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Published: August 1st 2010
India We cross the border that we visited the night before to watch the Border Ceremony, though this time there is little dancing going on. Shame, I thought they did that just for us!!! haha.
Amritsar First stop is Amritsar and Sundeep, our guide) tells us of The Golden Temple which we must surely visit. Again, we can also find beer to drink so for a while we are happy bunnies.
And so off to the Golden Temple we go. You walk through the many small side streets I get my leg run over by a rickshaw driver, who seems mortified!! Mind you, it bloody well hurt too. Anyway, we stop at one small shop to sample some sweet, it was a very strange thing a bit like some hardened treacle and very very sweet.
A short distance later and we’re confronted by this large white building that stands out from its surroundings. To enter this sacred place we must all have our heads covered and, of course, there are the usual street sellers with offering plenty of options to cover the head. I opt for a rather fetching bright orange bandana-type thing and now I’m ready to visit
Enroute to the Golden Temple
The surrounding buildings of the Golden Temple, Amritsar, Indiathe Golden Temple.
After removing your shoes you walk down some steps and immediately you can see the Golden Temple, in the centre, surrounded by water. A sense of peace washes over you as you enter and the noise of the streets outside seems to disappear and everything is….quieter. Serene. It is a great place for quiet thoughts even with the mass of people visiting. There are locals, tourists all mingling together and we watch as many bathe in the holy water surrounding the Golden Temple. The queue for the Temple is long but we join it for a visit and its very impressive, but crowded.
Delhi At last, a decent hotel!! We have a giant bed but the pillows….oh, the pillows…..Heaven!
Liam & I decide to go for a wander and explore the streets of Delhi. We stroll down one back street only to find that it seems to be the public toilet…..which makes us both break out in schoolboy laughs, both sounding like Beevis & Butthead!! We eventually find ourselves back on the mainstreet and grab the nearest tuk tuk driver and ask him to take us to the ???? temple. This he does but he
The Golden Temple
The Golden Temple, Amritsar, India becomes very annoying and bugging us to take us to more places. We decline and he drops us off.
After the temple we wander over to India Gate for a while then grab another, more polite tuk tuk driver and strike a deal for him to take us to the usual tourists sites. This he does and apart from taking us to several shops (so he can get a fee) he seems pleasant and we enjoy our time with him. Our journey takes to many of the tourist sites including the Parliament buildings, Ghandi’s museum & home, the peaceful Lodi Gardens, Humaylins Tomb & the National Museum all of which were really interesting (with the exception of the Museum…..I think I’m museum’d out. And it was bloody hot too!
Our driver drops us back at the Parliament buildings and we head to the Metro back to the city centre then a rickshaw rider takes us back to our hotel. All in all, a good trip.
Agra Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal. We stop at this ok hotel where the staff (some) were just a little overfriendly. This one porter, Errol, was really nice but was
The Golden Temple
The Golden Temple, Amritsar, India clearly after tips, which isn’t surprising really. Liam & I needed to get some money so asked for the Bank and trundled off with Anne to get some much needed cash. Whilst walking the streets we sensed we were being followed, turned round only to find some fierce looking monkeys staring at us!!! Yeh yeh, I know what you are all thinking…….and no, they didn’t recognise me as one of their long lost missing family members!!
Later that evening we decided to go to the Taj Mahal to watch the sunset, but I was too busy yapping on the phone and they buggered off without me. I grabbed the next tuk tuk driver I could find and followed, hoping that I’d see them at the entrance (and not knowing there were several entrances!!). I was dropped off and couldn’t find anyone and then realised I had no idea what the name of the hotel was or the street it was in! Great. ‘How the f**k am I gonna get back?’ I tried ringing one of the others but couldn’t get through and then fortunately I saw my Tuk Tuk driver and fortunately he recognised me, so I managed to
Me at the Golden Temple
The Golden Temple, Amritsar, India get back.
The following day was to be an early start (5:15) as we were hoping to see the sun rise at the Taj Mahal. We get the bus and have a new guide, with his slick hair, groomed beard and dark shades and clearly had his focus on the girls on the bus!! We arrive and pay our entrance fees, grab the Taj bus and make our way to the entrance gate, only to be met by this huge queue!!
‘Doesn’t anyone sleep here?’ And so we did what all good Brits do and queued. And queued. And watched the sunrise in the distance nowhere near the Taj. Now I’m tired and fed up yet the guide could only laugh. ‘Bloody w**ker’ I muttered under my breath.
But all those feelings soon disappeared as we enter the grounds, beautifully manicured lawns and great, great buildings. And then, a short walk and through the main gate you see the familiar site that is the Taj Mahal. You see where Princess Diana sat all those years ago and watch as other tourist try to recreate the scene. It is massively impressive a certainly a must see. We spend a
The Golden Temple
The Golden Temple, Amritsar, India good couple of hours there, walking, thinking, watching.
After the Taj we visit the Old Fort and I left the guide as he was getting on my nerves, so I went for a wander on my own. Later in the evening a couple of us went to the other side of the river to watch the sun set over the Taj. It was a fantastic viewpoint where we sat enjoying a couple of beers and watch as in the distance a couple of fire burials were taking place (apparently). A great evening with and interesting tuk tuk journey, in the dark, back to our hotel.
Lucknow Next stop enroute is Lucknow. To be honest there isn’t much I can say about this place accept people just stare at you. And stare! Their look is an accusatory one and it makes you feel very uncomfortable. My single diary entry reads ‘Lucknow - Not so nice!’
Varanasi Varanasi and the river Ganges. As with most of the places we’d visited I knew little about them. Of course, I had heard of the Ganges but I didn’t quite expect what I saw (though I’m not sure what I did expect!).
The Golden Temple
My attempt at something artistic.... Anyway, a short bus journey through the streets of Varanasi and we were dropped off for a short 2km walk to the river. The streets were hectic (as all of India seems to be) but full of colour. I saw a small fight break out in the crowd which was mildly amusing and reminding me of Yeovil. Ah, people really are the same the world over!! And then there it was, the River Ganges in all its filthy glory with the majestic sun trying to break through the horizon in the distance. Perfect timing!
I stop at the top of the steps to take in the scenery and the chaos ahead of me. For Hindus in India, the Ganga is not just a river but a mother, a goddess, a tradition, a culture and much more. Some Hindus also believe life is incomplete without taking a bath in Ganga at least once in their lives and we see so many of them taking part in this tradition. I decide to buy the candle ensconced in flowers to let float later on the river. We grab a boat and go for a sail down the river, floating salesmen bump into
The Golden Temple
Another attempt at artistry us offering us their wares but leaving disappointed. The banks are filled with people, some washing themselves in the river, some washing clothes in the river and a funeral. Yes, the burning of a dead loved one was taking place at the edge of the river. We out quickly shut up, put our cameras away a watched in silence as we quietly floated by, watching the mourners watching the fire blaze fiercely in the morning light. An unexpected scene for us. We soon passed by and a short while after we saw something floating in the river. At first glance it looked a little like something in a plastic bag but as we got closer we realised that it was in fact a bloated dead body! Yep, a dead body face down just floating peacefully along. In the background the sun is rising fast.
India Pt 2.......our return from Nepal Calcutta Unfortunately our stay in Calcutta was only overnight but the hotel was shocking, hot and the bed was like sleeping on a floor. The sheets were dirty, there was only 1 exit out and it was cramped. Not really what I’d expected but hey ho, in
The Golden Temple
And yet another attempt.... for a penny in for a pound.
We decided to venture out into the town for some food and drink, going to various eateries until we happened upon a nice restaurant/bar for some, yep you guessed it, Indian food. By this time my Deli Belly had eased off so I did have something to eat though not much. As we sat eating and drinking the locals were watching IPL cricket on the TV. Annoyingly the cricket ground was just down the road, so we could’ve gone to watched the game!!
The following day we headed to the airport for our flight to Thailand. Yipee!!!!
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Hello!!!!! Nice beautiful blog!!!!!