Shimla Manali Part 2 - Delhi to Shimla

Hotel Westend Inn - 2100 Per Night with Breakfast

It was supposed to be a 4 star Hotel but because of the Covid season and not many staff it was kind of abandoned. The room was not worth the price the curtain was dirty and the corners were dusty. The biggest disappointment was that they did not want to turn on the boiler for just 2 guests so they gave us Immersion Rod to heat the water. My friend decided she will go to Shimla and take bath but I on the other hand decided to fill a bucket of water and get it to the room( no plug connection in washroom for the rod). After two mins everything near my feet is flooding. Bazzinga the bucket is broken and I have a wet surprise. The Manager apologized and got the mess cleared up and gave use extra water bottle free of charge( water for water).WIFI was not available in the room and I had to sit in lobby and work along with a few mosquitoes. After all this drama we decided Dinner will be ordered from Zomato.

Next Day there were a lot of guests who checked in and with very less staff they were not able to handle the kitchen. We waited more than one hour for buffet Breakfast but were finally asked to order Al la Carte which we finally got after calling several times.

Delhi to Shimla

I thought all the bitter surprises were done but life said

"Picture abhi baki tha mere dost"

The cab guy was the biggest joke of the trip. One of my friend had referred me this guys number and since we were just two girls travelling we decided to go with someone we know.

So he gets the worst car. Like a complete Khattara car and it looked like it was bashed a lot of times. Me and my friend gave each other a look but since it was already 10AM and we wanted to leave asap we decided not to bother much with what's outside and just sit inside.

So the journey started with lot of speed limits and unlimited chatter from the driver. The main highways were blocked because of the Farmers strike and we got our first blow when we realized the cab guy completely depended on the main routes and had no clue about internal routes. I had to guide him using google map and through some village areas till Sonipat. That was when we knew that we were at the mercy of Google maps the whole trip and trust me a lot of things happened next.

Travel Time - We started at 10 AM. Took a break because driver wanted to smoke and have his breakfast. Took another break because we wanted to have lunch and then another break for Tea. We reached Shimla at 7:45PM. It was already dark by then so we missed the view in the evening and the sunset.

Though we reached before 9PM we were going round and round and round and round searching for the Hotel we booked. The Google maps din work that well with the containment zones and the normal routes being closed. And with our cab driver who was going on the wrong way and getting yelled at by cops our last hope was the hotel helpdesk. The Hotel staff actually guided us to the location so well the guy stayed on call all the time till we reached the parking. Suddenly I felt so much affection for these wonderful people and my generous friend gave them a great tip.

Tip : Take a break at Shiva Dhaba when you travel from Delhi to Shimla. The place is so clean and the washrooms are like the ones in the airport.