Another day, another experience

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After last night I had decided to move on but really wanted to go back to the temple and to the Indian/ Pakistan border show at Wagha, so after a discussion with the hotel and investigation into trains/ buses, I decided to stay and I’m so pleased I did - it was a wonderful day as though nothing had happened yesterday evening.

I headed to the mobile phone shop to verify (again) my Indian mobile no ([phone] - if you fancy sending me a text) and then to the railway station to get my ticket to Puthankot - a transport hub. It was a totally different experience from Delhi, having stood in a line randomly hoping it was the right one and wondering why it appeared that only men where travelling, a kind gentleman showed me to the women’s line! Yes it’s true, women get to queue jump at railway stations. Fantastic - so I joined the much shorter queue and smugly bought my ticket - 2nd class this time! No panic!

I treated myself to a rickshaw to the Jallianwala Bah, the famous park where the Brits massacred the peaceful Indian protest, as shown in Ghandi, and found myself quite overwhelmed by the unnecessary brutality of the action. The park is completely enclosed with only a narrow entrance/ exit. There are bullet marks on the walls and the well where many jumped to their death is still there - the atmosphere was peaceful as though walking through a cemetery.

Literally around the corner is the Golden Temple, so I ventured back, first to view the numerous pictures and historical artifacts that are housed in the Sikh museum in the surrounding building. While contemplating their horrific persecution over the years I was attached by a gaggle of schoolgirls who wanted to shake my hand and kept pulling down my duppata to see what I looked like! I could get used to this - they all thought I was really pretty and convulsed into giggles when I said they were too.

I had become comfortable enough with my surroundings and joined the colourful queue of pilgrims on the bridge, waiting and watching for a good hour, many were in prayer as we approached the gleaming gold temple covered in floral and fauna patterns. As I entered once again I was awe struck - it’s one of the most beautiful places I have ever been into - every wall is either painted or inlaid with flowers and animal motifs. You can wander up to the roof tops and walk around - it’s trans like; I stayed a while watching the goings on - people praying, reading from the Sikh holy book, offering gifts, priests chanting.

I had to pull myself away as I needed to catch my cab to the border. What a performance and feat of organisation - the border show not cab! We arrived and this time I noticed the gender divide and moved to the female side, just in time as the crowd surged forward and I was carried along, jostle and pulled amongst a sea of colourful sari’s and excited chatter through a walkway, past the gates and to the female section of the stadium and a mad rush to select your seat - high or low - oh it was a quandary! I plomped myself down in the middle and sat back to watch the men go through the same and soon I was chatting to a bunch of schoolteachers. One girl had fairly good English and we were able to debate the pro’s/ con’s of Indian/ UK life and the stark contrast between the crowds on the Indian side and almost empty stadium in Pakistan - Ramadan perhaps?

Once every inch of space and more had been filled the show began and the crowd were whipped into a frenzy of nationalism, the guards both sides paraded up and down, like strutting peacock in their feather-like headdresses and impressive moustaches, high kicking and saluting. The last post trumpeted and the flags were lowered simultaneously to a great cheer from the crowd.

I just could not get over that this goes on every day!

On the way home we picked up two Belgiums, my first contact with other travellers, who gave me some tips on where to go in the mountains. There are surprisingly few travellers about, it’s reassuring to know it’s not just me and I have met some lovely Indians, only this evening - I was chatting to a lovely lady in the grocers shop who bought be a bar a chocolate for my journey tomorrow.

What a fantastic day - up early tomorrow, my final destination somewhere up in the mountains but it depends on where the buses go from Pathankot! Love to all

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