the world's soul and toy trains.

there's that common saying that the journey is more important than the destination--i never took that literally until this weekend (granted, the saying itself was never meant to be literal to begin with...), when seven of us (2 americans, a korean, a chinese, an indonesian, and 2 poles) traveled to shimla, a hill station that once served as the summer vacation of the British Raj (rule) in 1864. below you can see al and our adorable little train.

it started at 3:30 am on sunday when we woke up to catch a 4 am taxi to kalka, then our 5:30 am "toy train" to shimla, 96 km passing through 102 tunnels and 87 bridges. we were promptly served tea and biscuits as the sun rose over the trees, and then a complimentary breakfast a few hours later. fun fact: just on july 2nd, 2008, UNESCO added the Kalka–Shimla Railway to its world heritage list.

we had the entire car to ourselves and enjoyed it thoroughly, taking loads of pictures of each other sticking our heads out of the windows (be careful to watch out for those tunnels) and sneaking in a few hours of napping. i love, love trains--they have fantastic views (especially this one), the atmosphere is just so comfortable, and i feel like i'm going to hogwarts (yes, i did read more of the deathly hallows during breakfast this morning...). it was incredibly breathtaking, the winding tracks and all the towns perched on the edge of the mountain.

shimla itself was very relaxing, the people so friendly as well...you don't even feel like you're in india because of all the british architecture and christian churches scattered about.

i will remember shimla for the following:
1. it was not hot.

2. there were so many monkeys. one jumped on ula's back and stole her glasses and a boy somehow secured them and then demanded 10 rupees for his hard work. anyways, i still found them adorable, especially the babies, even though everyone was tired of them hissing at us.
3. we walked...a lot. to the hindu jakhu temple at the top of one of the mountains (we made the 3 km hike in less than 30 minutes! according to the sign, we are physically fit!), to the state museum, to the christ church on the ridge, to the Viceregal Lodge, a British mansion straight out of some movie.

4. we ate cookies for dinner (chocolate and orange) because we took a regular chair class train back, not a tourist train, and fighting for seats and all that distracted us long enough to forget to buy decent food. al and i made pasta once we got home at 1 am, and it was probably one of the best meals...ever. i dont think i can eat another cookie for quite a while.

5. the dogs in shimla are really lazy and sleep a lot. it's like some conspiracy...everywhere you go, whatever time of day...they're just sleeping. it's a phenomenon.

the train ride back was a blur of cramped necks and attempts to sleep (and cookies) and...reading the entirety of the alchemist in one sitting. i bought it a few days ago, and had only gotten past the first couple pages, so this was a good chance to hit it all up at once. im sure many of you have read it, and liked it, or even loved it as much as i did...maybe it's because of where i am right now in life, but it just struck a chord in me, so deeply and so profoundly. never have i been so reassured by a book that life is ok and it will work out and i will be happy as long as i make the choices, one at a time, that reflect my priorities and values and goals. never has any book made me feel this at peace and content and excited and enthralled about life. that's a lot.

decisions--im excited for decisions and choices and change in my near and far future. i can see why the alchemist was an international bestseller--we all want to feel secure in our futures, to feel like we have direction and reason and purpose. and the book gives you that security, not by telling you what your 'destiny' is, but by laying out a beautifully sweet and simple story of a boy who finds his. he succeeds (triumphs!) amidst a tangle of conflicting desires and dreams, of mishaps and manipulations, of false starts and reconsiderations and doubt and certainty and listening to your heart, and of wise mentors and loyal friends, and even a patient love in the land of deserts and camels (huh, really...).

i finished it, the indian woman next to me picked it up and started to read the back, and then everyone else who was traveling with me started to pass it around and talk about it, and when and where they've seen or heard of it...al and ken both started reading it right after i finished it. i love spreading the reading love.

this picture seems rather future/hope/mystery-filled. props to nithin for calling out on the great lighting.

that was the last weekend trip in india--i leave in exactly one week and i am not at all happy about it. im plenty excited for things that await in the us and at cornell. but i dont know, i honestly dont know, where my summer went and how all this time passed in such a flash. more on that later...i still have my last meeting with my boss on friday and two documents (one survey report, more later on that, and a revised health education packet) to finish up. here we go...