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All that glitters is gold in Amritsar
After suffering a bit of an ordeal on our overnight train from Haridwar, we arrived in Amritsar at about 7am. We took an auto rickshaw straight to the backpacker area and set about finding somewhere to stay. The first few places were either too expensive or full but we eventually settled on Sharma guesthouse. Not quite as cheap as Rishikesh, but close. With no time to lose as we were only staying in Amritsar for one night, we got ready and head out to the spectacular Golden Temple. The Golden Temple is Sikhism's holiest shrine and for Sikhs a trip to the Golden Temple is the equivalent of a trip to Mecca for the Muslims.
There are certain rituals you have to follow before you can enter the Golden Temple. First of all you have to remove your shoes and keep them outside the Temple. Then you have to wash your hands and feet and make sure your hair is covered. This applies to both men and women. Upon entering the Temple I saw brightly coloured turbans in every colour ranging from bubblegum pink to sky blue. Watching all these bright colours against a backdrop of a glittering gold-plated gurdwara was a real feast for the eyes and I had to stop myself from staring so much! I was disappointed to realise how little I knew about Sikhism and made a mental note to read up on it when I next got a chance. Cameras were not allowed inside the actual gurdwara so I couldn't take any pictures but it really is stunning. There are Sikh volunteers constantly washing the floors and polishing the banisters so everything is pristine. We spent a couple of hours looking around before heading out for lunch and a nap.
Border Theatrics
There was one more thing we wanted to do in Punjab before leaving and that was going to watch the late afternoon border-closing ceremony between India and Pakistan. We were approached by a man called Uppal when we were walking around and he offered to take us to the border and back in his jeep for 75 rupees each. We agreed to this but refused to pay his deposit as we had no idea whether he'd actually show up or not. He wasn't best pleased but accepted our refusal and turned up anyway. We made our way to the jeep with 9 other people and the 12 of us somehow crammed in. Uppal had to share the driving seat with Kenji. The gear stick was actually on the other side of Kenji so everytime Uppal wanted to change gear he had to lean over him! It was about an hour's drive to the border and when we got there we sat down in the tourist stands and waited for the ceremony to start. In the mean time there were Indian children running around with flags of India and there was lots of dancing in the street with loud bhangra music pumping out of big speakers! We looked across the gate to Pakistan and the stands were empty. Apparently it's not such a big deal for Pakistan but their stands did eventually attract a few spectators. No dancing or loud music though.
Then the ceremony started. The soldiers from both sides paraded up and down dramatically followed by incredibly high kicks up in the air and hard stomps to the ground. The gates opened, the soldiers shook hands and the border was closed for the night. There was lots of flag waving, cheering and chanting "Hindustan zindabad!" (Long live India!) from the crowd. What a spectacle. We loved it. We were dropped off near to our guesthouse so we went off in search of dinner. Chris and Kenji opted for Domino's Pizza which was nothing like Domino's in the UK whilst I was intent on finding some Tandoori Chicken. I had no luck though as it turns out that no meat or alcohol is sold within a one mile radius of the Golden Temple. All in all it was a really nice day and we went to sleep looking forward to our journey into the Himalayas.
- comments
Daz Another great place visited and another excellent write-up t tell us all about it. Love it.
Mum Didn't you try the temple food? Or you didn't know about it?
Priya I didn't know about it beforehand but when I was there I saw people eating it... I didn't have any though
Girija C K Balan Wonderful write-up. Not a tinge of doubt about it. Zindabad Priya; Zindabad India. Hope you dont mind my patrotism. Lol.
Mum Good write-up. Should have said that earlier. If u think the turban is something to abt, wait till you get to Rajasthan and see the headwears. You will be amazed.