Punjab to Pakistan

My week of chillaxin in Delhi was over and it was time to be on the move again. My train arrived on Saturday morning in the city of Amritsar, in the heart of the region of Punjab.

I walked the streets from the train station to my hotel and took in the new surroundings. There were turbans everywhere!



Because this is the land of the Sikhs! More on them later...

After checking into my hotel, I wandered up the street a bit to the Golden Temple, the reason why most people make the trip to Amritsar. I'd heard a lot about this Golden Temple and people seemed to really like it. I'd seen a lot of temples so far on my trip and I wasn't sure that this one would be much better. It was time to find out.

First I took off shoes and socks and deposited them safely (everything in the temple is free of charge and they aren't even pushy about donations either!)

Then I came to the entrance where I had to put an orange bandana on my head or else the man with the spear would stab me dead...



Ok... not really, but still... spears.... yikes!

Next I walked with the other pilgrims through the little pool to wash our feet...




And then there I was at the great tank with Golden Temple itself there in the middle. The sounds of chanting gurus and drums could be heard over the loud speakers and pilgrims and tourists alike were walking clockwise around the marble pathway. I did the same...




Some people were bathing in the water and there were even quite a few fish...




Hooray!




I mean, spears!

One of my favorite things was to sit off to the side next to other resting pilgrims and just people watch....










According to Wikipedia:

According to Article I of the "Rehat Maryada" (the Sikh code of conduct and conventions), a Sikh is defined as "any human being who faithfully believes in One Immortal Being; ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak Dev to Sri Guru Gobind Singh; Sri Guru Granth Sahib; the teachings of the ten Gurus and the baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru; and who does not owe allegiance to any other religion".^[25] Sikhs believe in the equality of humankind, the concept of universal brotherhood of man and One Supreme God (Ik Onkar).

Many Sikh men wear swords or small daggers. Read about it!




So many turbans...










One of the neatest things at the Golden Temple is the huge eating quarters. Here, hundreds of volunteers gather each day to cook and prepare meals for thousands of pilgrims. The food is completely free (though donations are accepted).

I decided I wasn't going to miss this experience and so I walked in and was promptly handed a steel tray and a bowl. I followed the other people with steel trays and bowls to a large room with rows of mats on the floor. Everyone just found a place and sat side by side on the mats Indian style. I sat next to a nice Punjabi man with a purple turban. (no photos allowed)

Pretty soon the servers walked down the line and served dal (lentils in sauce), and a potato soup thing, sweet rice, a couple of sliced radishes, and then you held out both your hands as the chappati man dropped a chappati (like a tortilla) in your hand. Water was poured into the bowls to drink and everyone ate their meal together.

These meals are living demonstrations of the Sikhs' belief in helping other people and treating all human beings with equality. Everyone and anyone is allowed to come in and eat.

As I walked out I saw the army of volunteers washing the dishes...




And preparing the food...



Meal trays...




I left the Golden Temple and enjoyed an chocolate shake in a nearby eatery. Then I visited the memorial park.

It was here in this park in 1919 that a British regiment of troops opened fire on an unarmed, peaceably assembled group of Sikhs. It is now a beautiful park...




Though scars of the massacre can still be seen: bullet-holes in the wall...




I wasn't sure if this guy was re-enacting the scene or just taking a nap...




As evening approached I went back to the Golden Temple: shoes off, handkerchief on head, wash feet. It was even more amazing in the soft evening light...













The people there were so nice and friendly. I sat along the pool's edge and only moments would pass before groups of people would come over and talk to me and ask where I'm from and often ask for a picture with me...






It was a very peaceful spirit and atmosphere...




And as the sun went down it became downright magical with the temple all aglow....







I left the Golden Temple and shared a booth at dinner with two Austrians, a father and a son, not unlike Dad and I when we were traveling.

After that I went over to a modern coffee shop and tucked into a slice of chocolate cake with ice cream...



The people outside the window were trying to watch the cricket game inside...




The next day I went out to visit the main Hindu temple of Amritsar. It is sort of a wanna-be Golden Temple...




But inside was quite festive with live music and children dressed up and dancing...







For lunch I wanted a real Punjabi meal (which, really, I had been eating all throughout India since a lot of Punjabi dishes are the most popular). So I went to a family restaurant called the Crystal Palace. The only problem was, there was a split in the family and so there are now two Crystal Palaces side by side, both with signs claiming that their restaurant is the true Crystal Palace. As I approached, both doors were wide open with waiters beckoning me inside. I had to laugh, but I chose the one on the left and had a good meal.

That evening I took a combi van with seven other Indian tourists from all over India and rode one hour to the Indian-Pakistani border. There were loads of people, mostly Indian, all walking towards the border, though none of them would cross into Pakistan (not even me).




The women were let on through to the security checkpoint, but the men were corralled like cattle, and I do mean like cattle, the guard was even on horseback! It was very tight...




But once we got through a security pat-down we were let on through to the border area. A show was about to begin...




Loud music was playing over speakers, and people were crowding into the stadium-like bleachers waving flags. The tourists, luckily, got seats up close...




On the other side of the border I could see the Pakistanis also gathering in their bleachers. Notice it's only men on this side...




And on this side it was women (there are two time zones in this picture, the Pakistani women are 30 minutes behind the Indians sitting in the foreground)...




On the Indian side they let any of the women come down on the street and dance to the music. The crowed cheered and sang along when they played Jai Ho! (the song from Slumdog Millionaire when they dance at the train station at the end)...




There was even an MC with a microphone getting the crowd all pumped up (in Hindi, or Punjabi)...




But soon the show began: the border closing ceremony. The peacock-uniformed soldiers all marched out and one of them let out a long shout into the microphone...



We could hear the same thing from the Pakistani side. Then the Indian guards started marching, with great flourish, to the border gate...




They would stamp and scowl and kick high in the air...








And the Pakistanis would do the same...




Apparently they shook hands, but I didn't see it, and then they let down the flags for the evening...




The colors were solemnly retired...



And the border was then closed for the night. They do this every night.

I walked through the departing crowds away from the sun setting over Pakistan...



It was like a sporting event where no one actually wins. Pretty incredible.

That night I could hear the chanting gurus and drums from my hotel room as I tucked into bed (and put the earplugs in). I had had a great time in the heart of Punjab...




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