Amritsar

After the bus ride with the Asians on the roof, we arrived, exhausted, in Amritsar. Amritsar is not a beautiful place. It is in fact, quite ugly. The haze that hung low in the sky everyday didn't help to enhance the low, crumbly, crowded shops and restaurants. The one redeming feature of Amritsar is the holiest of Sikh temples, The Golden Temple. We arrived around midday, but I was too busy complaining and moaning about a headache all afternoon for us to go anywhere but our hotel where we ate and watched Tomorrow Never Dies. The next day however, after several egg sandwiches, I was more than ready.

We hired a rickshaw driver to take us around for the day, to save ourselves from having to battle the dirty streets and crazy drivers. He took us first to The Golden Temple, where we found ourselves the subject of dozens of "snaps"- I would hate to be a real celebrity if it's anything like an average day in India for us- why people want their picture with us and where the pictures end up remains a mystery. Even more mysterious is when we're somewhere like The Golden Temple, a major tourist attraction, but people seem to be more attracted to us. We ate lunch at the temple in the Guru-Ka-Langar, a giant community dinning room that feeds 50,000-80,000 people everyday. After lunch, we spent a long period of time standing in line, waiting to see the inside of the Hari Mandir Sahib (the temple itself), holding food in our hands that we thought was an offering. After hauling the metal trays of hot mush up the line, around the temple and back, we were told it was for us to eat. This is a common event in India, we walk around looking clueless and lost and nobody bothers to tell us what we should be doing. The temple and complex were incredible, really beautiful and serene, worth enduring Amritsar for.

The Golden Temple!!!!!

Our next stop was Sri Durgiana Temple, a Hindu temple sometimes called the Silver Temple for its intricately carved silver doors. The temple is also surrounded by a tank of holy water, which we barely made it ten feet around before we were swarmed by people who wanted a "snap, please, snap, just one snap." The temple was nice, but didn't really compare to The Golden Temple. Outside the temple a small girl was knocked over by a motorcycle when her headscarf got caught- the first accident we've seen here (surprising considering everyone drives like they're the only one on the road).

Dave at the Silver Temple

The last temple our driver took us to was called Mata Temple, a Hindu cave temple commemorating the 20th century female saint Lal Devi. The temple was really wacky, you had to walk through a series of staircases, narrow walkways, tunnels, and caves, culminating in the final cave which was supposed to resemble a divine mouth. Apparently women go there to pray when they want to become pregnant.

The Divine Mouth

Our driver then arranged a tuk-tuk for us to the border with Pakistan. Other than The Golden Temple, the border is the main reason people visit Amritsar-not to cross into Pakistan, but to witness the daily border closing ceremony. The whole experience was one of the best we've had in India, it was so unexpectedly hilarious and surreal. We arrived about an hour before the ceremony was set to begin, and were herded (along with hundreds of others) into male and female lines so we could be searched and told emphatically that "only cameras, no bags!!!!" would be allowed in the stands. As foreign tourists we were allowed to sit in a special section, near the road where the guards would march by. Around us the stands were packed with very enthusiastic Indian spectators. Before the ceremony began, people had the opportunity to run with the Indian flag for about 25 meters up to the border gate and back- an opportunity they lined up in droves for. When the flag running had concluded, the dancing began. It was like watching a Bollywood movie come to life, the road filled with women, all dancing and singing. When they finished, a man with a megaphone started yelling things at the crowd which they responded to with equal enthusiasm. The ceremony itself was also hilarious, the guards marched back and forth, swinging their legs so high it looked like they might knock themselves out, or at least knock off their ridiculous hats. After marching back and forth a bit, the guards lowered the flag (the same thing was occurring on the Pakistani side, crowds and cheering included) the gate was slammed shut and the border was closed for the night. The whole event was a cross between the Monty Python ministry of silly walks and a Bollywood movie about Indian patriotism.

This isn't a very good video, but it gives an idea of the madness...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56Q6y5mBP3s




From Amritsar we took a train to Hardiwar, a bus to Rishikesh and a rickshaw to Lakshman Jhula, our home for the next few weeks. Rishikesh claims to be the yoga capital of the world, and there are dozens and dozens of classes and teachers here willing to fill any empty vessel (or at least contort the vessel). Dave and I are doing yoga with a man named Dilip every morning, which mainly consists of me being sat or stood on. Dilip claims I am a little fat but have much knowledge, while Dave is a little thin but has little knowledge. According to him however, this situation will change, as long as we stick with him.

Rishikesh