Delhi to Shimla

So as if my 13 hour flight and all that the travelling to the airport, layovers, etc isn't enough, what do I decide to do the very next day? Catch the 7:40 am train out of Delhi for an additional 10 hours of travelling (by train) to a little place in Himchal Pradesh called Shimla. But man is it worth it!
The first time I got overwhelmed in India was Dec 1 - walking from the hotel to the New Delhi train station. At 7am, the place is ... bustling...but if there's a bigger, harsher, word for bustling...I'd use that....oooh...chaotic. Yeah, that's it. Traffic (busses, bicycles, motorbikes, autorickshaws, bicycle rickshaws) going everywhere, I'm trying to cross the road...I stand there for maybe 2 minutes looking helpless, finally a nice guy on a bike points me where I should better try to cross...and holding my breath, I make it.
The train station is a pretty interesting place, you have people from all walks of life, some of them seem to have camped out on the platforms for weeks. I opt for 1st class travel for my 1st train journey in India. I wouldn't call is plush, but it's nice and you are very well taken care of. You are given as much coffee and tea as you can drink, newspapers, they even give everybody a rose (WTF?) and a huge breakfast. Most everybody falls asleep after brekkie! Train travel, especially in 1st class, is very relaxing. The trip to a place called Kalka (4 hours away) is very flat...but of course you pass by crazy little villages, and well..safety in India is pretty well nonexistant. Cows, people, you name it, is on the rails one over. There is even a dead cow on its side right beside the railway. I do a double take.
The Kalka to Shimla Railway was constructed in the early 1900's. It's a toy train...very small...and the entire journey is a Unesco World Heritage site. I would not say the trip is quite as good as some of Norways but definitely a close 2nd! It's pretty spectacular. It's only 90k from Kalka to Shimla but you gain about 1400 m in altitude (Kalka at 650 Above sea level, Shimla at 2050 m ASL). There are 103 tunnels along the way. and the journey takes 6 hours. Rail car doors are open as you wish for photography/getting some fresh air. There are a lot of tourists on this train...Indian and Foreign...my ticket is next to a Russian dude called Peter who is travelling India for 6 months. Ha! That's the thing: Leaving Canada, everybody says "WOW, 6 whole weeks, that's incredible." But you get travelling, and everybody I talk to says "ONLY 6 weeks? That's surely not enough." And I'm definitely realizing that it's not!
I meet an Indian couple who just got married on Nov 20 and are honeymooning in Shimla (it is a very popular honeymoon spot). They share their Indian sweets with me....ooooh so good!
Getting into Shimla I can feel the change in Altitude when I try to walk uphill to the hotel...I am short of breath easily...things that would normally be easy for me at sea level are more difficult here. I'm staying at a hotel with marble floors and it's costing me $5 a night. Ridiculous. Amazing views too!