Day 12

I felt quite nauseous for half the night, and my insides were gurgling as if I was hooked up to the city water supply. So began Round 2 of "the loosies", this one a bit more debilitating than the first. When morning rolled around, the rest of the group went out for a walk and then to view the Republic Day festivities, but I just got some toast and stayed in bed until noon. Then I took some "stopper" pills that Arjan had, and they worked some pretty amazing magic.

Instead of taking the toy train back down the mountain, we drove, which was a fair bit faster. I can't comment on the relative quality of the views, since I spent most of the drive asleep. Near the bottom of the mountains we stopped at a really luxurious cliff-side hotel for lunch. Even though I still wasn't in the mood for eating, it was great to sit in the warm sun and take off my jacket for the first time in two days. There was a cable car that went from the hotel to another hotel on a nearby peak, and I was feeling well enough to take the ride up and down from there just for fun.

Just a short distance from the lunch stop, we made a stop at the town where Swati spent the early years of her life. We saw their apartment (now with an extra level) and the school that Swati attended. I really liked the feel of it, quiet (for India) and nestled right up against the hills.

From there it was just a short drive to Kalka, where it was back on the regular 5-hour train to Delhi. I think we all had been assuming that it would be the same crowded train that we took on the way up, so that meant that it was a really pleasant surprise when our car said "AC Chair Car" on the side, which is a far more comfortable class and something we all welcomed at that point.

Again, I slept almost the whole way, so I spent nearly the whole day sleeping. We returned to the same hotel in Delhi we had been in previously, where I just continued right on with the sleeping.