THE ROAD TO SHIMLA

My drivers, Shashe and his cousin Raj turned up on time wednesday morning and we headed out of Delhi on the Amritsar Great Trunk road. The heat was less stifling an hour out but still jolly warm. You could tell that we were in sikh country by the profusion of gurdwaras(sikh temples) all over the place and that you were in the punjab by the endless plains of cereals. At Ambala, we turned northeast towards Kalka and there the road started to rise. By the time we got to solan we stopped at a dhaba, one to have something to eat and to pay the vehicle entry tax for the Himachal Pradesh. Although its only 100k from Solan to Shimla it took a further three hours to reach the state capital, already dark and very chilly, causing me to get properly dressed in dads Henri Lloyds. My hotel was at the very top of Shimla just below the mall, so I got an old Nepalese porter to hike my rucksuck up to it. I don t know how he felt, but I was totally shagged, trailing behind him and only carrying the camera bag. Had I known I would have paid one of his buddies to carry me up for another 60 r. The hotel is clean, but unattractive, but with a great matress made of yak hair and I slept fitfully after a roaring hot shower. Tomorrow Ill tell you about Shimla, the Indian Guildford.ps journey delhi-shimla is 10 hours.

Mis chofers, Shashe and his cousin Raj llegaron en punto el miercoles cedo y salimos de Delhi en la Great Trunk road de Amritsar. En menos de una hora de dejar la ciudad, ya no picaba tanto. Se podia ver que estabamos en tierra sij por la cantidad de gurdwaras(templos sij) que se veia por camino y de que estabas en el Punjab por las llanuras interminables de cereales. En Ambala, giramos al noreste hacia Kalka y la carretera se puso a ascender. Cuando llegamos a Solan paramos en un dhaba a  picar algo y a pagar el impuesto de vehiculo por entrar en el Himachal Pradesh. Aunque Solan solo queda a 100km horas de Shimla tardamos tres horas llegar a la capital de la provincia, ya oscuro y fria, motivandome a vestirme en condiciones con el Henri Lloyd de papa.  Mi hotel quedaba arriba de todo de Shimla, justo por debajo del Mall, asi que coji a un portero Nepalese que cargase con mi mochila cuesta arriba. No se como se encontraba, pero yo iba hecho una mierda y eso que solo llevaba mi bolsa con la camera. Llego a saberlo y pago a otro, otros 60r para llevarme a mi. El hotel es limpio, pero algo feoucho, pero con una fantastica colcha de lana de yak y dormi como un liron despues de una ducha abrasante. Manana os contare de Shimla, el Guidford indio. ps trayecto de Delhi-Shimla es de 10 horas