Advertisement
So India has blown past Cambodia and New Zealand in the race for the title of my favorite country of the trip, and barring a surprise performance by Qatar or western Europe, it will probably end at the top. It started in Delhi... I didn't realize ahead of time how nice it would be to be back in someone's home instead of the hotels, hostels, guesthouses and airports that I have been living in for the last 50 days. Gaby and the boys were great to stay with, and it was wonderful to have a hot shower, clean bed, home cooked meals and even some video games for a few days before heading out to explore India for a while.
So while I was in Delhi trying to figure out where I will go next, I was mostly considering the state of Rajasthan, which is to the west of Delhi and is more or less a desert, and one of the more popular places with tourists. All of a sudden it dawned on me: why would I want to go to a place where there will be too much tourism and heat, two things that could potentially ruin my time there? I've got the highest mountain range in the world about 400 miles away. Why not head to the Himalayas? So I did.
I jumped on the overnight train from Delhi to Amritsar, famous for its Golden Temple. Now, riding trains in India is an experience in itself. I dotn know if I can even begin to describe the sights, smells, sounds, etc that I experienced in the train station alone. The train ticket was $8 for a 10 hour journey in a non-AC car... so I'm sitting there waiting for the train, and I see only Indians around, no backpackers or other travelers like myself. I certainly have no problem sharing a train with them, but I figured it would be nice to have someone to chat with to pass teh time. I had kinda written it off as a long ride with no one to talk to as I boarded the train, but it proved to be exactly the opposite. In my 6 bunk area, there was a Chinese guy, a Polish guy, two Spanish girls, and a handful of Indians. We ended up staying up until about 1 in the morning (the train left at 8 pm and arrived at around 6 am) talking and trying to converse with the Indians in the car (the Polish guy and the two Spanish girls spoke very good english). We were sharing food, passing around drinks, taking pictures, and talking long after the rest of the car had gone to sleep. It was really an amazing experience for me.
So upon reaching Amritsar bleary-eyed at 6:30, the four of us decided to stick together and head to the temple, where we heard they provided free lodging for the pilgrims, and usually saved a few beds for tourists. We got a tiny room with three beds in it and almost no walking space, but three steps from the door you could see
this . An absolutely amazing place to stay. There were people everywhere, we were allowed to enter the temple with the rest of the pilgrims with our heads covered and shoes off. This place was founded on the idea of equal treatment for people regardless of religion or caste, and that remains today. It was very comforting for the four of us, all westerners, to walk around and not feel out of place.
Another one of the things that is offered to anyone in the temple is a free meal at any time of the day. They serve about 10,000 meals per day here, so we decided to go have the experience of eating with all these people and leave a donation for the food. The meal alone was great- there were about 500 of us in one big room, sitting on the floor on mats with our plates out in front of us, while people come around and serve you with big ladles. The food was surprisingly good, considering the amount that they prepare. As the meal was ending, I was content with just going for a walk or relaxing by the temple for a while, when Rosa, one of the Spanish girls, suggests that we go see if we can wash some dishes. At first I figured I would do it just so I wouldn't feel so bad about eating the food for free, but it turned out to be much more than that. There were about 100 to 120 people in this one area, standing around different washing areas, standing shoulder to shoulder. I squeezed in between two people and reached down into the water and got at it- no sponge required, just your hand. It was really amazing how hard everyone was working... when discussing it later, we all agreed that when you do your job for money, you dont
always work at 100%!.(MISSING). it doesn't matter who you are, everyone takes a break at some point. With this it was different though. People were here because they wanted to be- no one expected anyone to wash after they ate, but someone had to clean the plates. Everyone there went full speed ahead until there wasnt anything left to clean. And keeping with the tradition of the temple, there were people that were obviously dirt poor working next to people with gold rings on their fingers, and squeezed in between them was a skinny white kid from New Orleans. It was really a great place and a great time, something that I shared with three strangers that I met on a train that have now become very good friends.
So this morning we headed out from Amritsar by bus to McLeod Ganj, home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile. Entering the town, we passed a sign from His Holiness that said "Unga Bunga Baloonga" which means "On your deathbed, you will achieve total consciousness." So I got that going for me, which is nice. I just don't know what to say here... I'm in the Himalayas, to start with. What a breathtaking experience... we were absolutely going nuts in the bus when we started to make the climb up the mountain and saw the snow-capped peaks in the distance. With every turn we would see a little more... the air even tastes better up here (that might just be in my head though). Considering just three days ago I was in hot and dusty Delhi, this is truly amazing. Tomorrow I even need to go buy a pair of pants and a cheap jacket, because the temperature is in the 40's and 50's here. I'm not sure what the plan is for tomorrow, but Sunday we are headed out on a 3 day guided trek up into the mountains. Maybe we'll get to play in the snow... I don't know what to expect, but I sure as hell am glad that I didn't go to Rajasthan.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.101s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 11; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0527s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Ms. Donna
non-member comment
WOW!!
WOW, WOW, WOW!!! How great is that?! God bless and keep you, you beautiful boy.