We departed from The Suryavilas Resort and Spa (there is
definite irony in the name) pleased that we spent the night there. It is
definitely not a destination hotel for us, but was more than adequate for the
night we spent. The ride to Shimla took exactly 2 hours of winding hillside
roads There are many hillside towns we passed through. The current crop is
apples and this tiny twisted road hosts the what appears to us to be the
wholesale market for apples. Along the side of the road were large lorries with
crates of apples and men negotiating their sale. A whole lot of apples were on
the hundreds of large trucks we saw.
We arrived in Shimla, a city built in a crescent across the
top of a mountain. It only has a few streets and they are jammed with trucks,
cars and buses. We eventually made it to our hotel, The Oberoi Cecil. This is a
grand hotel from the British Raj (when India was ruled by Britain). Like every other building in this hillside town the Oberoi is
tall not wide. It is gorgeous, made of teak wood from Burma. Its interior is a
giant lobby probably 8 stories tall, with rooms coming off all sides. Actually
it reminds me of the design of Hyatt Hotels in that respect. But this ain’t no
Hyatt. This is a top drawer hotel with impeccable service. They can’t do enough
for you. The indoor pool reminds me of San Simeon. The wood everywhere is
polished and gleaming. The hotel is one of the oldest hotels in India and
absolutely doesn’t show its age.
Some words about Shimla. It is at over 7,000 feet. Cathy and
I walked a lot and we can feel the altitude. Because of its elevation it is
cool. During the British Raj the Capital of India was first in Calcutta and
then moved to Delhi (actually New Delhi). During the Raj, the Government of
India moved to Shimla and other hill stations as they are called, to rule the country
from a cooler climate during the summer. In Shimla they created a mini-England constructing buildings
and houses that looked like England. Some of those buildings still exist.
The entire town is in the shape of an horizontal crescent
with several parallel streets. The streets are old and very congested. You can
still see vestiges of the Raj. After checking in and having a bite to eat, we
headed out for some shopping.
The main street that has stores is called “The Mall”. It is
several parallel streets above the street our hotel is located on. There is an
elevator that one takes to reach the level of The Mall. We walked down the
street, and realized it was like any other bazaar in India. The only store we
went to Hamachel Emporium had local handcrafts and textiles. Shimla is overrun by monkeys, they are everywhere. Monkeys are not really liked, they steal food and are very cleaver. We watched the monkeys with both amusement and awareness for we didn't want to be the victim of their stealing ways.
We returned to the hotel for a massage, drinks and dinner. The food and wine was excellent, plus they assured me the ice was purified and so I started, in honor of the Raj with a Gin and Tonic. Tomorrow more adventures.
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