Scottish Highlands to the Taj Mahal!

Walking along the high street of Shimla was like walking along the high street of any old town in Britain. It was built by the Brits and became the summer capitol of all of India, when all the Viceregals and officials came up here to escape the oppressive heat of the plains in Delhi. It is litterally perched on the top of a very steep narrow ridge up at 2200 meters in the himalayan foothills. The views either side would have been amazing if not for the fact that it was pretty much foggy the whole time we were there. The buildings were all very typical stone built Victorian architecture with bay windows, slated roofs and all. We could so easily have been in England - the weather, temperature, and there were even lots of Indians walking around! The only difference was that being in India and surrounded by forest, there were heaps of Monkeys everywhere.

The problem we had was that being on such a steep slope, there was nowhere flat to park the van and camp, and the hotels were all comparatively expensive. We found a half decent one and stayed there for three nights before deciding we couldn't afford to stay any longer and moved on. We walked up to the very highest point in Shimla which is through the forest up a very steep hill to a Hindu temple, dedicated to Hanuman, the monkey god. coincidentally there are lots of monkeys all over it, although we think that is possible more down to the habitat. It was very cool to see the monkeys climbing and swinging on everything so close up though, and the babies were so cute! This was far more interesting than the temple itself!

After that Simon went to see the 'Viceregals lodge' which is where the rulers of British India lived at the full extent of their power, and held meetings whilst they were there in the summer. Kind of like the 10 Downing Street equivalent. It just looked like a really grand Scottish castle which was quite amazing. It was completely untouched and unrepaired, with all the origional cast iron outside staircases that looked less than safe, and huge gardens that they couldn't keep up with. overall it was much more origional yet complete than anything you might see in Scotland. It looked ideal to have a posh cup of coffee and a piece of shortbread in. Unfortunately, it is in India and they have converted it into an advanced study college, and actually gives off a bit of a Cambridge University college feel. We were given a tour of the inside where we saw the rooms where famous meetings with Ghandi had taken place, and the table they used to redraw the borders of India at independance. A very big chunk of Indian history really.

That evening we decided to treat ourselves, and went to the poshest hotel in Shimla - the Oberoi Cecil for dinner. It was very posh! It would be the equivalent to one of the fanciest places in London, tailed butlers and all, with rooms costing hundreds of pounds. We weren't quite sure what we were celebrating, but we decided that it was for our new future family member! The next day Simon found out that he got on his pilot course in NZ so it could be for that as well. We just thought that if we can't do this sort of thing in India, then when will we be able to do it? To put it into perspective, with starters, breads, mains, wine and everything it came to around £30 - about the same as a normal meal in UK! not bad! We'll go back to dhal and rice tomorrow!

After Shimla, we waved goodbye to the beautiful cool mountain air that we had enjoyed for the last two weeks, and set off on the huge 12 hour drive down to Agra, one of the hottest parts of India - in the middle of summer! Luckily (or unluckily - we're not sure yet) since the monsoon has come in the temperatures have dropped a little, so instead of 50 degrees, it's only around 35, but the humidity is something else. Even at night time you are just constantly sticky with sweat - it's desgusting!

We arrived in Agra around 8 pm, and found a guide-recommended place that had parking enough for us to camp, but it turned out was a mosquito infested patch of boggy mud for us to park on. We went to the reception and they wanted 600 rupees a night!! (we normally only pay 50-100) They wouldn't budge below 500, and due to the late hour we had no choice but to stay there. Needless to say we got eaten alive that night, and we also discovered that the toilets were gross, the showers were cold, pool was green and the restaurant was rubbish. We kicked up a bit of a fuss and refused to pay, but they didn't seem to see how their top class establishment could be thought of as below standard, and called the police! Eventually we just paid them off and left promising to tarnish their name wherever we went, but they didn't seem to care since they had their money! So, anyone planning on going to Agra - don't go to Mayur Tourist Complex on Fahetabad Road!! We found a hotel around the corner with air cooler for 400 rupees!

Anyway, we headed off for our tour of Agras sights with our cycle-rickshaw man who had attached himself to us. 1st stop - Taj Mahal which was quite spectacular, and so much more impressive in real than in photos. It was worth getting a local guide who showed us how the floral designs that covered the entire building were all intricatly made up of tiny pieces of semi-precious stones all from many different countries. Inside the mausoleum, even though you are not allowed flashes or lights, he took in a torch, and showed us how as you move it over a flower design, each gemstone would light up and glow individually - it was so beautiful. Amazing to think that it was all just for one persons tomb! It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, for his wife Mumtaz Mahal who died giving birth to their 14th child in 1631! Supposedly Shah Jahan wanted to build a mirror image Taj on the other side of the river in black marble (way more expensive than white) for himself, but his son Aurangzeb overthrew him and imprisoned him in Agra fort for spending all the kingdoms money!!

We went on to see Agra fort next, 2 km up the river, which has good views of the Taj. The classic thing to do is to get a picture of you on the rampart with the Taj Mahal in the palm of your outheld hand - we did that... It was getting a bit hot at this point, so we turned down our rickshaw drivers offer to take us to all the other sights in Agra and went back to the hotel!

We have been quite surprised by the quality of the roads outside of town, in that they are actually quite good. There has just been an explosion of national highway building in India lately, and if any of them are not dual carriageway, then they are being made so. The problem is that Indians don't seem to inderstand the concept of dual carriageway being that one side is for one direction, and the other side is for the other direction. They (mainly motorbikes and rickshaws, but also cars, buses and lorries) just use each side as a separate road. Normally you can see them coming, but at one point Simon was driving, and we had been trying to get past a lorry for ages, and eventually he pulled over and we began overtaking. At this point Rhona started freaking out, Simon looked at her, then at the lorry, then questioningly back at Rhona who was by this point practically sitting on the headrest covering her face, then looked forward, and there was a rickshaw driving up the wrong side of the road straight for us! We weren't going too fast and he had stopped by this point so we were ok, but it definately keeps you on your toes!

So that was on the way from Agra to Jaipur - our next stop in Rajasthan where we are now. We have passed a major landmark on our trip, and have driven over 10,000 miles since we left Hastings which is pretty cool.

Total distance travelled: 10,005 miles

Max temp: 35 degrees