Moving on:
Punjab weekend last weekend was great! We took the Shatabdi Express train on Friday evening which got us from Delhi to Amritsar in 6 hours. Within those 6 hours we were offered: a newspaper, 1 liter water bottle, 6 course meal, 2 snacks, and 2 servings of chai.
We stayed at the Heritage Inn, which was right next to the Golden Temple. Stayed in a surprisingly nice "Family Room", which included 7 single beds, an AC, and an all inclusive breakfast (which, i guess wasn't all that great because there were about 5 things on the menu and the coffee was made of chunks... but it was included none-the-less)
Saw some really great places!
Went to Baga Border (India-Pakistan Border), where we were escorted to the VIP section courtesy of my white and yellow skinned friends - thanks guys!
Indians partied, dance sang, stood up, cheered and didn't listen to instructions.
Pakistanis were organized, polite, and clapped.
Soldiers did their march, people sang and waved the Indian flags. Not to mention that the crowd went BUCK WILD (i love this phrase) when a white lady carried the flag.
On the downside, we were sitting in front of Pakistani Haters who kept screaming Die Pakistan Die, until I turned around and just stared at them with a dirty look. Seriously -- why does loving one country automatically mean that you hate the other?
Also visited the Durgiana Temple, which is a Hindu temple built after the structure of the Golden Temple. We just happened to be there on a full moon, and so - a celebration was going on outside in which two young kids were dressed up as gods and danced around. Which was cute... until the old fatty punjabi aunties wanted to dance with them... i could see one of the "gods" cringe. On the bright side, these kids must've made BANK. Not to mention that while the rest of us had to sit on the ground, they were rolling in style on these huge massive couches. They are "god" afterall.
The group decided to also make a trip to witness the Mata Temple after reading a discription of it in the Lonely planet:
This labyrinthine Hindu cave temple commemorates a bespectacled 20th-century female saint, Lal Devi. Women wishing to become pregnant come here to pray. The circuitous route to the main shrine passes through ankle-deep waterways, low tunnels, staircases, walkways and caves, the last of which turns out to be the inside of a divine mouth.
So we went. And found out that this "cave" was actually upstairs and man-made out of a plaster-like material. It kinda reminded me of Matterhorn, the ride at Disneyland - big painted stucko'd walls, tunnels that lead you in and out, with random idols of god plonked wherever they felt like it. Instead of scary ice monster, we had kali ma.
In any case, we had fun. It ended up being a great photo opportunity - posing next to idols, wadding through a tunnel of water, crawling through caves that were painted grey. All of which concluded with a volunteer ringing a bell at the exit, asking for donations for this great cause. I didnt. I mean, what if it made me pregnant?
Something about a tunnel
Mirrors and idols
And Dodie's favorite: Kali Ma!
People in India have this really strange fixation with making religion entertaining. In Akshardhaam they had a boat ride, imax movie, animatronics. They dress people up as "gods" and pretend to dance with them. And this was just the cherry ontop of anything I've ever seen... Maybe i'm not being sensitive... but what does religion have to do with any of this? In my opinion, it's just a big waste of money. Go donate that money to a poor kid or pay for a blind person's eye surgery. I do think it's really important to have places of worship and to be proud of your religion and keep it pretty - but why is there a need to make it entertaining?
I had been to Jalianwala Bagh before, but we went again. It's still really eerie. For those who don't know, this is the place where innocent peaceful protesters were protesting for India's independence. The British opened fire and killed nearly 1600 Indians. To try and save themselves, 120 people died jumping into a well. It was really creepy - and believe it or not, i could feel 'spirits' floating around. Okay, maybe i'm being a bit melodramatic. But it certainly wasn't pleasant walking around knowing its history, and seeing bullet holes still wedged in the walls.
My absolute most favorite part of Amritsar: the Golden Temple. Man, the sight is just so so beautiful. Even the act of cleaning your feet before entering the temple grounds brought a sense of peace. Utter peace is felt throughout the entire place: people reading the Guru Granth Sahib, praying, sitting, children playing, bathing in the waters. After my guru's town in Mahuva, it is my second most favorite place ever. We had to stand in line for nearly 2 hours to go inside the temple - but it didn't feel that long. It's so weird because everywhere else in India is a complete madhouse: waiting in lines at the bank, or attempting to get off a train/plane or even paying for things at the store is so much effort, involves so much elbow-jabbing and shoving and stress (I take this time to also admit that I, too, have become an Elbow-Jabber. A pretty good one, actually). But this was nice. It was peaceful, involved more of a shuffling process where I was merely wafted to the front. Inside, I was lucky enough to get my kara blessed by the Guru Granth Sahib on floor 2 of the Golden Temple. The view from the top of the golden temple (there are 3 floors) was amazing. Sat in on a person singing parts of the prayers, watched people cleaning and preparing the prasaad, and was just in awe about how much people give for their religion. The entire Golden Temple is maintained by donations and volunteers, and it's so amazing how everything, from continuously mopping the floors, to serving food, to reading prayers and playing music, is done voluntarily by these people. It makes this place so beautiful and pure, and I am so happy to see a religion that emphasises the importance of community welfare.
A Long Line
Of course, in Punjab we had to take a dip into the shopping markets :) I came back with tons of Amritsar shawls, shoes, and some punjabi suit material.
Ooh, and I ate at the most scrumptious place called Kesar Ka Dhaba which was a hole-in-the-wall snack joint. I got a whole thaali for like 50 Rupees ($1) which included to DIE for aloo paratha dunked in ghee & a tennis ball sized Gulaab Jamun.
All in all, a fantastic trip. Dee, really missed and thought about you a lot. It wasn't the same without you this time!
xx
Saw some really great places!
Went to Baga Border (India-Pakistan Border), where we were escorted to the VIP section courtesy of my white and yellow skinned friends - thanks guys!
Indians partied, dance sang, stood up, cheered and didn't listen to instructions.
Pakistanis were organized, polite, and clapped.
Soldiers did their march, people sang and waved the Indian flags. Not to mention that the crowd went BUCK WILD (i love this phrase) when a white lady carried the flag.
Soulja Boy
Also visited the Durgiana Temple, which is a Hindu temple built after the structure of the Golden Temple. We just happened to be there on a full moon, and so - a celebration was going on outside in which two young kids were dressed up as gods and danced around. Which was cute... until the old fatty punjabi aunties wanted to dance with them... i could see one of the "gods" cringe. On the bright side, these kids must've made BANK. Not to mention that while the rest of us had to sit on the ground, they were rolling in style on these huge massive couches. They are "god" afterall.
The group decided to also make a trip to witness the Mata Temple after reading a discription of it in the Lonely planet:This labyrinthine Hindu cave temple commemorates a bespectacled 20th-century female saint, Lal Devi. Women wishing to become pregnant come here to pray. The circuitous route to the main shrine passes through ankle-deep waterways, low tunnels, staircases, walkways and caves, the last of which turns out to be the inside of a divine mouth.
So we went. And found out that this "cave" was actually upstairs and man-made out of a plaster-like material. It kinda reminded me of Matterhorn, the ride at Disneyland - big painted stucko'd walls, tunnels that lead you in and out, with random idols of god plonked wherever they felt like it. Instead of scary ice monster, we had kali ma.
In any case, we had fun. It ended up being a great photo opportunity - posing next to idols, wadding through a tunnel of water, crawling through caves that were painted grey. All of which concluded with a volunteer ringing a bell at the exit, asking for donations for this great cause. I didnt. I mean, what if it made me pregnant?
Rollercoaster!
Inside the Cave
Something about a tunnel
Mirrors and idols
And Dodie's favorite: Kali Ma!
I had been to Jalianwala Bagh before, but we went again. It's still really eerie. For those who don't know, this is the place where innocent peaceful protesters were protesting for India's independence. The British opened fire and killed nearly 1600 Indians. To try and save themselves, 120 people died jumping into a well. It was really creepy - and believe it or not, i could feel 'spirits' floating around. Okay, maybe i'm being a bit melodramatic. But it certainly wasn't pleasant walking around knowing its history, and seeing bullet holes still wedged in the walls.
Priya & Me
Funny moment: When we were sitting in the garden and two random indian kids came and sat next to Alice to take a photo. I guess white women are unusual?
Funny moment: When we were sitting in the garden and two random indian kids came and sat next to Alice to take a photo. I guess white women are unusual?
My absolute most favorite part of Amritsar: the Golden Temple. Man, the sight is just so so beautiful. Even the act of cleaning your feet before entering the temple grounds brought a sense of peace. Utter peace is felt throughout the entire place: people reading the Guru Granth Sahib, praying, sitting, children playing, bathing in the waters. After my guru's town in Mahuva, it is my second most favorite place ever. We had to stand in line for nearly 2 hours to go inside the temple - but it didn't feel that long. It's so weird because everywhere else in India is a complete madhouse: waiting in lines at the bank, or attempting to get off a train/plane or even paying for things at the store is so much effort, involves so much elbow-jabbing and shoving and stress (I take this time to also admit that I, too, have become an Elbow-Jabber. A pretty good one, actually). But this was nice. It was peaceful, involved more of a shuffling process where I was merely wafted to the front. Inside, I was lucky enough to get my kara blessed by the Guru Granth Sahib on floor 2 of the Golden Temple. The view from the top of the golden temple (there are 3 floors) was amazing. Sat in on a person singing parts of the prayers, watched people cleaning and preparing the prasaad, and was just in awe about how much people give for their religion. The entire Golden Temple is maintained by donations and volunteers, and it's so amazing how everything, from continuously mopping the floors, to serving food, to reading prayers and playing music, is done voluntarily by these people. It makes this place so beautiful and pure, and I am so happy to see a religion that emphasises the importance of community welfare.
A Long Line
Of course, in Punjab we had to take a dip into the shopping markets :) I came back with tons of Amritsar shawls, shoes, and some punjabi suit material.
The view from a Bike-Rikshaw
Shawls!
My favorite: a black/white reversible shawl:
Shoes!
Shawls!
My favorite: a black/white reversible shawl:
Shoes!
All in all, a fantastic trip. Dee, really missed and thought about you a lot. It wasn't the same without you this time!
xx
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