Lots to catch up on!
We left Kullu for Shimla on Sunday morning. Shimla is a sprawling town in the southern Himalayan foothills. It feels like the Lake District, but a lot steeper, so much so that you have to take a lift from the lower to the upper area of the town. We stayed in a lovely government guesthouse (free!) on both nights. We visited the Viceregal Lodge, a very British looking mansion with pretty english flowers, which made us feel at home - there were carpets and fireplaces and it was all nice and cosy! After a look round the bazaars, we visited a church, not a temple for once, much to Jo's delight. However, you can't avoid temples in India - we took a very long, steep walk up to the Jakhu Temple, aka the Monkey Temple. As the name says, there were lots of monkeys waiting to steal our bags. It took us 30mins to climb up, which according to the sign means we are 'super fit'!
On Tuesday we drove south to the city Chandigarh for the day. As recommended in our guide book, we went to have a look at the High Court as the architecture is supposed to be amazing. We were very disappointed to find just a cement building and a boring museum 
. After lunch, we took a paddle boat out on Sukhna Lake and visited the Fantasy Rock Garden - a bit like falling down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. We drove to Dharampur to meet Pragya's cousin for dinner and then stayed the night in a village called Garkhal with Pragya's Auntie and Uncle.
The next morning we drove back to Delhi. We visited an Ashram - like a Hindu monastery - to meet the Swami, Pragya's family connection. We arrived at 4.30pm but the Swami couldn't meet us 'til 6.45pm! We had a chat with him, sitting at his feet on our best behaviour! He gave us gifts and blessed us lots before we left. We stayed the night at the same homestay we were in during our placement in Delhi. It was like the good old days, except it was pouring with rain and the city was very quiet what's happened to our Delhi?!
