Blogs from Amritsar, Punjab, India, Asia - page 7

After much contemplation about where to go on my winter vacation I couldnt help remember all of the amazing things I learned and discovered 18 months ago on the Indian subcontinent. The choice was an easy one- back to India and this time roam around its neighbor to the west- Pakistan. Rawness, unique culture, Qaawali music, beautiful landscapes and Pakistani hospitality are just a few of the elements that initially drew me to this often misunderstood land. It's 1AM and I find myself once again back at Indira Gandhi Airport in India's capital city. What to do now? As opposed to finding a guesthouse for three dollars and resting for the night my excitement took over and I decided to pull an all nighter and go directly to the bus stand and catch the 5AM bus ... read more

December 24, 2010: A Train Journey to Amritsar Sam Wrote: Well, another early morning. Our tour colleague, Gurpreet, picked us up from the hotel at 6:15 am and drove us to the Delhi Railway Station. He slept on-route to the train station while we took in the early morning sights. I was pleasantly shocked – New Delhi actually is a very pretty city. Wide bolevards, beautifully landscaped, amazing architecture. And the street names : Akbar Ave, Indira Gandhi Chowk, Connaught Place, etc. Early in the morning without all the automobile and pedestrian traffic, you actually get to appreciate the city. Another surprising fact, the City is spotless. There is no litter anywhere and the roads and sidewalks have been swept. I had heard from the locals that the sanitation crews completely clean the city overnight but ... read more

After Mccleod, we decided to go to Amritsar via Pathankot. At the time this seemed like a good idea as it was on our way and held the fabled Golden Temple but in hindsight i wish we hadn't gone there... It all started out really well with our journey going smoothly and our accommodation was nice(even if the ever reliable rickshaw driver dropped us off far from where we asked) and the hoteliers were welcoming and friendly(when we finally found one). That's roughly where the fun stopped. At this time i feel i should point out that the instances here are my experiences only and are in no way, shape or form an exact representation of the people or religious values of the place(nice... my first disclaimer...). Anyway... We went to the border closing ceremony at ... read more

There was one place in North India I did not want to miss as everyone mentioned how great the experience is to stay at the golden temple and to attend the Wagah border ceremony between India and Pakistan. So I did. Amritsar is in Punjab where you will find predominantly Sikhs. Approximately 2% (24million) of the Indian population are Sikh and most of them are in Punjab. So Turbans everywhere!!!!! The golden Temple is the Sikh’s main pilgrimage site, like Mecca for Muslims. You are not allowed inside the temple with your shoes on and your head uncovered. The temple complex is beautiful - marble everywhere and gold plated temple roofs. Many Sikhs take a bath in the supposedly holy water around the main golden temple. It certainly is much cleaner than the Ganges and ... read more

Day 30 Multan to Lahore (Mon 2nd Aug) No point wasting our time in Multan, where we can’t even go for a walk, so we head off early for Lahore. It wasn’t too long a drive and we made it to Lahore in plenty of time. On the way in to our hotel, we went past a pizza hut and Domino’s - so guess where everyone went for dinner? I still wasn’t feeling great (though definitely better) so I skipped that and stuck with digestive biscuits and Berocca. A good nutrition diet. They did have a laundry service here though, so everyone made use of that. It’s good to have 2 nights somewhere, just so we all have clean clothes! Day 31 Lahore Waking up today, I was happy to notice I no longer feel sick ... read more