Day 134 Monday 29 January 2007, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

We sleep late and eschewing the overpriced breakfast at the Cecil climb a steep road to a little deserted cafe which does all day English breakfasts. Although rather mediocre it has a nice view down the valley. We then set out to explore the town which is arrayed along a ridge, with the buildings cascading down either side as if a toybox had been overturned. There’s lots of half timbered mock tudor buildings, a little toy train winding its way up the hill thru hundreds (well 83 to be exact) tunnels and hundreds of pesky monkeys. The central spine road is called the Mall and is blissfully free of traffic. It runs up to a yellow Victorian gothic church at Scandal Point, so called because its where a maharaja apparently an English maiden in the 1800s, although one guide book suggests she was a willing participant. Below it is a bazaar which Kipling said was a crowded rabbit warren catering to the natives. Then its back to the hotel for a much needed Ayurvedic massage, dinner and another episode of West Wing.

Distance Today: 0km Trip to date: 20,779km