Well the pain is over.. and I have finished my MCSE course and am on my way to Bali!!!!!
Right now I'm sat in a flat in Mumbai waiting for my flight out early tomorrow morning, As I approach the end of my stay in
The lovely colonial hill-station of Shimla, perched high in the spectacular
I’ve been here long enough to investigate my surroundings and soak-up local atmosphere. Not wanting to be quick to judge, I relegated my initial impressions to the back shelf. The place reminded me in parts of tawdry seaside resort, with diminutive bazaars touting kitsch to the tourist family-groups, shuffling wearily between rows of street-sellers with their bright pink candy floss, balloons, novelty toys and snack stalls.
I expected a picturesque hill-station in the mountains and instead there’s just an less than attractive blot on the landscape. The once lovely town is now reeling under the weight of ever increasing tourism. Shops, houses and hotels are squeezed into every conceivable location, there’s hardly a view of surrounding mountains which does not contain shabby buildings clung to the hillsides. Between buildings, if a space is to be had then it will be full with rubbish, rubble or ruin of some kind. The plastic bag population seems to multiply in
Regular road-shows and concerts are robbing the environment of its charm, the Mall was an area where people could enjoy a peaceful stroll in the evenings, but now you are more likely to hear someone screaming on a microphone and have to push through human traffic jams, making it a hassle to move around.
I’m disappointed, I expected more. Some of my friends back home were, I know, preparing to hear reports on remnants of surviving colonial influence on town planning and construction, atmosphere and taste. Instead Shimla is now an example of how to take a step backwards in town planning, and I suspect as in the rest of
Quite frankly
There are diamonds in the rough, and brilliant ones at that. You can be prepared to have your breath taken away any number of times by endless encounters.
.. though I expect I'll feel differently after I've left :)