After very little sleep last night on last nights train to Bikaner which is best described as an experience I was not that keen to jump on another, especially as it was known as the "toy train". The 97km through the hills would be quicker on a real toy train with this one taking 6 hours. The average speed of about 16mph was largely due to the frequent stops for food which due to us wanting to avoid the s***ts we avoided, imagine being in an Indian restaurant, starving hungry and not eating anything.
The scenery was stunning and prompted an interesting conversation with one young Indian chap who was trying to convince me that India was the only country in the World with Mountains, there is national pride and then there is downright ignorance, this guy was full of both but arguing with him passed some of the journey. The rest of which was filled with pacing up and down unable to sit comfortably in my seat and avoiding the doors which people seemed quite happy to leave open on the off chance you wanted to jump 2,000ft down the side of a mountain.
Finally at a snails pace we rolled into Shimla, a town clingly to the side of a hill and fought our way through the ever enthusiastic porters. There is a strange feel to the place as it was built by the British as a retreat from the Indian Summer with streets of mock Tudor houses.
Hihlights: Stunning Scenary and colling down after the heat of Rajastan
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