Delhi station even at this time is busy. Prospective porters circled, with the head porter pulling out a Commonwealth games booklet to explain he charges, of course covering all charges but the most expensive. One charge from taxi to station and addition if onto train. Wishing to be relatively self reliant and also still In possession of our gear at the train we accepted one porter and lugged the rest, it is not as if we had not had quite a bit of practice to this date. Again metal detectors. One advantage of the porter was that he powered onto the exact location of where the carriage would eventually stop. The security guard at the station on seeing the scan of the bikes told us we had the wrong tickets and there was no chance that we would get the bikes on. Post complaining that this had not been explained and that we had been told specifically that it would not be a problem. Brushed off with a semi smile. We were becoming worried, but the porter was on a mission so had to take off after him.
Once setup on the station we paid our porter and then I went off looking for the Foreign counter apparently here somewhere, post no success settled with going to the stationmaster but he had just disappeared. Settled next to another patient local with the mins ticked away. Once the train arrival time came about I decided to try pleading at the carriage and went back to find Soph.
Train turned up not long after and we made a move to the carriage with our gear. Fortuitously we scored the back seats behind which had room to store the bikes. Bob went up in the luggage racks. We had purchased 1AC seats as commended which was executive class which seemed to help. Train staff were not at all fazed.
We settled in and the train staff distributed newspapers, followed by bottled water, followed by tea and coffee, followed by breakfast. Uncertain at first, we decline the Tea and coffee. Lonely planet had mentioned being careful accepting drinks / food from people with risk of doping and then theft. Plus constant concern regard water etc. With encouragement from the guys next to us though we enjoyed the service.
Staff were great and we passed the time talking with our seat companions, quizzing for further info. The guy next to Soph was watching Avatar on an iPad and the guy next to me a young modern textile industrialist from Amritsar answered all of our questions for the majority of the ride. Living in both Delhi and Amritsar he travelled frequently via train between the two. Great to talk to we gained further background and saw both examples of work and photos of the Golden temple on his blackberry. The company supplies grps such as Levis, JCPenny, Walmart etc with wool fabric pre designed/colored to specification. Soon to be heading to Singapore and Bali on holidays he was very interested in travel, but preferred beaches to bikes. Very warm and with a great outlook on life it was another insight into India's many spectrums.
Off the train at Ludhiana and many new faces. Porters appeared but we declined graciously. Tried to locate the Punjabi state tourism office (as advised by Tourism India) but to no success. A very nice punjabi station official at least enquired on our behalf. Approached by taxi driver and loaded up a normal sedan. One bike in the front and one in the boot. Again suffering the highs and lows of foreign journeys, comfortably coping one second and dog paddling the next.
At the Hotel Friends Regency, feeling a little uncertain, compounded by sense of oncoming illness. Door security / welcome via a uniformed Sikh Punjabi with mostach. Flourishing military salute, and more greatly appreciated smiling eyes. Met at front counter later by Mr Pathak who came across and graciously offered to assist our map planning when we inquiring of front desk staff regarding Punjabi State Tourism.
He identified that his niece was getting married at the hotel the following day and invited us to attend. He also spent between numerous mobile calls, time plotting out and giving recommendations on how to cycle to Shimla. Not at all fazed by the cycle aspect. Mr Pathak also turned out to be the General Manager of the hotel.
We decided to go out to see if we could find further backup maps via a bookstore, plus to assist the sweat build up under my eyes. Indian 3 star hotel rooms can be a little claustrophobic not due to their size but rather the absence of windows. Along the walk back into town we passed rickshaw drivers and at one stage even had guys pull into to see if we were ok. The absence of difficult to drop salesmen and children gave time to explore without feeling pressured. Did give alms on the way to some street women and have the horrible feeling that I placed the coins in a can not offered for alms but rather as a service (it contained liquid of some sort). Moved on quickly.
At a bookstore the owner directed us to Lyalls book store near the clock tower. We located rickshaws and asked one to take us, more for the guide then the ride. Unfortunately the guy was the oldest in the pack and so both of us felt guilty when approaching the station as there is an overpass. We discussed offering to cycle for him, but difficult to explain, I jumped off to help push, Soph remained so that there was no offense. Down the other side was a different matter with both of us wondering whether helmets were optional. Into the melée of the markets of ludhiana but more understandable. Feeling that more people were interested and smiling rather then just staring.
Become more practiced at heLLo and namaste as ice breakers. We encountered a Ludhiana downtown traffic jam with plenty of locals yelling out to each other and then located Lyalls and more importantly a detailed map of himachal pradesh the north western most state of India of which Shimla or Simla is the state capital. Amazing book store and helpful, friendly staff. Unfortunately they didn't have Uttarakhand the state prior to entering Nepal.
Back the same way again over the overpass but in rush hour. Given that it was a Saturday there appeared no difference, with most shops still remaining open until 8pm.
Went and explored the area around the hotel locating a suburban strip with general stores, clothing, food etc. Everything appears available it is just a case of locating. One girl assisted directions indicating that it was a pleasure to be of assistance. Again greater feeling of smiling versus non smiling interest. Found a bakery. The labeled prices seemed to not apply for us as we were charged the extra tourist fee by the smiling owner after we paid the equiv of $2 AUD for two pastries and some delicious caraway seed biscuits. I was still feeling sick so we walked back to the room and after some Lemonade crashed in attempt to sleep off the sick feeling. It worked as on Sunday morning we tucked into a nice breakfast of fresh fruit, tea, coffee, pastries and toast!