Casa Calda is made up of all the smaller element that creates a big picture, Celynn attends to every customer with all her heart, providing everyone that comes in that door a comfortable dining ambiance and hearty meal cook up by her. She is the cook, the waiter and the cashier so it might take awhile if there are a lot of customers, please be patient with her.

It has become one of my favorite spots to chill out when I'm in Penang, the cafe is tucked away in lorong bangkok, it is the only cafe there so it will not be hard to spot. The cafe is near Gurney Plaza and Gurney Paragon which is a great place to take a break after all that shopping, the desserts are wonderful and worth waiting for. A must try when you are there for a visit.

Here's what I've ordered over my two visit, Grilled Chicken RM18.90, Berries Cake Pop RM16.50 MUST TRY!!, Mango Crepe RM15.50 and Floral Tea by Pot RM10.

I really enjoyed myself here, getting a parking is easy, the price is reasonable and the portions were really generous, if you happen to be in Penang do bring a friend along to enjoy this lovely little cafe.




Casa Calda Cafe
8, Lorong Bangkok, George Town,
10250 George Town, Pulau Pinang.
Opening Hours: Tuesday - Sunday 11:30AM - 3:00PM, 6:30PM - 10:00PM close on monday
Contact: 017-478 4901
FACEBOOK

Day 11 - Reckong Peo

 It was not an easy route for us, from Sarahan to Reckong Peo, the roads were narrow and curvy roads, it only allows a car to drive pass at a time so the driver had to be very skillful and alert when driving. I was quite tensed the entire journey but it was a one of a kind experience. It was a 6 hours drive, we stayed a night at a budget hotel, one of the worst I've stayed in India because all the fancy hotels were up in the hill and the roads were blocked because of the heavy snowing.


We got our heater fixed before heading to Shimla, if you notice that's my small little heater I used throughout my entire stay in India.



Day 12 & 13 - Shimla

Shimla is my favorite city in this entire trip, it is the capital and largest city in Himachal Pradesh. There's a little bit more entertainment in this city and as a city girl I'm just glad that I'm back to the city after days of travelling in the mountains. Finally I could enjoy a hot shower.

Shimla is also well noted for its its buildings styled in Tudorbethan and neo-Gothic architecture dating from the colonial era, it reminds of us very much of Europe, the weather in Shimla was magnificent as well, it's cold but you still get the sunshine, the street food were awesome, until today I still tell Ricky I'll like to go back and visit again. Most importantly, there's shopping to be done here, lots of big brands are available in Shimla.  







Here are some of the restaurant you might want to drop by when you're in Shimla. The food was great and prices was affordable, I'm definitely looking forward to visit these places again.
  Ashiana & Goofa 
The Ridge, Lower Bazaar, Shimla 171001, India 

This restaurant is owned and managed by Himachal Tourist department, the quality and service was excellent, we had dinner here and the food was delicious besides that the restaurant has a good ambiance and it's perfectly located at the ridge itself.
Honey Hut Cafe
70 The Mall Road, Shimla 171001, India

A cute cafe to stop by after shopping. The cafe sells everything made out of honey, so we had honey coffee, honey tee and honey cakes. Overall a very pleasant cafe to enjoy tea time.
   
Trishool Bakers and Confectionary 
Mall Road, Shimla 

MOMOS (dumpling) are a must try here! We saw there were lots of youngsters lining up, so we decided to try it out and it was so good, we had 2 plates of it. The fillings are chicken or veggies then dipped in green and red chili sauce.



Boys will always be boys, Ricky suggested we took the toy train from Shimla to Kalka it was around 5-6 hours but if you're a scenery person this will be the gem of the trip.The toy train offers a grand view of pine covered hill tops, flora and fauna, and the typical picture which makes the hills, queen of hills, it's actually a great way to explore the great Himalayas.Overall it was a wonderful and thrilling ride.

The railway route is 96km from Kalka to Shimla has more than 806 bridges and 103 tunnels,it was touted as an engineering feat and came to be known as the "British Jewel of the Orient". In 2008, it became part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mountain railways of India.

Himachal Pradesh is a northern Indian state in the Himalayas, we wanted to experience the the real beauty of it, our initial plan was to go until Rohtong Pass, it's at an altitude of approximately 4,000 meters, which is the highest point in the region, a must visit place from Manali but we stopped at Shimla because of the heavy snowing and there's no way to pass through.

Despite that we continued our journey, a good travel agent makes a great difference and we were lucky to have Great Escape Routes to organize the rest of our trip. Nandhu was assigned as our driver,a very accommodating, knowledgeable tour guide, he took us from Manali - Tatapani - Sarahan - Kalpa - Shimla. We pass through many small villages enroute by having our own vehicle we were given the freedom to stop and enjoy the local culture.

Great Escape Route
SCO No 06, Aandhi Bhavan, Near Ashoka Hotel, Jakhu, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh 171001, India http://www.greatescaperoutes.com/

 Day 9 - Tatapani

As we were driving down the valley to Manali, we spotted this clear blue lake, Beas River and we took a quick stop to enjoy the clear blue lake. Nandhu took us back to his home, that was really heart warming for us, to invite us to his place. The house was located right beside a hill, it was along the way to Tatapani, his wife prepared a simple and delicious meal for us, simple but the taste of fresh chapati and dhal were amazing.



Tatapani is famous for it's hot sulfur spring coming out by the side of Sutlej River.The sulfur is know as "nature's beauty mineral," our body needs sulfur to manufacture collagen to keep our skin elastic and looking young. There's a open hot spring in town which is free for locals and tourist, if you'll like more privacy there's a spa nearby as well.
 

We stayed at Hotel New Spring View, Mr Bharat, the owner, was very accommodating, he gave us a brief introduction of the town and hotel, I must say I enjoy my stay very much because of the excellent service. He told us about the spa he's running which is just beside the hotel, it has direct access to the water from the hot springs due to an underground pump, that means I get to enjoy myself with privacy. The hot water sulphur baths were worth the time spent, overall a worthwhile visit.



Day 10 - Sarahan

Sarahan is a remote village up in Kinnaur Valley, the famous attraction here, Bhimakali Temple, it is a 800 year old shrine in the name of Durga Devi is a landmark destination in this hilly terrain. From Tatapani it was a 4 hours drive, there were lots of beautiful and scenic we drove by and we kept requesting to stop just to enjoy and be close to mother nature. The water from the mountains are also safe to be drank as it is so this is how we drink when we travel the mountains. 

The Srikhand (HPTDC), runs by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism . The hotel is located right beside a hill, the view from the hotel was amazing but something unfortunate happen when we were there, the entire town was out of electricity, I guess that's one of the perks of staying high up in the mountains but the people in town told us this was normal, I had no choice but to sleep in the cold during winter with no heater. The hotel staffs were nice enough to start a fire for us right outside the hotel and that's the only place we can enjoy some heat but that doesn't help much during winter, it was just too cold for me. That was my far-most difficult moments in this trip, it was so bad I cried and sulk and wanted to go back home without continuing the journey but thanks to Ricky, he gave me lots of mental support and supported me through this difficult period.