Shimla

I go walking early this morning and meet school kids in uniform. The kids are beautiful here, they start learning English so, so young! The girls I was talking to must have been about 8 years old. They wanted to know where I was from (and then what the capital of Canada was) and what my hobbies were. The one really likes dancing. They wave a huge goodbye when they have to turn off to go to their school...it's adorable.
Shimla is a really awesome town. The buildings look like they're clinging to the side of a mountain. Parts of it make you feel like you're walking through a set of a play with old English buildings. It's very surreal.
I go trekking with one of the people that owns the hotel...Mushy is his nickname. He's awesome...his English is amazing and he's very genuine. We take a local bus (i.e. one absolutely jam packed with Indians) a few kms away and hike up, up, up to a Hindu Temple (can't remember the name). It is quite the hike getting up there but then there are panoramic views out over Shimla and the surrounding countryside with the snow-capped Himilayas in the background. It's stunning. Photographs just do not do it justice.
When we reach the temple, I'm a bit leery about going in, don't know what to expect. You have to remove your shoes and wash your feet then you can go up. At the top of the first set of marble stairs is a little old Indian man. He yells "WELCOME" at me in his boomingly cheerful Indian voice and tells me to go look in the halls to the right and left...again views out of the windows just incredible. I continue up the 2nd set of stairs, take a look at the shrine and then continue back down. The little old man calls me over. I automatically assume: he wants some kind of offering....he's gonna expect a lot. Etc etc. Typical Westerner... Nope. He tells me to go downstairs and have some breakfast. Mushy tells me I should go, if I don't I might offend them. So I do...it's rice...and there are several toppings you can have for it. He tells them no for the one vegetable dish, says it might make me sick. I haven't been in India long enough. I'm a bit embarassed about my original reaction - thinking that this guy wants something of me...when instead he only wants to offer something. That hit home pretty good. Everybody here is very friendly and helpful and my first reaction is always to be suspicious of that. Not necessarily a bad thing but at the same time, leaves you less open to experiences.
This afternoon I also checked out Viceroy Hall. Man, the building looks very Harry Potter-esque...I will have to attach photos! It was created in 1888 and was where they signed an independence agreement with Pakistan in 1947. It's now used as a university for post-docs. I wish UW buildings had half the character this place has!!
Oh, in lieu of the fact that Shimla is so awesome, I'm scrapping my plans to visit Amritsar (will visit but later in the trip). I am going to go trekking to a place called Tattapani tomorrow. It'll be good altitude training for Everest.