Winter Line

The weather seems to have gone directly from Monsoons to Winter.  Yesterday the temperature dropped and we are really making use of the little electric heaters in the Church View flat.

Last Friday on the way down Mullingar from Char Dukan, near Doma's Inn we got a great view of langurs and the Winter Line!

Everest House

On Wednesday I took a day off along with friend MG who is teaching at Woodstock.  We took a taxi out to the Everest House, and then walked the 5 or 6 miles back to Library Bazaar area.

The Everest House was the house of Colonel Sir George Everest, who was the Surveyor General of India, and whose name was given to the highest peak in the Himalayas, Mount Everest.  The house is in great need of protection and restoration, and a good team of volunteers needs to clean up all of the trash around the grounds.

There was a lot of mist blowing up from the Doon, but we got a glimpse of a snow peak and of Benog Tibba. There are hundreds of strings of prayer flags on the top of the Park Estate hill, all fluttering in the breeze from the south.

The walk back to Library Bazaar was quite pleasant.  We were accompanied almost half the way by two friendly dogs.

We stopped about half way and had chai and fresh alu parathas .. the perfect restoration for a hike!

Mussoorie Schools

In addition to Woodstock School, there are a lot of other boarding and day schools in the Mussoorie area.  The oldest is the Convent of Jesus and Mary, which was established in 1845.

Among the newer ones is the Mussoorie Modern School, est. 1970.

An older school is St. George's College, visible across the valley from Woodstock.

 St. George's absorbed the old St. Fidelis School, a school for orphans.

 
The lower school dormitory seems quite Dickensian! Our dorms at Woodstock were smaller and much more homey!

We made a visit to the school's new archives/museum which is quite impressive.

Ah the Views!

After five days of monsoon and mist, we woke up last weekend to clear skies.  The view to the Doon Valley to the south was particularly clear, as one could see beyond the Siwaliks.

The snow-covered peaks to the north had some clouds, but at least we could see that they do exist!

Fancy Hotels

One morning we walked up the hill from Church View to see the Kasmanda Palace Hotel. This iwas the summer home of the Raja of Kasmanda, and has been converted into a Heritage Hotel. It is quite grand and is full of all of the features that one would expect in such a place .. tiger skins, mounted heads of wild sheep, snooker and polo trophies, etc.

Another day we had a late lunch at the Savoy Hotel.  The Savoy was built around 1900 for the British, and had fallen to near ruin 100 year later.  However, it has just been completely restored and was reopened for business in June of this year.  The restoration job is magnificent .. all of the teak doorways and window casings stripped of years of grime and rubbed with oil .. brass chandeliers gleaming .. a grand dining room with excellent service.  The hotel has a exercise room, wifi, and all the other 'mod cons.' 

On the grounds are two ancient Deodar trees overlooking the garden where Queen Mary had tea in 1906.

Prices at these hotels are on the low end of what would pay for a room at good hotel in a U.S. city (in the range of $150-$350 per night depending on room and amenities).

Christ Church

Our flat is just above the hill from Christ Church.  This had been the church that CW attended when she lived here, and we both had brought extra suitcases with needlepoint kneeling cushions for the church, so this is where we had to go on Sunday morning.

The church was built in the 19th century as an Anglican Church for the British community in Mussoorie. It was beautifully restored a within the last 20 years. It is currently a part of the Church of North India, a union protestant denomination.

I couldn't resist taking these pictures of the organ, which is badly in need of restoration.

 And a picture of the electric panel which is an odd mixture of new and old!

There are many memorial plaques along the walls .. this one for a British soldier who died in Waziristan .. a place where many are still fighting and dying.

There is a tree outside of the church that was planted in 1906 by Queen Mary, wife of King George V.

Church View

For these first 3 weeks we are staying in a flat in a house called Church View in Library Bazaar (now called Gandhi Chowk) which is about 4 miles from Woodstock School.  We've been taking a taxi to the school the (mornings we work, and then walking all or part of the way back.

We are staying on the 2nd floor of this house.

Some of the (misty) views from the flat or nearby.

We have been preparing our own breakfasts and dinners in the nice kitchen.