Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
There's nothing quite like squatting over a toilet on a train hurtling full speed ahead for Delhi! It's definitely going to take some practice, that's for sure. It's only our second train journey so far and so far I'm impressed. The first was a sleeper train, where we had our own little cabin and the bunks were relatively clean and comfy and now half way to Delhi and I'm so full up on yummy food, i'm ready to pop! We've had three courses of tasty Indian fare, tea, snacks, soup, juice, the list goes on and there's more to come I'm sure. I'm not complaining of course, it's just that earlier today we visited The Golden Temple in Amritsar, the Sikhs most holy temple, where after a leisurely stroll around the courtyard lake and waiting in the hour long queue to enter the temple itself, we found ourselves following the masses towards the dining hall. Armed with our metal plates and bowls we waited patiently in another long queue eager to see what this free meal experience would be like. We'd read in our trusty Lonely Planet that in the Sikhs nature of welcoming everyone together, they provide around 60000 to 80000 free meals a day. A bowl of some sort of broth I was sure, but no, once the dining hall had been cleared of the previous diners and the floor washed down, we dutifully followed everyone else and sat cross legged on a row of carpet with our plates before us and watched the food arrive. Men stooped over holding big buckets of food walked up and down the aisles dishing up a thali of lentils, chickpeas, mooli, chapatti and some sort of delicious sweet sago type coconut dish. And then came offers of seconds and thirds and fourths and we had to physically cover our plates to prevent any more food being served. Belly's full we left the hall, passing the next queue of diners waiting their turn and handed our plates over to the washers who first banged them into a massive vat to rid them of any scraps, creating a din of steel drum beats that echoed through the peaceful holy music playing continuously in the background. A huge 'factory line' of volunteers, from peeling and chopping vegetables to passing out the plates, all day, every day, makes this a truly memorable experience. I think I like Sikhism, with their turbans, no meat and everyone's welcome philosophy. On the other hand, their no drugs, no drinking, no smoking and no shaving policies rendered Dan to quip 'it makes Islam seem fun'. Think it's time to move along and continue our journey South.
- comments