It was Ghandi's birthday and a long weekend, so T and I decided to go to Shimla, the summer capital of the Raj. They would pack up in march (packing EVERTHING, files and all) and move the entire government from Delhi and Kolkata to Shimla, where they would stay until october. Naturally, their families would follow, taking the little railway which was constructed in 1903.
Not surprisingly, Shimla (at least the old part of it) is predominantly British in style, with lovely old houses, small streets and little shops.

The center (called The Mall) seems to be build on a hilltop, stretching for about 7 km and ending on one side with the Viceregal Lodge which looks like a combination of Harry Potter's castle and an old cathedral. In Shimla's old center one can still find old english mansions that display the grandeur of old times...on the sides of the (very steep!) hill 4 story houses are scattered, having (according to the Lonely Planet) "a chaotic appearance of a temporarily arrested landslide of buildings cascading down the hills". Indeed, one does not want to imagine what will happen if an earthquake should occur...the houses are built with the thinnnest floors possible, on tiny concrete pillars, no cross connections at all...according to the lady of the House that we stayed in it will be the effect of giant domino: one house falling on top of the other, and so on...and no access for rescue parties as there is only one main road which undoubtly will be covered in debris...let's hope it doesn't happen.

Anyway, T and I had a lovely time. The people in Shimla are defenitely more relaxed than in Delhi, with the typical appearance of mountain-people....suntanned, weather-worn faces, lighter skincolour, many with the strange amber coloured eyes that one can see in the north. They wear sleeveless jackets made of sheepwool, and little round hats; winter is very cold and it shows, as all the houses have fireplaces (but no fans or airco's!). Shimla is a tourist destination for the Indians as well, and there were many of them, strolling about on the mall, snacking on sweets and letting their children ride horses or buy balloons. No beggars, relatively little dirt and apart from the honking not so much noise...and most of all, crisp clean fresh mountain air! What a treat!

We had a lavish lunch at the Cecil Oberoi hotel, The uptown hotel, with a view over the valley...and were amazed by some rich Indian parents who shamelessly let their kids dance ON the table...with personnel standing around helplessly as it is not their place to say anything. Apparantly these nouveau riche also wipe their shoes with the curtains in their rooms -they are paying for it after all- and extinguish cigarettes onto the carpets...?! Welcome to the new money in India!