Shimla - The First Solo Trip (DAY 34)

DAY 3 & 4 (31st Oct’16 & 1st Nov’16)

The day started late. Woke up around 8 am. For today I was planning to discover the local places of Shimla as it was my last day in Shimla. I started my walk from hotel around 9 am to Indian Institute of Advanced Studies. On the way I crossed the Vidhan Sabha of Himachal and the passport office. You could also see the Annadale ground below from the road. As it was Monday most of the tourist locations were closed and I couldn’t went inside. Wished I had this info prior my visit. So, just having the glimpse of the institute from outside I returned back to the mall road on foot. Having plenty of time I made my way to the end of the mall road. On the way I crossed a cafe named HONEY HUT and decided have a light meal there. They serve everything with honey. I ordered honey cappuccino with corn spiral roll. Instead of sugar for the cappuccino they served honey. The price was reasonable (RS 140). Towards the end of mall road there is the Johnnie’s wax museum. They have the wax statue of various celebrities. By the time was there it was closed. Maybe because it was Monday. The ticket for the museum is Rs 100. I wonder it is maintain by some authority other than the govt. Strolling in the mall road you get to witness the colonial architecture.

Photo of Shimla - The First Solo Trip (DAY 3&4) 1/6 by Joydeep Patowari — Christ Church Standing tall over the town

Photo of Shimla - The First Solo Trip (DAY 3&4) 2/6 by Joydeep Patowari — The colonial architecture - The Indian Speed Post Building

Photo of Shimla - The First Solo Trip (DAY 3&4) 3/6 by Joydeep Patowari — A glimpse of the populated town

Photo of Shimla - The First Solo Trip (DAY 3&4) 4/6 by Joydeep Patowari — Honey cappuccino with corn spiral roll

Didn’t even realized how time went. I decided to taste some food in the roof top cafe (THE CAFE SOL) near mall road. Its one of the best cafe in Shimla. But I was unlucky as I carried less cash and the place was a bit pricey for my budget. So, controlling my taste buds I went to CAFE SHIMLA TIMES near to Cafe Sol. Cafe Shimla Times have a bakery too. The service was really sweet. After having my short meal I went to Lakkar Bazar. It was really crowed. People were busy buying stuffs. Tourists were busy looking for some unique Shimla items. Foreigners busy clicking pictures. I spent nearly 3 hrs in the market clicking pictures. While I was back in the mall road from the bazaar via a small lane I end up next the HONEY HUT again. So, being a foodie I went inside for another small refreshing meal. This time I ordered honey ice tea with litchi flavour ,honey fruit salad and an apple pie. All of this cost me Rs 340. It was almost 5 pm by then and went back to the ridge to sit and relax after a long day of walking. Time flies by and it was 8:30 pm. The most famous inn in Shimla “THE GOOFA ASHIANA” is right opposite of the scandal point on the ridge. I planned of having my dinner over there. It seems like luck wasn’t on my side today as the inn was totally full. So, I went back to my hotel and ordered my dinner. As I was leaving Shimla next morning I packed up my luggage and went off to sleep.

Next day, I woke up and freshen up. Checked out from hotel and started my last walk in Shimla towards station. On way I had a small breakfast in the INDIAN COFFE HOUSE and reached station by 10 am. My train was at 10:30 am (The Himalayan Queen – 52456). Interestingly, the family of 4 which I met while going to Shimla was also in the train. Luckily we five got a reservation as the official gave us the only 5 vacant seat without any bribe.

With a wonderful experience and high on self confidence I waved goodbye to Shimla.