Day in Amritsar

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Our second day in Amritsar started (for me at least) with a proper Indian breakfast, which I'd developed a liking for in Orchard Hut - parantha (a stuffed flat bread) with curd. Then a trip with our cycle rickshaw guys to the Mata Temple (Hindu) - a cave temple honouring a female saint, where women wanting to become pregnant go to pray (thank god I didn't take any blessed food this time, although one priest did insist on blessing me, opps). The temple reminded me of Disney World and involved crawling through short tunnels, wading through water and looking at glitering images of gods.

Afterwards, we went to visit Jallionwala Bagh, a park commemorating the 2000 Indians killed or wounded in the slaughter ordered (without warning) by General Dyer in 1919 - firing on a park filled with 20000 people peacefully protesting against the Rowlatt Act. Tiy can see the (by no means shallow) well that people jumped into to escape the shooting, and walls covered with bullet holes. It wasn't a place I wanted to say I am English; despite having no British ancestry, I wouldn't have ben surprised to have met with hostility. As it was, I got asked once again to pose for photos with a family.

From there we returned to the Golden Temple, which again proved to be an extraordinary experience. People bathing in the sacred water of the pool (Amrit Sarovar). A woman came over and asked me to hold her baby's hand. Then I asked a few ladies in colourful saris if I could take a picture, and the next thing I knes, all these children were asking for photos. So then I tried to ask the ladies for an address to send the pictures to. We finally made it away as wanted to go to see the kitchens where they cater for the roughly 30,000 pilgrims a day, but we were followed by these lovely people and I was invited to main lady's house. Sadly didn't have time to go, as that would have been really nice, and she kept telling me that she 'missed me'.

The kitchens were fascinating. Saw the bigest vat ever of curry, and there were production lines of people making chapatis...All these people are volunteers. We watched for a while, before leaving for our own lunch (mine may have included mushrooms!!). Then we had some free time and Fiona and I got taken by our rickshaw driver to Ram Bagh - a little park which has a new museum about Maharaja Ranjit Singh who was apparently a great Sikh leader and, I learntn from teh Lonely Planet, had one eye.

Returned to the hotel, then left to go to the Closing of the Border Ceremony (the Attari .Wagah Border) between India and Pakistan, which was amazing. Every night, just prior to sunset, the Indian and Pakistani military meet to close the gates. It was absolutely hillarious. Big stands have ben built on each side to try and accomodate the huge numbers of spectators, there are crowd stirrers who encourage people to shout and clap 9as if they need encouragement!), cheerful national songs are played over the speakers on each side, interspersed with Chanting. It felt like a football match combined with a giant party, and it's amazing, considering the tensions between the two countries (but as Badam said, that is the politics, not the people). 'Our' Indian side was hugely coloudful, especially compared to the Pakistani side, which was gender-segregated. They still seemed to be having fun though! The ceremony consists of much pomp and circuimstance.

Then it was back to the chaos of the hustlers trying to sell us tacky plastic Indian flags, postcards, photos and DVDs which probably don't work (I mya have succumbed). Back at the hotel we had dinner, sorted our things out and left to get the overnight train back to Delhi.

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