MUSSOORIE

MUSSOORIE

We left Shimla on 22^nd Sept, 2013 after a three days stay. We took the Volvo A/C bus from Shimla to Chandigarh. Very comfortable. It took three and half an hours.  Chandigarh and Dehradun are not directly connected by rail or bus. To avoid loss of time and hassle we took a taxi. We travelled via Dehradun and with a half an hour break on the way for lunch we reached Shimla by 5.30 pm. The mall road where we had our hotel was closed for vehicular traffic. We got down at the famous Gandhi Chowk/Libraray End. We walked about a kilometer to the hotel while our luggage was carried by a porter. We could have taken cycle rikshaws, but we did not like the idea.

The hotel, as in all hill stations was situated on a steep road of about 60 m. surprisingly all the rooms in the hotel faced the road and then on the valley. It was an excellent view from the windows.

Mussoorie is called the Queen of Hill Stations!!!!!! It is one of the most popular hill stations. Its history dates back to 1826 when Captain Young, an adventurous Military officer found the place attractive and laid its foundation.

The weather was excellent. Slightly cold in the evenings but comfortable through the day. We just spent loitering around the bazaars and enjoying the great view of the mountain from various view points.

The following are the places which we found interesting.

1.    Kempty Falls.

Kempty Falls is situated at a distance of 15 kms from Gandhi Chowk. There are buses and taxis to ferry public. From the road, base of the Kempty falls is about 100 meters. There is a cable car service to take you down. The place is not well maintained. There are stalls selling bath wear, towels etc., in case someone wants to get into the water. Heavily crowded with people.

The fall itself quite majestic. Even though water falls from a great height, it is broken at intervals and last fall is just around 40 ft.

2.    Gun Hill

Gun Hill is situated about 400 Metres above the mall and is the second highest point in Mussoorie. It is at an elevation of 2122 m above MSL and offers a panoramic view of the Himalayas. During the British regime a gun situated here used to be fired at noon, thus the name of the place. The water tank for Mussoorie water supply is situated here. Gun Hill can be approached by a rope way car system from mall Road or a bridle path which takes about half an hour.

3.    Camel’s back Road

This road starts from the Library end, is about 3 kms .long and ends near the Rink in Kulri Bazaar. The road offers a good view of sun set. There is a hill which resembles a siting camel and hence the name. It is an extremely pleasant walk/horse ride of about 40 minutes. 

4.    Shedup Choepelling Temple

This is a small Budhist temple about 10 kms from Library End. There are two good paintings on the outside wall. A very silent place and gives a panoramic view of the Himalayas. Dalai Lama visited this temple some time back.

Unlike Shimla, the bazaar in Mussoorie is quite big. The first one starts at the Library and is about a kilometre long. The second and third are Landour and Kulri Bazzars at the other end of Mall road and have bigger restaurants and shops.

On 26^th Sept, we took a taxi from Mussoorie to Jolly Grant Airport which is about 60 kms away for our journey back home.

SHIMLA

SHIMLA

Shimla needs no introduction. It was the summer residence of Viceroys of India during the British rule and is now the Capital of Himachal Pradesh We spent four days in Shimla in the month of September 2013.

KALKA –SHIMLA RAILWAY LINE

After a couple of days in Chandigarh on 19^th Sept, we took the Himalayan Queen train from Chandigarh to Kalka, a journey of about an hour. At Kalka we boarded the Kalka – Shimla Himalayan Queen,the Toy Train. It travels at a speed of about 25-30 Kms and takes 5h 30 mts to reach Shimla. The  travel by this train meandering around hills and valleys through the alpine country is a life time experience.The route has more than 900 curves and turns, more than 100 tunnels and more than 900 bridges. There are 20 stations enroute, the most important being BORG.

Some of the bridges are architectural and engineering marvels. One which impressed me most was a bridge with two tier arches of stone.

All details about the railway are on a plaque at Barog station which is the one of the highest points on the line. Barog is located at a height of 1560 metres above the mean sea level. Barog is named after Colonel Barog, an engineer involved in building the railway track in 1903. Barog  was responsible for designing a tunnel near the railway station. He commenced digging the tunnel from both sides of the mountain, which is quite common as it speeds up construction. However, he made mistakes in his calculation and while constructing the tunnel, it was found that the two ends of the tunnel did not meet. Barog was fined an amount of 1 Rupee by the British government. Unable to withstand the humiliation, Barog committed suicide. He was buried near the incomplete tunnel. The area came to be known as Barog after him.

Later it was completed under Chief Engineer H.S. Harrington's supervision in a short period from July 1900 to September 1903, at a cost 8.40 Lakh rupees.

 Barog tunnel is said to be one of the straightest tunnels in the World. This is 1143.61m long and is the longest of the 103 operational tunnels on the route of the Shimla-Kalka Railway. Barog station is immediately after the tunnel. Trains take about 2.5 minutes to cross this tunnel, running at 25 kilo metres per hour.

The ancient Neals Token Instrument System of communication and track control is still followed here. This involves exchange of tokens at all stations on the route to get line clearance. This must be probably the only route in India following this system. This route has now been given the status of World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Climbing from Kalka at 656 Mts above MSL to Shimla at 2076 Mts above MSL in a distance of 96 kms,.has also been a Guinness World Record.

SHIMLA

We were greeted by an excellent weather, neither cold nor hot. A very peaceful place where things move leisurely. Extremely clean and neat place. No plastics. You have to carry paper or cloth bags for shopping. Taxis are available to take tourists to all places of interest .We tried to walk to most of the places as we had plenty of time at hand. There is the Mall road typical of all hill stations. Apples, Pears and Kiwis (grown locally now) were available in plenty and were very cheap.Rs.25 to 30 per Kg. Most of the hotels are off the main roads and one has to negotiate some steep roads to approach them.

The Ridge, Christ Church, Mall Road, Scandal Point( the place from where the Maharaja of Patiala kidnapped the daughter of the British Viceroy in 1892),Kali Bari , Jakhho temple(a 108 ft high statue of Hanuman is erected here) ,Budhist Monasteries are some of the attractions of Shimla.

GAIETY THEATER

One attraction which caught our attention is the Gaiety Theater.

Today’s Gaiety Theatre is the stump of the once colossal edifice that was the Town Hall. It was opened on the 30th of May, 1887, Queen Victoria's Jubilee Year and its God Father was Lord Bill Beresford. The formal inauguration of the club took place in the year 1888 and since then plays have been staged in the Gaiety with unfailing regularity. The Simla Amateur Dramatic Club was managing the theater The history of the club goes back to the times when theatre was looked upon as a major and serious source of entertainment and, therefore became a cultural necessity for the English elite. Hence, Shimla became the home of amateur theatre and the Gaiety Theatre produced the best of the plays performed in London. In 1911, the upper portions of the building were dismantled as the structure was found to be unsafe

Among the leading theatre personalities connected with the Shimla Amateur Dramatic Club are: Field Marshal Lord Roberts, who remained president of the Club from 1891-1892 during his tenure as Commander-in-Chief of India; Major P.H. Dnyer, a distinguished producer and actor who acted in Loyalties, Interference and Mary Rose; Lord Bill Beresford, V.C. who was the Military Secretary to Viceroy Lord Lytton, famous poet and author Rudyard Kipling, Lord Kitchner, Mrs. Deane, Major General Sir Godfrey Williams, the Chief of Scouts, Colonel Baden-Powell, and Sir Dennis Fitz Patrick, Lieut-Governor of Punjab during 1895 and many others. Notable film personalities like K.L. Saigal, Prithvi Raj Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Jennifer Kendall, Raj Babbar, Anupam Kher, Manohar Singh, Nasseerudin Shah, frequently performed on the stage of the Gaiety theatre.

The theater has been renovated from 2004 to 20/9, with the original structure untouched to keep its heritage preserved while making it more attractive. Sanjana Kapoor, theater personality (daughter of actor Shashi Kapoor) and Anupam Kher(who belongs to Shimla) took active role in the restoration. The restored theater is adorned with beautiful paper mache panels, reminiscent of the old colonial era. The stage is equipped with unique curtain arrangement having sand bags and pulleys, and natural acoustics. It has a seating capacity of 320 persons in two levels. Anupam Kher has conducted some theater workshops and plans to hold a theater festival shortly.

Visitors are attracted not just to its architecture, but also to the rare British photographs of plays staged from 1894-1904 and British era drama scripts housed in the historic building.

The Gaiety Dramatic Society (GDS), which now manages the theatre, has also acquired scripts of about 400 plays. These include 108 scripts of original English plays that were once staged by the British. Some rare books on stagecraft and theatre of the British are also available in the theatre's library.

The management has recently started guided tours of the theater

HANUMAN STATUE AT JAKHOO

VICE REGAL LODGE

ST. MICHEAL'S CATHOLIC CHURCH

CHANDIGARH-NEK CHAND'S ROCK GARDEN

CHANDIGARH

We visited Chandigarh on 18^th Sept. It is a well known fact that Chandigarh is an extremely well designed township. The roads are all parallel and perpendicular. Sectors are exclusively marked for shopping, administrative buildings, residential and sports facilities.

The one place which attracted us most was the World famous NEK CHAND ROCK GARDEN. It is an absolutely stunning creation with waste material. It is also unique that one single man could create such a masterpiece.

 I am giving below an article which appeared in THE HINDU some time back which gives all details about the man and his creation.

NEK CHAND'S ROCK GARDEN (From THE HINDU)

Nek Chand's Rock Garden is unique. It is not home to the usual roses and other exotic flowers, instead it is a garden of art.

The right combination of a little ingenuity, creativity and resourcefulness can go a long way, and perhaps one of the most striking examples of this is Chandigarh's famous Rock Garden. Also known as Nek Chand's Rock Garden, this vast enclosure stands as a symbol of its creator's brilliance.

The garden was discovered by a team of government malarial research workers, under the direction of Dr. S.K.  Sharma, the Assistant Director of Chandigarh Administration Health Services. S.K. Sharma claimed he was, “very impressed to see such a hidden art treasure” and informed Dr. M.S. Randhawa, the first Chief Commissioner of Chandigarh. He was instrumental in the landscaping of Chandigarh as well as securing its art collections. Randhawa recommended that the garden be saved and, “preserved in its present form, free from the interference of architects and town planners”. It was inaugurated as a public space in 1976. It is now run by the Rock Garden Society.

M.S. Randhawa named the site, “The Rock Garden”. In a later interview Nek Chand said that this was not what he had in mind, claiming that he had envisioned it not as a garden of cold rocks but his poetry as well.

HONOURED!

The Rock Garden gained immense popularity during the 1980's. Nek Chand received the Padma Shri in 1983 and a sculpture from the garden appeared on an Indian postage stamp. Nek Chand also began receiving attention from outside India and was awarded the Grande Médaille de Vermeil in Paris in 1980. Ann Lewin, the Director of the Children's Museum Washington DC, also requested Nek Chand to construct a garden at the museum. Nek Chand accepted the commission and even imported some sculptures from India.

During the later years, attempts were made to demolish the garden, this time to make way for a road to Kaimbwala village just north of the Sukhna Lake. Bulldozers were sent to start the demolition process but thousands of supporters gathered as “human shields”, protecting the site from being destroyed.

The Garden is built in three phases; with several thousand sculptures set in large mosaic courtyards linked by walled paths and deep gorges, a wonderland of human and animal statues and other fanciful sculptures. The garden proceeds in a chronological order of its creation.

Starting with a few natural forms and objects, like misshapen rocks, to minor landscape modification finally leading to a large scale architectural setting.

In the second phase Nek Chand created open courtyards along with pathways decorated with sculptures, complete with the king's and queen's chambers. The whole garden, in fact, is designed to look like a lost kingdom with doorways and archways constructed out of discarded bags of cement.

One can see a large waterfall, a canal, and even a miniature village. These have now become interactive spaces, where plays and cultural performances are often held.

In the third and probably the final phase of development, large horses and camels were constructed out of waste material.

The garden has come to face problems of maintenance and staff shortage in the recent years. This lack has resulted in some of the sculptures not receiving enough attention and thus becoming susceptible to damage and weakening.

Despite this, The Chandigarh Rock Garden remains one of the modern wonders of the world, and what began as a whimsical flouting of city regulations has fast become one of the main tourist attractions in Chandigarh.

ATHENS, GREECE and LOUIS OLYMPIA THE CRUISE SHIP

On the morning of 13^th May, we had an early breakfast at 6 am and as the ship anchored at Athens, Capital of Greece, we disembarked from the ship

We were joined by another 10 Indians, and we hired 3 taxis for taking us around Athens for 4 hours. It cost us 40 Euros per couple.

ATHENS

Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Athens bid for the 1996 Olympics to celebrate the centenary of the Modern Olympics but were out bid by the money power of Atlanta, USA.

Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery. 

The heritage of the classical era is still evident in the city, represented by ancient monuments and works of art, the most famous of all being the Parthenon, considered a key landmark of early Western civilization. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a smaller number of Ottoman monuments.

 Athens is also home to the National Archeological Museum, featuring the world's largest collection of ancient Greek antiquities, as well as the new Acropolis Museum.

Athens, the city with a glorious history, a city worshipped by gods and people, is a magical city. The enchanting capital of Greece has claims as the birthplace of civilization. It is the city where democracy was born and most of the wise men of ancient times. The most important civilization of ancient world flourished in Athens and relives through some of the world's most formidable edifices. 

We first visited the Olympic football stadium, the track and field stadium and the Parliament building and watched the change of guards. From there we proceeded to The Temple of Zeus. The combined entrance ticket for The Temple of Zeus and The Acrpolis is 12 Euros. From there we went to the most important site in Athens, the Acropolis.

 PANATHENAIC STADIUM 
It was originally a natural hollow part of the ground between two hills. It was transformed into a stadium in 330-329 BC for the athletic competitions of the Great Panathinaea Festivities. Between 140 and 144 AD, Herodes Atticus restored the Stadium, giving it the form that was found at the 1870 excavation: the horseshoe construction with a track 204 meters long and 33 meters wide .The external dimensions of the stadium was 268,eters and 141 meters. It is believed that the Stadium had a seating capacity of 50.000 people. Separating scales were built between the tiers and on the base there was a portico with Doric-style columns. Another portico was placed in the stadium's facade. The bridge across Ilissos River at the Stadium's entrance was restored, making it larger. The bridge was standing there up to 1778 and a part of it was excavated in 1958. At the Roman times, the Stadium was used as an arena, with the addition of a semi-circular wall on the north that was similar to the southern side.

The modern times restoration of the Stadium was conducted at the end of the 19th century for the first Olympic Games that were reborn again in 1896. 

Olympic Foot ball stadium

Olympic Athletic Stadium

PARLIAMENT HOUSE

Parliament House

Frieze on parliament Building

Guard at Parliament Building

TEMPLE OF OLYMPIAN ZEUS  

The Temple of Olympian Zeus was an enormous structure, the largest temple in Greece, exceeding even the Parthenon in size. Work began on this vast edifice in 515 BCE during the reign of the tyrant Peisistratos, who initiated the building work to gain public favor. Although there were several attempts over many years to finish the temple, it was not completed until 132 CE by the Emperor Hadrian.

The 104 columns, each 17 meters high, of the temple were made of Pentelic marble. Only 15 of the Corinthian columns remain standing to give a sense of the enormous size of the temple which would have been approximately 96 x 40 meters in size.

After the construction of the temple of Zeus, the Athenians honored Hadrian by building an arched gateway in the northwest corner of the sanctuary in 131 CE. The arch, also built of Pentelic marble, bears two inscriptions. The one on the side facing the Acropolis (west facade) reads "This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus" while the other, on the side facing the sanctuary and the extension of the city by Hadrian, reads "This is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus". 

Temple of Zeus

Temple of Zeus

ACROPOLIS 

The Acropolis hill (acro - edge, polis - city), so called the "Sacred Rock" of Athens, is the most important site of the city and constitutes one of the most recognizable monuments of the world. It is the most significant reference point of ancient Greek culture, as well as the symbol of the city of Athens itself as it represent the apogee of artistic development in the 5th century BC. During Perikles' Golden Age, ancient Greek civilization was represented in an ideal way on the hill and some of the architectural masterpieces of the period were erected on its ground. The Propylaea are the monumental entrances to the sacred area dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of the city.

The first habitation remains on the Acropolis date from the Neolithic period. Over the centuries, the rocky hill was continuously used either as a cult place or as a residential area or both. The inscriptions on the numerous and precious offerings to the sanctuary of Athena (marble korai, bronze and clay statuettes and vases) date back to (650-480 B.C.).The important structures at the Acropolis are the Parthenon, The Temple of Athena Nike and the Propylea.

THE PARTHENON

This is the most important and characteristic monument of the ancient Greek civilization and still remains its international symbol. It was dedicated to Athena Parthenos (the Virgin), the patron goddess of Athens. It was built between 447 and 438 B.C. and its sculptural decoration was completed in 432 B.C. The construction of the monument was initiated by Perikles, the supervisor of the whole work was Pheidias, the famous Athenian sculptor, while Iktinos (or Ictinus) and Kallikrates (Callicrates) were the architects of the building. The temple is built in the Doric order and almost exclusively of Pentelic marble. It is peripteral, with eight columns on each of the narrow sides and seventeen columns on each of the long ones. The central part of the temple, called the cella, sheltered the famous chryselephantine cult statue of Athena, made by Pheidias. .

THE TEMPLE OF ATHENA NIKE

The Temple of Athena Nike (Featherless Victory) is situated southwest of the entrance, on a rampart protecting the main entrance of the Acropolis. It was constructed in        ca. 420 B.C.by the architect Kallikrates. It is built in the Ionic order, and it has a row of four columns in front of each of its narrow sides. The relief frieze on the upper section of the walls depicts the conference of Gods on the east side, and scenes from battles on the other three. A marble parapet decorated with the relief representation of Nikae (Victories), protected the edge of the Bastion on which the temple was erected.

 THE PROPYLAEA  

The Propylaea, the monumental gateway of the Acropolis was built  in 437-432 B.C. It comprises a central building and two lateral wings. The colonnades along the west and east sides had a row of Doric columns while two rows of Ionic columns divided the central corridor into three parts. The walls of the north wing were decorated with painted panels or wall paintings and that is why it was called the "Pinakotheke". The ceiling of the Propylaea had painted decoration and a perforated ring around the roof.

Acropolis

Acropolis

Theater at Acropolis

Athena Nike

Erichth

Sculpture on Erichth

Sculpture in Erichth

Sculpture In Erichth

Parthenon

Propyleae

Restoration work

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LOUIS OLYMPIA, THE CRUISE SHIP

On 13^th May,in the afternoon, the ship travelled to Mykonos another island. We decided not to take the trip to the island and instead decided to explore the ship. Till now life has been very hectic and we hardly had any time to see all the facilities in the ship. The ship had 7 decks. The ship has more than 700 cabins of various levels. All furnished like a five star hotel except that the area specially the bath room is cramped.

One dining room, 4 lounges, 5 bars, casino, children’s play area, Duty Free & Travel Value shop, library, a Spa which includes hair salon, manicure and pedicure, massage room, double Jacuzzi, 2 pools, gym, medical center and Internet area. 

Usually, the meals are served in the Main Dining Room (deck 4)with the choice between a table d'hôte (set menu) or a buffet, or in the closed hall “Lido”, on the top deck, for casual meals, as well as in several areas of the ship (such as next to the pool), where barbecues are set up for pizza baking, burgers, hot dogs, pasta etc.

A meal on the ship whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner, was a pleasurable experience. While every meal is buffet style, we were specially looked after by some Indian crew members, since it was difficult  to identify which is vegetarian.  Breakfast had lots of bakery products, cereals and fruits, so there was no problem. The food was vegetarian but prepared in Greek style and was excellent. There is an excessive usage of auburgine (our own poor brinjal), potato and cheese.

Our Cabin

Louis Olympus

Dining hall

Dining Hall

Dining Hall

After Mykonos the ship sailed towards Kusadasi In Turkey.

On 14th May, we landed at Kusadasi around 9am and left the ship after customs and immigration check as we were reentering Turkey.

Thus ended a memorable cruise in the Aegean sea.

We were picked by our travel agents and transported to IZMIR the airport for flying to Istanbul.

We left Izmir at 4 pm and landed at Istanbul at 5 pm for our connecting flight to Mumbai which left at 6.45 pm.

Reached Mumbai early morning on 15th may, after a great trip to Turkey and Greece.