At 5.30am, our bus arrived in Shimla, the summer capital of Himachal Pradesh. This hill station is a very popular resort for the local and overseas tourists. The town has a population of around 200,000 people and at 2,205m high, the weather up here was cool even during the hot season.
At the bus terminal, a young porter had offered to carry my backpack and bag for a fee of Rs50=Rm4.50 as the town is located at the hilltop, where most of the hostels are found. At first I was a bit reluctant to use the porter's service but after walking for five minutes up the steps, I felt the stress and finally accepted the porter's service. The porter recommended a hostel (Flora Hotel - Rs300=Rm27 per room) for me to stay at the hilltop, close to the town center.
After the hostel check-in, I started to explore this scenic town of Shimla. I wandered around the Scandal Point, the Ridge (a large flat and open area), the Mall, Christ church (built in 1846), Town Hall, mosque, Jakhu Temple (dedicated to the Monkey God) so there were plenty places to see in this fascinating hill station.
1) Pictures of the Ridge, Christ church, shops built on elevated ground and undulating land, old colonial government buildings eg fire brigade station, town hall & old mosque:
2) Most houses in Shimla were built on the hill slopes. At night, when I sat on a wooden grand stand by the side of the Ridge, the night scene was fantastic.
3) Local deep fried food made of flour & potato mesh were basic diet and street food were local favorites. I ate deep fried potato cakes & samosas as breakfast:
4) Fresh fruit eg apples, pears, apricots and mangoes were plenty & cheap and I bought some apricots, mangoes & apples as snacks for the day:
" I enjoyed watching this Cliff Richard's film - The Summer Holiday - so today I am in Shimla, the summer capital of Himachal Pradesh, humming an oldie song : we are going on a summer holiday "
No comments:
Post a Comment