Nov 9, 2009 - Week One!

Hi Everyone! Wow - what a week! We arrived in Delhi safe and sound last Tuesday - it is mad! It is very difficult to try and explain what this place is like. But eventually have settled in! And haven't lost anything except a bit of our time in the process I hasten to add! We headed up to the city of Amritsar for a couple of days and saw the Golden Temple (the holiest Sikh temple) which was beautiful and got to see the border ceremony at the Pakistan/India border which was absolutely brilliant - imagine a stadium with gates in the middle, the crowd roaring, the gates opened and then the tallest soldiers you have ever seen dressed (I think there's a minimum height of 6'5'')in all their regalia doing this bizarre agressive mating style ritual at each other! Was well worth the trip. ... We've met some really lovely people along the way and the general consensus has been that North India is really hard work! It can be quite difficult to get where you want to go, there is a lot of hassling of westerners (I'd say 99.Hi Everyone! Wow - what a week! We arrived in Delhi safe and sound last Tuesday - it is mad! It is very difficult to try and explain what this place is like. But eventually have settled in! And haven't lost anything except a bit of our time in the process I hasten to add! We headed up to the city of Amritsar for a couple of days and saw the Golden Temple (the holiest Sikh temple) which was beautiful and got to see the border ceremony at the Pakistan/India border which was absolutely brilliant - imagine a stadium with gates in the middle, the crowd roaring, the gates opened and then the tallest soldiers you have ever seen dressed (I think there's a minimum height of 6'5'')in all their regalia doing this bizarre agressive mating style ritual at each other! Was well worth the trip. ... We've met some really lovely people along the way and the general consensus has been that North India is really hard work! It can be quite difficult to get where you want to go, there is a lot of hassling of westerners (I'd say 99....

Sep 22, 2009 - Train from New Delhi to Amritsar

Up at 5:00 a. Shatabdi express from New Delhi Train Station to Amritsar – home of the Golden Temple. ... And so the train arrives in Amritsar, and I get off to do battle with the taxi and hotel touts…. ...

Sep 22, 2009 - Amritsar - India/Pakistan Border Closing Ceremony

Amritsar is on the Indian border with Pakistan - Lahore being the closest city in Pakistan. ... Each evening at sunset the two respective armies close the border and lower their flags.Amritsar is on the Indian border with Pakistan - Lahore being the closest city in Pakistan. ... Each evening at sunset the two respective armies close the border and lower their flags....

Aug 9, 2009 - Border bravado

(please scroll down for english) Ogni pomeriggio, poco prima del tramonto, i militari Indiani e Pakistani si incontrano al confine per mettere in scena una straordinaria cerimonia di puro teatro. Siamo stati a questa cerimonia oggi, il confine e' a 30 km da Amritsar, c'erano forse 40 gradi di temperatura, come potete vedere. ... We watched it this afternoon, the border being just 30 km from Amritsar, with a temperature of around 40 centigrades, very very very hot as you can see. ... Had it been a little shorter it would have been better, but it was worth it.(please scroll down for english) Ogni pomeriggio, poco prima del tramonto, i militari Indiani e Pakistani si incontrano al confine per mettere in scena una straordinaria cerimonia di puro teatro. Siamo stati a questa cerimonia oggi, il confine e' a 30 km da Amritsar, c'erano forse 40 gradi di temperatura, come potete vedere. ... We watched it this afternoon, the border being just 30 km from Amritsar, with a temperature of around 40 centigrades, very very very hot as you can see. ... Had it been a little shorter it would have been better, but it was worth it....

Aug 9, 2009 - Amritsar, Punjab

Il Punjab e' una zona a maggioranza Sikh, i Sikh sono quella minoranza religiosa -un mix fra induismo e islamismo- che alcuni secoli fa ha preso le distanze dall'induismo, in particolare dal sistema delle caste e dalla grande devozione degli Hindu' per le varie divinita' rappresentanti aspetti di Dio.Il Punjab e' una zona a maggioranza Sikh, i Sikh sono quella minoranza religiosa -un mix fra induismo e islamismo- che alcuni secoli fa ha preso le distanze dall'induismo, in particolare dal sistema delle caste e dalla grande devozione degli Hindu' per le varie divinita' rappresentanti aspetti di Dio....

Jul 20, 2009 - Amritsar

Today in Amritsar we saw two absolutely breathtaking sites. ... by the end of the day, we were extremely exhausted as our train to Amritsar was 7:20 in the morning. ...

May 8, 2009 - A day for decisions and actions!

Awoke with a dickie tummy so decided to take it easy for the day. I needn't have worried however it seemed as a crowd of the young set of Amritsar came in and didn't order anything. ... Images of the Indian version of Sopranos came to mind.Awoke with a dickie tummy so decided to take it easy for the day. I needn't have worried however it seemed as a crowd of the young set of Amritsar came in and didn't order anything. ... Images of the Indian version of Sopranos came to mind....

May 7, 2009 - Tour of Amritsar with my own rickshaw driver

Feeling the heat getting to me, I took the offer from a rickshaw driver to show me around for the day. The bus was 15 rupees from Amritsar while one tuk-tuk guy at the bus stop in tried to get 300 rupees out of me for the return trip would you believe. ... Would you credit it! I ended up befriending a couple from Denmark and shared a tuk--tuk back to Amritsar for 50 rupees each. ... The driver? Yup, the guy who told me there was no bus back.Feeling the heat getting to me, I took the offer from a rickshaw driver to show me around for the day. The bus was 15 rupees from Amritsar while one tuk-tuk guy at the bus stop in tried to get 300 rupees out of me for the return trip would you believe. ... Would you credit it! I ended up befriending a couple from Denmark and shared a tuk--tuk back to Amritsar for 50 rupees each. ... The driver? Yup, the guy who told me there was no bus back....

May 6, 2009 - The Golden Temple

Jumped on a tuk-tuk from Kishor's thinking I was a little bit pushed for time but I needn't have worried as my driver had me there with loads to spare.Jumped on a tuk-tuk from Kishor's thinking I was a little bit pushed for time but I needn't have worried as my driver had me there with loads to spare....

Apr 17, 2009 - Amritsar

Get into Amritsar roughly on time on the overnight train from Haridwar. ... After taking one look at the ridiculously packed free bus, splash out 20 ruppees on a rickshaw to the heart of Sikhism, the Golden Temple.Get into Amritsar roughly on time on the overnight train from Haridwar. ... After taking one look at the ridiculously packed free bus, splash out 20 ruppees on a rickshaw to the heart of Sikhism, the Golden Temple....

Mar 19, 2009 - Seeking the Sikhs

First off, my SD card won't let me take the pictures off. So, I am bummed that I haven't been able to include pictures of the closing ceremony or Amritsar. ... - - - Amritsar is home to The Golden Temple and very good chapatti. ... I stayed in a hotel right across the street from the temple.First off, my SD card won't let me take the pictures off. So, I am bummed that I haven't been able to include pictures of the closing ceremony or Amritsar. ... - - - Amritsar is home to The Golden Temple and very good chapatti. ... I stayed in a hotel right across the street from the temple....

Mar 17, 2009 - Pakistan vs. India

Pakistan Border Ceremony This was perhaps the best event I’ve attended while being here.Pakistan Border Ceremony This was perhaps the best event I’ve attended while being here....