Martine

while the rest of you are planning your trips to warmer climates, i spent last week-end escaping the heath of delhi in soothing shimla. more than that, i even got to ride a toy train. the former summer capital of the british raj looks more like an english village than an indian state capital, and even when swarming with tourists, it’s so quiet it’s hard to believe that one fifth of the world was once ruled from the hillside town. needless to say, i spent little time pondering the peculiarities of shimla and headed straight for the mountains, like the good norwegian i am, hiking only interrupted by whisky-brakes. hadippa.

me and my train

family on the train

monkey business

indian coffee house

needless to say, i spent more than an hour

these two probably ran up the hill in 15 minutes

the monkeys were fast

friends

coffee girl

laundry

god

there is only one thing indians seem to love more than their food -  celine dion, and more precisely my heart will go on. i just got mithas, my local restaurant, and as i enjoyed a delicious meal of dal makhani, my new favourite, i swear i heard the song four times. twice my meal was accompanied by the lovely voice of celine dion, and twice i got to enjoy the flute version. i’ve done more than listen to celine dion lately, and here are some photos…

dullu pura sewage pump - following weche to work was a little less glamorous than i though

there is only one way to travel to the sewage - the ambassador. here with its lovely driver ravinder singh

tailor and his audience - chandi chowk

the middle of chandi chowk - i would never be able to find this street again

thali maharani - a meal fit for a queen

i’m continuing my love affair with old india, and what could be better than a 500 year old sufi shrine? you guessed it – a 500 year old sufi shrine filled with music! every thursday muslims and tourists alike fill nizamuddin dargah to take in the qawwali’s rather catchy songs. combined with a visit to the local market it’s a highly recommendable outing.

nizamuddin dargah

local food

guard

family fun

fan man

qawwali