Summit Le Royal - 1800 Rs/Night
Dinner and Breakfast- 325Per Person
The hotel was located at really good height with amazing view from all the direction. The room was so good that the moment we entered we were like "wow this room is so good wish we checked in early and enjoyed a relaxed evening" and to add up to our regret we had booked the Hotel just for one night as I wanted to try a Hostel on the second night (that's another crazy experience and a worst decision). Free heater, Good food, Great Room Service and everything here was just perfect.
We ordered dinner from the Hotel restaurant as there was no swiggy or Zomato. While having dinner my friend asked me "Kal ka kya plan hai"(what plans for tomorrow) and I was like "kal subah yeh driver ko chod k bhag jathe hai ?" ( shall we abandon this driver and leave). My friend was crazy enough to consider this plan.
We had already filled full tank petrol and gas in our drivers car and paid for all the tolls on the way and also paid for his food and everything. He was not going to lose anything much if we left him but we would ruin the trip if we continued with him.
So we checked for all the the alternative and came up with a plan to leave the cab driver and run away the next morning.
Just before we went to sleep we had a change of heart and felt it was completely wrong to abandon someone, it might not affect us much but the cab guy might not be able to trust any customer anymore because of our one act. (we regretted that the very next morning, the change of heart turned into heart attack)
Waking up to a beautiful scenery and having a great breakfast gave us a great hope to a good start of the journey.
The moment we checked out and met the driver he started complaining about all the things that didn't go as per his comfort that night and me and my friend decided to use earphones.
We wanted to go to Jakhoo Temple but the driver wanted to take us to Kufri as he din know the way to Jakhoo Temple. I asked him to park his a** somewhere and got down from the car with my Google Maps and started walking.
Jakhoo Temple
Ropeway cost - 550 Per Person
The temple was at a walkable distance from the Hotel and the roads that led to the Ropeway did not allow any car except the local ones. We had a good trek up and down the hill to and fro to the Ropeway.
I'm sure my friend had a good fitness test that day and she agreed that doing Zumba is not enough to stay fit. I on the other hand was thankful to the broken elevator in my flat which trained me to climb up and down.
I'm not going to give a historical intro about the Temple as you can find it on google. But this is one of the places in Shimla you should definitely not miss. You can pray here if you like or you can walk around enjoying the scenic beauty around this place. Please never ever enter the public toilet here, Nightmare I still haven't recovered from. There are photographers available if you want a photo with the Shri Hanuman Jakhoo a statue situated in the temple premises which is one of the tallest in the world.
The temple is accessible by foot, horse, taxi or ropeway. But i would suggest try the Ropeway its amazing. We spent half an hour here.
We left to Kufri after this about which i will be covering in my next blog along with my crazy experience at our next stay.
Shimla Local
So we came back to Shimla in the evening around 5:30PM. Checked into the Bhoot Bungalow we booked and started walking up from Lakkar Bazaar which was hardly 100m from our stay.
When you check Google for places to visit in Shimla you will see a list like this
Mall Road, The Ridge, Christ Church ,Scandal Point, Lakkar Bazar.
These are not different places but just different parts of Mall Road. All these places are to be visited by walking as no vehicles are allowed. It will only take like 2 hours maximum to check out these places. Go here in the evening you will see really great lighting around coming from the cafes and small shops and also breath taking view of the hills shimmering with lights from houses.
If you like to try Tibetan food, cafés and Pubs then mall road is a good place for you. Since I'm from Bangalore which is like the hub of cafes and pubs I din find this place much interesting.
Shopping in Lakkar Bazar for Winter wear is a great idea if you are good at negotiating.
Tips:
1. Try to do sight seeing in Local cabs they know the area better
2. Shimla and Kufri can be covered just in one day if there is no snow in Kufri to enjoy
3. Go to Mall Road from Lakkar Bazar only if you are fit enough to walk a lot of stairs up the hill. I was hyperventilating reaching the top and on not being able to find my friend anywhere close i thought she got a heart attack (she made it safe :D)