Our journey and stay in Amritar was a whirlwind adventure. We tripped through a lush country side, with lazily swaying trees shading busily working people. Tea bounced our little plastic train cups as we watched rice patty after rice patty rush passed us, on their way to no where in particular. Watery fields and a blurry sun rocked off us to sleep. But soon Amritsar arrived and would keep us riveted for the next 72 hours.
As we stumbled out of the Delhi-Amritsar Shetabdi Express we were quickly greeted by Mr. Bubbles (we are baffled at the name as well). This is the distinguished General sir's (General Singh, founder of Maitri along with his wife Winnie ma'am) brother. He is an equally distinguished man in appearance. He is well traveled, educated and very well-spoken. Very likeable. We felt immediately comfortable.
Once again we drove through an Indian night to a new destination. There is something about India at night. It is haunting, yet so intriguing. The problem is that as a female I will only see this world from a car window. The streets are filled with men, no matter the hour.
We reached the guest house that Mr. Bubbles and his wife run in their "semi-retirement". Mr. Bubbles introduced his wife, simple as, Bubbles.
Our bafflement deepened. But as with most things in India, you learn to go with the flow.
Oh and then there was Bruno! The Bubbles' big, clumsy, adorable, chocolate-coloured dog!
Tea and biscuits served as a midnight snack, and we were off immediately to bed. Come 5 am we more tea and biscuits woke us. We had to be ready this early so we could go see the Golden Temple. The Golden Temple is a temple of extreme significance in the Sikh faith, as is the city of Amritsar itself. At 6am we arrive with Mr. and Mrs. Bubbles and two adorable kids, Arti and Saro, the children of the guest house's manager, and the Bubbles near-adopted grandchildren.
Before entering the temple grounds everyone (men, women and children) had to cover their hair and remove their shoes. It was nice to quietly pad along on morning cooled marble and admire the 6 am sun shining on the Gold-plated temple. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take picture inside the temple itself (later in the day we visited a Hindu temple with a very similar layout where were were allowed to take pictures). The stone work was amazing. Colourful bits of stone were inlayed in the marble to create intricate designs of flowers and birds. In the water surrounding the temple were huge Koi fish hoping to get a share of the warm, grainy sweet that is given out at Sikh ceremonies.
After the temple we went to go have a traditional Indian breakfast. Everyone had talked about how good the food in Amritsar is...they forgot to mention how much of it you are required to eat and how much of it is fried. We had two
panis--large hallow, inflated pastries that you squish down and pour various stews over, like chickpeas and such. The are the size of a large grapefruit. The Bubbles
taroffed us into having two! Then after that they orderd Indian pancakes, which are much like their American cousin, but thicker and more dense, less fluffy. I couldn't do it. I had a few bites. Oh and along with all of this we had the thickest and biggest
lassi I have had.
We had to nap for two hours afterward. It was painful.
After we woke up from the food-coma (as Yvette called it) we went out to explore a bit. We saw a Hindu temple that was modeled after the Golden Temple and attempted to walk around a couple of markets, but is was way too hot and humid so we just ended up condensating in a coffee shop along with our iced drinks.
We returned home to lunch. Which was good, but again mostly fried. Luckily the main fried dish was the famous Amritsar fish, and I was not obliged to eat it. Oh man and it was followed by a massive bowl of fresh cut mango. I was so full, but I had to have mangoes.
After lunch, which ended around four, we piled into a taxi with a British guy staying at the guest and headed out on the 30-45min drive to the Pakistani boarder.
No we were not, unfortunately, going to Pakistan. That would have been amazing! Lahor was only 23 km from the boarder!
We, actually, were going to see the daily boarder ceremony. Everyday at this particular spot on the vast Pakistan-India boarder, a small regiment from each army--the Pakistani and the Indian--hold a small, but extremely lively event, where the guards--who are about the height of NBA players--march around and chant. The gates separating the two countries are momentarily opened and the two sides shake hands and at the end of the ceremony, with the gates still open, there is a little flag bit, where the two flag cross each other as they are being lowered.
Beyond these brief moments of interaction, the ceremony was mostly a patriotic rally, where women ran down the road with the Indian flag held high and then later burst into dance when nationalist songs came on and chanting drowned out all of your thoughts.
The guards can high kick high enough that they kick their own fan hats! It was crazy!
This is the Pakistani side. And the women's side of the Pakistani side. We could not see if they were running with flags or dance in the road, but we could hear their chanting just as well as we could hear the Indians.
This here is the amazing cheerleader. The man in white. Where as American cheerleaders need short skirts, cute faces hidden under layers of make-up, shinny things to wiggle around and keep the crowds attention; all this man had to do was walk out of the building and lift both arms into the air and whole India side exploded. I wondered if he was a celebrity or local politician, but everyone I asked said he was just part of the army. Impressive. I think our cheerleaders need to come to India for an efficiency workshop: How to Get the Most Out of Your Minimalist Cheer.
The patriotic air was thick. It left me with a lot of politically saturated thoughts. Too many and too convoluted, all sticky with awe and depression, too ranty.
I'll spare you.
After we arrived home we had dinner (again a lot of fried stuff). Went to be late, around 12:30-1ish. We slept, not too comfortable though. Humidity and its little minions the mosquitoes kept us up. It ok though, we had to be up at 4 am anyway to make the 5 am train back to New Delhi, which arrived at 11:30am and was followed by 5 hours at work.
Amritsar: A religious, patriotic, bubbly, fried, whirlwind adventure.
