Ok so it's been a bit of a topsy turvy few days so here goes.... I had a great time in Amritsar, the golden temple, although crowded in the daytime, was beautiful, especially in the evening. Every day they make thousands of meals there which they serve free to whoever turns up in this huge dining hall where everyone sits crossed legged in big rows. Of course I had to join in while I was there and it was delicious! The temple also has accommodation which is free not only to Sikh pilgrims but whoever wants to stay there. I do like the practicality of the Sikh religion- they don't only preach about doing good deeds, they actually do them. I stayed one evening to watch the ceremony where the holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, is taken from it's day time place in the golden temple to it's night time bed. I'm not joking, it actually gets tucked up for the night in a real bed and from the looks of it, gets a lot more care and attention than many Indian people get!
Amritsar is only about 20 minutes drive from the Pakistan border and so I went there one evening to see the 'closing of the gate ceremony'.... I can honestly say I've never seen anything like it in my life. There were huge crowds on both sides of the gate, sitting in specially made stands, singing, dancing, lots of running up and down with the Indian flag, a competition to see whose soldeirs could shout for the longest and a whole heap of excellent moustaches and very silly walks that wouldn't have looked out of place on 'Monty Python'. I was quite exhausted just watching it!
Unfortunately, I did have a slight hiccup in Amritsar but I'M FINE!!! I was on a cycle rickshaw coming back from the evening ceremony at the golden temple and a motorbike drew up alongside us and a guy tried to snatch my bag. BUT as it was across my body and zipped up, he only succeeded in hauling me down onto the road before driving off. I was obviously a bit shaken up but the people at the hotel were amazing, they took me to the hospital to get checked out the next morning. They did x rays and I've not broken anything, just damaged the muscle in my hip/ top of my leg, banged my head and just got cuts and grazes. So, as I couldn't really walk properly for a couple of days and was a bit concussed I had to change my plans- I've had to miss out going to Dharmshala and instead I have come back to Delhi today (to the same hotel which I started the group tour at, even the same room which is a bit bizarre!). I'm going to stay here until Wednesday morning and then fly up to Leh as originally planned. The whole thing has dented my confidence a bit but I'm not going to let one incident ruin my trip. I have been a bit jittery when I've been out but I'm sure that will pass, and I only have a week now until I'm home anyway. I wasn't going to write about it on here but then I thought it's not a true representation of my time if I only write about the good things. But please don't worry I'm absolutely fine and I'm not going on any more cycle rickshaws or out in the evening on my own for the rest of my time here I promise!
The genius and very efficient washing up system!
The border ceremony, India side...
and Pakistan side.
lots and lots of satisfied eaters...
the Guru Granth Sahib is carried to bed.
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