Shimla

Breakfast was full of promise and not much delivery. Poached eggs had to be ordered at the table not the station but then the took an age to come.

Shimla train.

We left the hotel at 1000 and drove to Kalka. At Kalka we saw our train on platform 6. We were all in one coach - not a posh, air conditioned coach - but a reserved one. A few members of a rail tour party joined our coach and a local family. A few others tried sitting in the coach but didn’t have reservations for it and Shakeel turfed them out.

The journey was amazing. Lots to see. We stopped a few times. Some stations only had 2 mins another had 5.

At the end of the line we were met by the local guide. Then we had a steep walk up to the two coaches. The altitude knocked a few people out and I was gasping a bit. At the hotel one of the party (Tony) had trouble with his heart and he was one of the apparently fit ones.

The hotel was a bit weird - thin and on a number of levels. Walking up the stairs to the entrance area made me feel very puffed out.