The road to Shimla is quite a curvy noodle.
In fact, I don't think I have ever in my life been on such a curvy road. The entire time--this way, that way, this way, that way, this way, that way-- making our way up into the beautiful foothills of the Himalayas. Also, it hangs over a cliff (have you seen the show Ice Road Truckers?), and you never know what is going to be around the next curve-- busses, orange vendors, monkeys, fiats, children walking along with sticks.....
Well, friends, we learned something on this trip: Our Violet is quite prone to motion-sickness.
She and I were in the back of this van. She was so excited to be in a "new car seat", and was happily talking, singing, pointing out the window. But her mood gradually started to change, and then suddenly I noticed that she was chewing on something. A moment later her entire breakfast was upon us. Oh, the poor thing! We pulled over (somehow, we managed to find a space on the side of this cliff-road), and got her out of the car and found various wipes, water bottles, extra clothes.
The next three hours were really hard. She threw up again and again and again as our car weaved and jerked around the mountains. The only break any of us had was a one-hour snooze she took sometime in between vomiting and stopping for tea.
BUT, we made it there. And Shimla, my goodness, is beautiful. It is this very alive and colorful city that was once the summer capital of the British Raj (or something like that... Tyler or Wikipedia may have to fill you in on the history side of things). It has a bit of a Canterbury Tales flare with very cute little peaked roof store fronts, and it feels a little like The Sound of Music with gorgeous mountains and hills and scenery everywhere. But then, it is still also very much India, with monkeys and fruit stands everywhere, and the working town absolutely stacked-jam-packed onto the hillside with billions of people everywhere you look. We walked The Mall, which you get to by going up these two long elevators up-up-up onto the crest of the mountain. It is this long walking strip lined with shops and restaurants, and is nice in the way that touristy places are with ice cream and a general mood of excitement and happiness to be there.
We stayed at this lovely little hotel-resort-spa. Lovely indeed, although very very cold. Shimla, because it is up in the mountains, stays much cooler than Chandigarh, which I guess is why it was such a lovely summer place for the British to escape the heat for a few months. But, in February, it is still in the 40's there this time of year, and dips down into the 20's at night. No snow-- clear as a bell-- but quite chilly. And, as is common in India, heat and hot water were only running during certain hours of the day. So we kept close and bundled up until 7pm when the heater came on.
The food was spectacular, as often seems to be the case in these nice hotels. Violet walked all around the dining room, climbed onto a little stage, and flirted endlessly with the waitstaff. She kept calling it a "funny place!" and kept asking to see more monkeys and cows.
On our way home on Saturday we toured Shimla a bit, and saw some of the old beautiful historic sites including the Viceregal Lodge/Palace which is enormous and beautiful and up this tiny little road perched on a hillside overlooking everything. It was here that many historical important event events took place-- but in my book, only one stands out: Monroe pulled out a Dramamine, and slivered a child's dose off for Violet. We stuck it in a thumbfull of jelly, and she gobbled it up. THANK GOD. I don't think I have ever been so thankful for western medicine in my life. When we got back into the car to make our way home, she immediately fell asleep, and when she woke up an hour later seemed to handle the rest of the car ride just fine. No chewing or projectile vomiting; no eyes rolling back into her head; no sobbing; no lucidness.
Just wonderful views of monkeys and cows.
A few photos from our journey... (click to enlarge)
In fact, I don't think I have ever in my life been on such a curvy road. The entire time--this way, that way, this way, that way, this way, that way-- making our way up into the beautiful foothills of the Himalayas. Also, it hangs over a cliff (have you seen the show Ice Road Truckers?), and you never know what is going to be around the next curve-- busses, orange vendors, monkeys, fiats, children walking along with sticks.....
Well, friends, we learned something on this trip: Our Violet is quite prone to motion-sickness.
She and I were in the back of this van. She was so excited to be in a "new car seat", and was happily talking, singing, pointing out the window. But her mood gradually started to change, and then suddenly I noticed that she was chewing on something. A moment later her entire breakfast was upon us. Oh, the poor thing! We pulled over (somehow, we managed to find a space on the side of this cliff-road), and got her out of the car and found various wipes, water bottles, extra clothes.
The next three hours were really hard. She threw up again and again and again as our car weaved and jerked around the mountains. The only break any of us had was a one-hour snooze she took sometime in between vomiting and stopping for tea.
BUT, we made it there. And Shimla, my goodness, is beautiful. It is this very alive and colorful city that was once the summer capital of the British Raj (or something like that... Tyler or Wikipedia may have to fill you in on the history side of things). It has a bit of a Canterbury Tales flare with very cute little peaked roof store fronts, and it feels a little like The Sound of Music with gorgeous mountains and hills and scenery everywhere. But then, it is still also very much India, with monkeys and fruit stands everywhere, and the working town absolutely stacked-jam-packed onto the hillside with billions of people everywhere you look. We walked The Mall, which you get to by going up these two long elevators up-up-up onto the crest of the mountain. It is this long walking strip lined with shops and restaurants, and is nice in the way that touristy places are with ice cream and a general mood of excitement and happiness to be there.
We stayed at this lovely little hotel-resort-spa. Lovely indeed, although very very cold. Shimla, because it is up in the mountains, stays much cooler than Chandigarh, which I guess is why it was such a lovely summer place for the British to escape the heat for a few months. But, in February, it is still in the 40's there this time of year, and dips down into the 20's at night. No snow-- clear as a bell-- but quite chilly. And, as is common in India, heat and hot water were only running during certain hours of the day. So we kept close and bundled up until 7pm when the heater came on.
The food was spectacular, as often seems to be the case in these nice hotels. Violet walked all around the dining room, climbed onto a little stage, and flirted endlessly with the waitstaff. She kept calling it a "funny place!" and kept asking to see more monkeys and cows.
On our way home on Saturday we toured Shimla a bit, and saw some of the old beautiful historic sites including the Viceregal Lodge/Palace which is enormous and beautiful and up this tiny little road perched on a hillside overlooking everything. It was here that many historical important event events took place-- but in my book, only one stands out: Monroe pulled out a Dramamine, and slivered a child's dose off for Violet. We stuck it in a thumbfull of jelly, and she gobbled it up. THANK GOD. I don't think I have ever been so thankful for western medicine in my life. When we got back into the car to make our way home, she immediately fell asleep, and when she woke up an hour later seemed to handle the rest of the car ride just fine. No chewing or projectile vomiting; no eyes rolling back into her head; no sobbing; no lucidness.
Just wonderful views of monkeys and cows.
A few photos from our journey... (click to enlarge)
A stop for tea along the way
A truck!
Very curvy road
up up up into the mountains!
Violet and G-Raff, trying to stay cheerful
Shimla!
The Mall (part 1)
Tyler and parents looking at a statue; Violet point to a pony
Monkey tree
The Mall (part 2)
In the hotel
Patterns
The Palace
My sleeping baby, keeping her breakfast down :)
One curve out of 50,000
Fruit stand
Going through a small town on our way back
For all of the Vickies and Vicks and Vickys and Victorias that we know
What will Violet do when she gets back to Seattle Home and there are no monkeys or cows to see?
ReplyDeleteshe'll have to be satisfied with MoonCat. :)
ReplyDeleteRachel and Tyler, I love reading your blog and am always excited to read about your latest adventures. Glad you are all doing well and enjoying your time in India. I admire your adventurous spirits (especially with a toddler in tow!). Love to you all, Nita (Sen's pediatrician friend).
ReplyDeleteThanks for tuning in, Nita! India is a remarkable place, but we are definitely looking forward to our Seattle return next month with Missy Violet! Hope you are well xoxo Rachel
ReplyDelete