Tomichan Matheikal's blog

Kufri lies at about 20 km from Shimla on the way to Chail.  In winter tourists enjoy skiing and other snow-related activities.  The place won’t disappoint you in summer too.  There’s the Fun World which can offer you much entertainment.  There are various adventure activities and yak riding on offer.  You can view the distant snow-capped mountain ranges with the help of the telescopes placed in a row.  You reach the Fun World of Kufri riding a pony from the main road where your vehicle will have to park itself.  It’s a 15 minute-ride on a terribly rugged path that slopes ominously in some places.  Your guide will tell you when to bend your body forward or backward so that the pony won’t think you too idiotic.  Below are some pictures from Kufri.  Ponies carry you to the hub of activities Fun World Nag Mandir - Tourism and Religion go hand in hand in Himachal Pradesh A view from Nag Mandir Most yaks in Kufri are paired as black and white Brown Bea

Lore has it that Bhupinder Singh, king of Patiala, was enamoured of the daughter of Lord Kitchener, British Commander-in-Chief.  The Maharajah, a handsome ladies’ man, made some overture to the young girl.  The place where the incident occurred is known as Scandal Point (on the majestic Mall Road in Shimla) even today.  Bhupinder Singh was duly banished from Shimla.  He went to Chail, another hill at a distance of about 50 A view of the Chail Palace km from Shimla, and built up his new capital, having conquered the Gurkhas there.  But when he decided to construct his palace on the highest hill with the royal penchant for looking down on Shimla, his former Summer capital, he was faced with another problem.  An ascetic who was living on the prime location of the hill refused to budge and asked the king to build his palace elsewhere.  The king felt rage mounting in him by being pushed to the second place twice in succession: first by the British, now by a native baba.  Babas were

Maggie and I returned home yesterday after a brief journey in Shimla and nearby places of tourist interest.  A full day has passed after the visit and I am not able to write anything worthwhile about the visit.  It was not at all inspiring in any way.  Except for the mountains and their natural beauty.  But nature alone cannot satisfy any tourist.  The people matter. Child in Chail   And here is one person who caught our interest.  Our driver had stopped the car on the way back from Chail to Shimla in his own village market to talk to his people.  Maggie and I continued to sit in the car.  We saw this little girl sitting all alone on the veranda of a nearly-dilapidated building.  She was eating a tiny piece of watermelon.  Maggie called her and smiled at her.  She didn’t care two hoots for smiles.  In fact, she looked more indifferent than scared.  Maggie went out of the car and approached her.  She asked some questions and eventually managed to extract a smile from