When we wake up again the train is still reported as over seven hours behind time. D calls the agent who has organised our car pick up in Shimla. Can we be picked up in Kalka and driven direct to Mcleodganj? He will see what can be done. A few minutes later he calls back to tell us that a taxi will meet us at Kalka. It will cost a bit more but is not too outrageous. Shame about missing the trip on the narrow gauge railcar but it cannot be helped. As the train gets beyond Chandigarh we get our first hazy glimpses of the Himalayas.
The train gets in just after 11 , more than six hours late despite some generous recovery time built in to the timetable. Our driver greets us on the platform and heads straight for the exit. No time to look at the NG platforms. We load up the car and head out of Kalka. We are soon on a busy highway running across the plain parallel to the line of mountains. We are both still tired and doze in the back seat. After a while we join a motorway type road and make good speed. We see signs for Dharamsala saying it is 137 km - not too long at this speed. Mcleodganj is just a few miles beyond. At this point we start climbing through a forest on a very windy road. Then we descend on an even more winding road. Some of the overtaking is pretty desperate as car drivers race to get past lumbering trucks and bus drivers take no prisoners. We don't see any collisions but we do see a truck in a ditch.
We cross a few more ridges and arrive in the Kangra Valley where we see the eponymous NG railway, D's treat for Monday. Once we cleared Kangra the road just kept climbing. It felt that we must have driven halfway up the Himalayas. In fact we are somewhere just over 5,000 feet so about a fifth of the way up. At the last minute we missed a turning and we had to walk down a flight of stairs. Our driver looked relieved to have completed the trip although he still had to drive back. It had taken five and a half hours including one short stop. We find the Green Hotel without any problems and are soon in our room which has a balcony looking out to the mountains. It's a nice room but a bit cold. D has carried a fleece round India for 6 weeks without taking iy out of his rucksack. Today it comes out. The room boy appears with a heater and plugs it in and all is hunky dory. Later the lady in charge tells us normally 300 rupees per day but complimentary for us.
The hotel has a cafe where we drink delicious lemon, ginger and honey tea as we register. We even allow ourselves a piece of cake to share. We don't feel up to much excitement tonight so we walk along the street to the main square and climb the stairs to Mcllo, a recommended bar and restaurant, for Kingfishers and momos with spicy sauce. We have the best seat in town as we watch three policemen attempt to orchestrate the chaotic traffic in the square. All highly entertaining. As we wslk back to the hotel the wind has an icy chill to it. Time for bed.
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