The grounds at the temple are neatly kept but surrounded by monkeys. Tom had to wait in the car since monkeys in this area are known to tear glasses and sunglasses off the faces of visitors. Since Tom can’t see without his glasses, it made no sense for him to join me and Prince on the tour.

Over this next 47 days of touring in India, we’ll occasionally have an opportunity to share some of these missed events, all of which is important to us to have documented along with sharing it with all of you.

AMynew Chromebook will be awaiting me when we arrive on Monday (on a flight from Amritsar). It will take a few days to set everything up which I will do in between our arranged tours. But, I’m confident it will all work out.

The exterior of the steep walkway to the statue. I stayed behind and batted off the monkeys while Prince made the hike to take the photos of the statue.

OOurguide Prince picked us up at the Radisson Hotel Shimla for a day’s outing. On Thursday morning, The plan was to drive the the mountain town of Kufri to check out the scenery and head back to Shimla or more sites.

The drive to Kufri was again on treacherous mountain roads filled with trucks, motorbikes, and cars honking their horns simultaneously. Following any expected passing courtesies was out of the question. Everyone just took crazy chances.

There were monkeys everywhere at the Jakhoo Temple, most likely waiting for possible tidbits of food from tourists.

Prince, our highly competent driver, made us both feel as much at ease as possible under the circumstances. What a wild ride! That’s India, for you! One exciting moment after another while not only driving on the narrows road but also when walking.

Kufri was relatively uneventful other than the drive, with the exception of a few scenic overlook spots. We enjoyed people watching along the way as well as seeing the surprising amount of snow.

Even newer buildings maintain the integrity of the varying cultures of India.

On the return drive, we stopped to visit the above mentioned Jakhoo Temple and a few other temples in Shimla. As the day came to an end, we were happy to return to our hotel, freshen up and head to dinner in the restaurant. 

We’d both found items on the menu that appealed to us but nothing as spectacular as last night’s dinner here at the Ramada in Amritsar. Most certainly, we’ll have these same meals this evening, again with no cocktails since they are forbidden anywhere near the Golden Temple. 

The roads on the way to Kufri often included shops with colorful items for sale.

But the lack of a glass of wine or cocktail with dinner was a small sacrifice based on that beautiful meal shown in yesterday’s post here. Tom equally enjoyed his chicken fried rice.

That’s exciting! We’ll be back!! E is looking forward to sharing tomorrow’s post after an indescribable day of touring here in Amritsar and tonight’s special ceremony taking place at the India/Pakistan border.