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Hi Everyone!
Well, after a prolonged period of goodbyes and a stressful 2 days of packing due to my poor organisational skills, I made it (just) on time for my flight!
It was an emotional ride; luckily I wasn't sat next to anyone, because I spent the first half an hour of the flight crying! However, I was soon distracted by the in-flight entertainment and the G&T's on offer, which I thought would help me to sleep.… but no such luck, I couldn't sleep at all!!
I arrived at 11am local time in Delhi where it was a nice 15 degrees, & was greeted by Geeta and her Mum and taken on the hour taxi ride to north Delhi where we were staying with Geeta's Aunty.
We arrived at Geeta's Aunty's house where I rested, and waited for our lift to arrive at 9pm. It was this evening that I decided to re-name what I previously referred to as "Sri Lankan timing" to just "Asian timing"… so, in keeping with "Asian timing", our lift arrived at 3am! Feeling bright and fully refreshed (!), we set on our 8 hour bus journey at 3am… and arrived at our destination on the edge of the Himalayas at 3pm (you do the math!). I also soon discovered just how cold it gets here - I am very grateful for my thermal vest because I wouldn't survive without it!
Our first stop was Chintpuni in Himachel Pradesh, to visit the first of a group of 4 well-known Hindu temples. However, it was actually quite disappointing and we decided not to visit the other 3! My decision to leave was aided by the new 'additions' to our outfit after making an offering at the temple (see the photo!).
We left Chintpuni and traveled down to Jallandhar in Punjab to stay with some other relatives of Geeta, so that we could leave early the next day to travel to Amritsar. On the way, we stopped at Beas in Punjab. I learnt that "Punjab" means "5 rivers" because there are 5 rivers which run through the state, and Beas is one of them. Our reason for stopping in this town was to visit the grounds of a famous Guru called Rudha Swami. We were searched before entering the enclosed community; once inside, we hired a rickshaw to take us around. It was just like suburbia; everything was uniform - each house looked the same and had the same make and colour car outside on the drive, the streets were completely clean, and it was so peaceful (in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of Delhi!). People who followed the Guru and worked there were provided with free accommodation, hospital treatment etc all on site - it appeared to be like some sort of cult!
From Beas we travelled on to Amritsar (Punjab), where we took time out to visit the memorial gardens dedicated to the 2000 people massacred by the British during a peaceful protest in 1919. We then walked the short distance to the Golden Temple, which is "the holiest of holy Sikh shrines", and to enter we had to remove our shoes and wash our hands and feet, and also cover our heads.
We walked through an archway and down some steps before it opened up to reveal the Golden Temple which stretched out into an enclosed lake with a path surrounding the lake which we followed. It is was very impressive and glistened in the sun and off of the water. We slowly walked around the lake so that we could view the temple from every angle, passing people who were bathing in the water because it is said to wash away all of your problems and the long queue of worshippers waiting to go inside to make an offering.
We continued from Amritsar to the border of India and Pakistan to watch the Border Ceremony, which proved to be a very interesting experience. Crowds gathered either side of the border gate and were encouraged to chant and sing in a bid to out-do each other - it was a bit like rival fans at a football match!
The ceremony itself involved the security guards parading up and down infront of the crowds, until they literally threw open the gate between India and Pakistan and the guards could square up to each other. This macho display involved a lot of stamping and head wobbling and was somewhat competitive to see who could lift their leg the highest whilst marching! The flags were then slowly lowered and removed to the delight of the crowd, and the gate closed again to mark the end of the ceremony.
Afterwards, we began the 9 hour drive back to Delhi, stopping at another Aunty's house in Ludiana for dinner on the way, arriving back in Delhi at almost 5am and definitely ready for our beds!
I had prepared myself for the chaos of India… and I haven't been disappointed! The congested roads where buses, lorries, cars, motorbikes, tuk tuks, rickshaws, and horse, cow and even camel- drawn carts all jostle with each other, and all you can smell are the traffic fumes and hear the constant beeping of car horns. I was soon reminded that here, the only rules of the road are that there are no rules! That you don't drive in a lane, but across all of them; that it's acceptable to weave in and out of traffic and bully oncoming vehicles to brake; that there's no "need" to wear a seatbelt, to stop at traffic lights even when they're on red or wait for pedestrians at a crossing. Despite all of this, the traffic can be brought to a halt by a cow crossing the road since they are given the highest priority! Overall I have had a fantastic introduction to India, and have settled into the different way of life and I am thoroughly enjoying it although I am already worn out. As I've said before, it's tiring being unemployed!!
I hope you are all well; make sure you keep in touch and let me know how you are all doing!
Love to everyone,
Rach xx
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