After delaying the inevitable leaving of our little getaway from India, without actually leaving India, the time had come to board our bus out of McLead Ganj. This time was 4am, and our bus driver literally just woke up and started driving the bus while still brushing his teeth. The 6 hour bus trip to Amritsar in the Punjab wasn’t too bad, although it may have had something to do with the fact that as soon as I got on the bus I took a Gravol and was in La La Land the rest of the trip.
Like most other Indian cities, Amritsar was an assault on our senses. In the span of only 5 minutes, our ears were full of the sounds of blaring horns, trains whistles, sirens and even fireworks; our nose was bombarded with the smells of exhaust, burning rubber, garbage of various scents, and the ever present dust; and our eyes darted from uncountable cows sleeping in the middle of the road, a dog pooping in the centre of a busy intersection, ponies galore, neon-coloured dyed chicks in cardboard boxes, and men in every colour of turban we could imagine. And oh the beards and moustaches! I’ve never seen such amazingness in facial hair.
Beardy goodness.
Turbans galore.
Oh those beards!
Colourful passersby.
Nice ‘stache.
First stop was the famous Golden Temple, or Harmandir Sahib, which translates to “House of God”. The Golden Temple is the holiest Sikh gurdwara and one of the main reasons to visit Amritsar. Since the Golden Temple is a place of pilgrimage, there is cheap/free accommodation provided and so we thought we’d try our luck finding a couple of beds here. Not so much. Foreigners are crammed into one small dark and dingy section and there was certainly no room for us. There wasn’t even any space on the floor. Every inch of space was taken up by a dirty backpacker, just like ourselves. Instead we rickshawed our way to the marginally better “Tourist Guest House”, where we discovered our train friend Richard was also staying. The guesthouse debuted in the Lonely Planet in 1991 and I don’t think it has changed or even been cleaned since. We slept in our clothes in our silk liners on top of the bed and used our backpack rain covers to create a barrier between the pillowcases and our skin. We thought even bedbugs would be disgusted at the state of the cleanliness (or lack thereof), but I guess not since I woke up the next day with strange red dots on my face (in addition to my freckles)!
Our scary bed.
Ryan shielding himself from the dirty grossness of our room.
The other big tourist attraction about an hour from Amritsar (I recommend NOT taking an autorickshaw on the highway for an hour – holy fumes!) in the village of Wagah is the elaborate (and I mean elaborate) Wagah border ceremony that takes place everyday 2 hours before sunset at the Attari Check Post when the Indian Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers close the border gates for the evening. Thousands of Indians and foreigners pack the bleachers every evening to watch the hilarity that has been likened to Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks and described by Michael Palin as “carefully choreographed contempt.” Upon our arrival, boys and girls had to line up separately for a security check and once we were through, everyone started running. Naturally, we followed suit only to discover that since we arrived quite late, there was absolutely nowhere to sit or even see anything. Somehow though, in the confusion, Richard and I were separated from the others and stumbled upon the VIP and foreigners section where we were treated to front row seats! Nailed it! Ryan and Charleli weren’t so lucky, unfortunately, and were only able to hear, not see, the show. Good thing I took a thousand photos. The ceremony consisted of each country trying to outdo the other with more pomp and ridiculous walking while they lowered their respective country’s flag and closed the border gates, all the while being cheered on by thousands of spectators as if it were a sporting match. After the ceremony was finished, the guards hung about and took photos with the fans, like moviestars. What a spectacle!
I have an idea! Let’s ride for an hour in a rickshaw on a highway!
Lined up in the women’s security queue.
The Wagah border closing ceremony has begun!
Commence silly walking (with silly hats!).
Indian Border Security
Spectators enjoying the spectacle.
Extravagantly silly walking.
Thousands of spectators enjoying the show.
Enjoying the ceremony.
Lowering the flag.
Folding the flag.
Pakistani spectators.
Getting ready to close the border.
Closing the gate.
The coolest man I’ve ever seen.
This man must have been 7 feet tall even without his silly hat.
He must feel so silly in that hat standing next to Mr. Cool guy.
Signing autographs for the fans.
Adoring fans.
Attari Check Post.
Welcome to Punjab!
Posing with one of the stars.
Having ticked that experience off the list, it was time to head back to the Golden Temple. As with most temples, there are strict rules, such as no shoes and the necessity to cover the head. Orange scarves are given out for free, so don’t be taken in by the hoards of men selling them outside the gates. Inside the complex, it was quiet and peaceful. Men and women could be found praying or reading prayers in every corner, others were sleeping, and still others were bathing in the holy water. The Golden Temple itself is surrounded by a large lake, known as the Sarovar, which consists of Amrit (“holy water” or “immortal nectar”) and is fed by the Ravi River (so says Wikipedia). You must line up in order to enter the Golden Temple proper and photography is strictly prohibited once inside. The temple is small but beautiful and intricately decorated. Inside, musicians playing tabla drums and chanting created such beautiful sounds broadcast throughout the entire complex that at first I thought it was a recording. Inside it was jam packed with Sikhs praying, chanting and making offerings. The atmosphere was so magical in the complex I really didn’t want to leave. But alas we eventually did, much to Ryan’s delight. Following around four amateur photographers taking photographs of pillars and moustaches with big DSLR cameras was wearing a little thin for him I think.
Entrance to the Golden Temple complex.
Entrance to the Golden Temple.
The boys wearing their headscarves.
The Golden Temple in all its glory.
And closer.
A bad-ass temple guard.
Reading prayers in a corner.
Offerings.
Taking a nap.
Getting my photo taken with a random while Ryan stands by.
Bathing in the holy water.
Our next stop was dinner at the temple’s famous kitchen. One of the largest free kitchens in the world, they serve an average of 100,000 people daily. Now that’s a LOT of dhal and chapatti! They weren’t stingy either. It was run like an assembly line and the servers were constantly coming back to give you second, third, even fourth helpings. And the most surprising part was that it was delicious!
Dinner is served!
Kitchen cleanup.
We returned to the temple the next day to experience its beauty and get a couple hundred more photographs of it in full daylight.
The Golden Temple by day.
Beautiful in the day too!
Please do not throw eatable in the Holy pool and sit by folding legs.
Bathing in the Holy water.
The temple complex.
Bathing in the Holy water.
Praying.
Now that’s a turban!
Temple guard.
Sitting by the Holy water.
Rockin’ the scarf.
Musicians.
Chatting by the Holy water.
Praying.
Beautiful bangles.
Crowds outside the Golden Temple.
Selling his wares.
We also toured the nearby Jalianwala Bagh, a beautiful public garden that houses a memorial established in 1951 to commemorate the massacre by British occupying forces of peaceful celebrators on Punjabi New Year, 1919. Seeing the bulletholes in the walls was sobering. The number of casualties is unknown, but some think it may have been over 1500 people.
Jallianwala Bagh.
Nicholas Cage impersonator, Dr. Dilbag.
And those were the highlights of our time in the Punjab! Next stop – Jaipur.
Red, White & Lost 