The Journey to Shimla

Travelling by train is a great way to see a country. And when that train journey is almost twelve hours long, you get to see quite a bit.

Yesterday we left the chaos of Delhi and headed north-east....across the plains to begin with, then up into the foothills of the Himalayas. We set off early, braving the seething swarm of humanity that jostles in and around New Delhi station during the morning rush hour.

The Shatabdi Express carried us off to Kalka....four hours of pressing our faces to the glass to take in as much of this amazing country as possible. We travelled through farmland, past villages where every building appeared to be crumbling away. Saw children taking off the clothes they stood in to scrub them on a railway platform and hang them to dry in the sun. Saw mud huts and motorbikes; people defecating by the wayside; swathes of orange marigolds being grown for holy blessings; pigs and people scouring waste heaps; old men in turbans and brightly-coloured cloths, sitting cross-legged; young men spitting copiously onto the railway tracks below; precious cows and stray dogs; women working the land in companionable groups; ploughs pulled by oxen; folk carrying impossible loads on their heads; beauty and squalor, rags and riches, side by side and jumbled up together.

At Kalka, we switched to the Himalayan Queen - the 'toy train' that winds its way up a single gauge track, high into the cool air of the mountains. The little carriages were crammed. Occasionally, the train would pause long enough at a station for everyone to tumble out and buy crisps and hot samosas and stretch their legs; or to at least lean out of the window and take refreshment from the chai wallah, touting his tea along the length of the train.

We hairpinned our way up and up and up for five-and-a-half long hours....and the views were breathtaking all the way. Eventually, having climbed to 8,000 feet, the train pulled into Shimla - a Shimla that seemed even more crowded and more chaotic than the Delhi we'd left behind. As darkness closed in, we began the last, hour-long leg of our journey by car, moving by fits and starts through the thronging streets that once were the summer capital of the British Raj.

And so the second part of our adventure began.

Comments

[Monica]

This is truly an amazing journey you're on! I love seeing the photos and reading all the descriptive details! What takes you to India?

[Claire]

You certainly seem to be getting a full-on experience of India! Can't wait to see some more pictures....

[Kate Godin]

Wow. What a wild ascent! Can't wait to hear more.

[jeand]

I love the picture you've painted for us of the sights from the train. You made that small part of India very real for us. Thank you. Looking forward to more of this.