Out of the mountains and into the desert

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(The not as eloquent, but faster, Yank is back now!!) This is going to be a combo Punjab/Rajasthan entry.

So, once we dragged ourselves away from the comfort of our beloved Mcleod Ganj we made our way by bus and train to Amritsar. It turned out that we got to share the train journey with The Ramachandrans which made the pleasant three hour ride that much more pleasant. The countryside on this portion of the journey was beautiful, and I saw some water buffalo which made my day!

We were really taken with Amritsar straight away. It was much more modern than we expected, very clean. Although it's a typically busy Indian city it was not overwhelming, and felt very manageable. Everyone was very friendly and helpful, beginning with a gentleman we met on the train who gave us advice and showed us where to take advantage of the city's free shuttle, etc.

Amritsar is the home of the holiest of Sikh gudwaras (temples), The Golden Temple, and as such attracts pilgrims from all over. We arrived in the evening and made our way straight there after securing accomodation. The temple itself is not very big but it gleams and twinkles so beautifully. It was an amazing site and certainly very striking when we first entered the complex, it definitely takes your breath away for a few seconds. The complex as a whole is gorgeous, and quite impressive. We were struck by the sense of peace inside. There were thousands of people, from all different religions and creeds, milling about and taking pictures yet it still seemed so quiet. There were people sleeping all around the small lake that is inside, others just laying down, watching the world go by. It was so quiet! It was also very interesting that we didn't get any stares for being there, despite being two of four westerners that we saw. In Mcleod Ganj we were asked to take countless pictures with Indian men who were intrigued by our pastiness (!!) but here no one could care less as we were all there for the same reason: to observe not only a beautiful and sacred piece of architecure but also a beautiful example of human nature. That may sound too new age-y for some of you and you may think that I left my cynicism in the mountains. Not so, it was just so inspiring. Everything at the temple is run by volunteers and it just worked so smoothly. All of the visitors covered their heads without question, took their shoes off and washed their feet without question, and were so completely respectful of the place and each other that you almost forgot the chaos of the city just one hundred yards away. In my mind, this unconditional acceptance is the true meaning of faith and spirituality. Sikhism, Buddhism and Hinduism have all shown us this so far and I think many facets of Western religions would do well to learn from the East.

After having a look around we entered the langar (dining hall) where we shared a meal with the pilgrims. The meal is free to all and is served nearly around the clock. Again, all of the food prep, cooking, and cleaning up is done by volunteers. Every Sikh is expected to volunteer at least one week of their lives to this service. So, we sat down on the floor with the plates we'd been handed and waited for our dal and curried veg to be slopped into our bowl by a giant ladle! Then the chapati man came around with the largest basket of chapatis you've ever seen. It was delicious! Definitely one of the best dals we've had. Matt quietly joked to me that he wondered if it was an "all you can eat" affair (he does like his buffets!) and indeed it was in a way, they came around offering seconds to those that wanted it. So impressive. After we finished we made our way to the dish washing hall and joined in to help wash dishes for a while. Everyone was very quiet during the dish washing yet it was hard not to feel part of something much bigger than could be comprehended in the moment. There was so much effort put into making the temple accessible to all. There is the free shuttle, the free meal, the temple is open nearly 24 hours each day, and you could even stay in their accomodation if you'd like. We chose not to take advantage of this out of respect for the true pilgrims, but I'm sure it would have been very interesting. Here's a link to learn more about the temple if you're interested, I know I won't do it's history justice: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmandir_Sahib

We had planned to return to the temple the next day to see it in the daylight but our plans were thwarted by less than convenient train timings. So, rather than seeing the temple in all of it's sunny glory and visiting the daily closing ceremony at the Pakistani border, we began our trip south. To do this we boarded an overnight train to Jaipur. The difficulty of the journey began with buying our ticket. Overall, Indian people don't tend to have the same philosophy on waiting in line as we do in the West. Rather than a "wait your turn" philosophy it's a "push to the front of the line as quickly as possible" philosophy. We've grown more assertive and confident in some areas but I wouldn't say this is one. Rather, we tend to engage in the futile act of trying to block others from getting in front of us and then getting frustrated and walking away when our attempts are unsuccessful. So, buying our ticket became quite the ordeal. At last a lovely man told us a secret- if you wait until an hour before your train you can buy your ticket at the (much, much quieter) Enquiry Office. Success!! So, away we went. The 18 hour journey itself went by very quickly, considering. The only problem we had was that the terrain we were crossing through was very dusty and in many places there were (controlled and purposeful) fires burning. The combination of dust and smoke played havoc on my breathing but the difficulty passed and we arrived in Jaipur bright and early and were immediately reacquainted with the intense heat and big city vibe.

Unfortunately, our visit to Jaipur was not very productive as a mild case of Delhi Belly struck us both. So, after securing tickets for the next leg of our travel we took it easy and had a vegful afternoon watching bad American movies on Indian t.v.!! The next day we had pretty much recovered and resumed our journey south. The train station at Jaipur was a bit more kind as we got to use the window delegated to "Freedom Fighters, Disabled Persons, and Foreign Travellers!!" The only problem here was that the man at the window didn't understand "Can you please tell me the price difference between AC and non-AC," he just booked AC. Of course this was quite a bit more expensive but...it was quite nice!!! So, we went in luxury from Jaipur to Ajmer where we had to change trains and had a brief walk around and some lunch there. The little we saw of Ajmer seemed very nice, the market was very interesting and quite organized compared to others we've seen. One funny anecdote here...we were waiting to store our bags at the Cloak Room and everyone was pushing in front as usual. There was a guy behind us trying to do the same and so Matt turned around and politely said "How about we just go in one at a time, I think it will be easier that way." The guy responded with surprise, as if it was such a novel idea and said "Oh, of course!" So, there is no aversion to the idea of waiting one's turn, it's just not very commonplace. But, in a country with so many billions of people I guess it's pretty understandable, survival of the fittest, afterall.

So, we arrived in Udaipur late that evening. As soon as we left the station we knew the vibe was much different here, much more mellow. The rickshaw drivers were not pushy or over eager, rather they were very welcoming and helpful. A nice change! Unfortunately such behavior is often times first regarded with suspiscion by us, due to some of our other experiences, but in this case it was genuine and certainly a welcome relief after a long day of travel. So, we made it to our hostel (Hotel Udai Niwas) which was a lovely, family run establishment with brightly decorated, very clean rooms. A very nice place to land. We went out for a late meal to a place with a rooftop restaurant (most of the restaurants here have this feature) so we got our first glimpse of the infamously lovely Lake Palace at night. Beautiful.

The next day we had a wander around all of the curvy city streets. We had a lovely lunch at a tiny family run spot. I think we actually ate in their dining room. Matt had a pumpkin curry that was delicious! I sat down and chilled out with some cows by the lake for a bit and we did a tour of The City Palace. It was very interesting and quite a beautiful building. Unfortunately I was being my typically cheap self and as such didn't pay to take my camera in, regret was definitely felt once inside. Some of the rooms were hilariously embellished, with mirrored walls and ceilings, colored glass everywhere. Some of them looked like they were decorated in 1986 rather than in the 1700's!! Others were much more spartan and traditional, a mish mash of styles to say the least, but it all worked well together. Apparently 22 different maharajas have put their touch on the palace. The views of the Lake Palace and the surrounding areas from the top of the palace were gorgeous too. The admission fee is quite small, only 50 rupees I think, so I would highly recommend this sight to other travellers. I'd also recommend you not be a cheap skate like me and pay the 200 rupees to take your camera in!! Here's some info on The City Palace: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Palace,_Udaipur

We also cruised down the main market drag in Udaipur, sampling street food and sweets as we went. Oh! And we got to walk down the street next to an elephant! It was a amazing! His owner (presumably) was selling rides on him, though he was being rather quiet about it, mostly he seemed pretty content to just walk through town and receive looks of awe and admiration from passers by. Some people would buy fruit from the market stalls and feed it to the elephant. He gobbled up a whole bundle of bananas in one go and then took a coin from the banana feeder into his trunk and gave it to his owner. It was great. I was tempted to try and feed him but all I could see in my head was "Animals Gone Wild" and the street was rather narrow so there wasn't much of an escape route with his big butt in the way!! I have video of him walking through town to show when I get home.

Anyway, we liked the mellow vibe and beautiful sights of Udaipur very much but it was time to move on. The 32+ hour journey to Goa was due to commence!! So, our journey began with a 16 hour sleeper bus from Udaipur to Mumbai. The bus was surprisingly nice and the sleeper quite roomy and comfy considering. It was by far the bumpiest ride either of us had ever experienced but, again, the passing countryside was beautiful. Our only slight problem was with the lack of restroom facilities on the bus. During the early part of the trip this wasn't too bad as we stopped frequently enough. The problem came for Matt in the morning. I'll spare the gory details but suffice to say a bribe to the driver was required for Matt to be able to make use of a roadside boulder. Frustration was felt on both sides but they made amends later on when the driver asked Matt to come hang out with him in the front and then they bought us chai!! I guess they felt bad in the end!!

The bus dropped us off at one end of Mumbai and we had to catch our train to Goa at the other. So, we braved the local transport and had a chance to see some of the city in passing. The first marvel was watching the insanity that insues when people are either trying to get on or off the train. There is no "let me wait to get on until others get off" concept it's more like "Oh, the train is here- let me start trampling those in my way!!" It was crazy! To get off the train with our big backpacks on was almost impossible. We had to adopt the local mentality and just bulldoze through otherwise I think we'd still be in Mumbai going around in circles!! We even saw a fist fight brake out as the result of this process, the first violence we'd seen at that point but the first of a few instances that day (all related to trains in some way!!)!! Anyway, we had our little cruise around the outskirts of the city. It was quite sad as the stereotype picture of beautiful high rises right next to massive slums is definitely alive and well. We saw little kids squatting to go to the bathroom on the center median of large streets, countless families bathing on the streets outside of their make shift shops, and literally a river of trash. I'm sure there are nice things about the city as well, so I should make it clear that my view of the city was very brief and quite stark, so my opinion is definitely jaded. Some of the colonial era architecture did look quite impressive.

So, following our long bus journey and local Mumbai travel we still had a 9 hour train journey to complete. In second class. With no seat reservation. This was interesting. It was insanely hot that day and due to our ignorance of how certain things to do with the railway system work we had to run the full length of the train to get to the last car before the train pulled out of the station. So, we arrived at the last car, huffing and puffing, and certainly sweating profusely, and, again, pushed our way on, only to find that there were no seats and the only place to stand was in the two foot square area right outside the rather smelly bathroom. I'm certain that my face was classic. One of the guys nearby saw my reaction and laughed, understandably so, and all I could say to him was "Indian trains are crazy!!" Well, I guess he agreed with my sentiment and insisted that Matt and I take over "his" seats. By "his" seats he meant one seat that he had claimed and another that he decided to kick a young man out of. We obviously weren't comfortable with this so Matt insisted on standing but our host was very adamant and kept coming back to move the other young man and insist that Matt sit down. At first it just seemed generous but then after a while it seemed weird and we thought, based on things he was saying, that he was going to ask us to pay for his services. In the end, we realized he was just drunk, as were a whole gaggle of others on the train (hence, more fist fights were observed). In the end he passed out next to me, a bit too close for comfort, and a very nice family let me join them so that I wouldn't be subjected to his very inappropriate (in their eyes) behavior. Either way, I was very happy not to have to stand outside the bathroom without proper ventilaton for 9 hours!! It was quite an experience.

At last, tired and filthy, we arrived in Goa for some relaxation.

**Ok, we've had a minor set back. My flash drive got infected with a virus so we've lost some pictures so, unfortunately, there are none of Amritsar or The Golden Temple. Additionally, we've been at the internet cafe for hours trying to sort it out so I have no more patience let for fixing the pictures! I think some of them may not be showing up right, I'll have to fix them at a later date! And I haven't proofread this either so I apologize for any typos! xo

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