Rp228. I took the night bus which arrived in at 5.50am.