Amritsar, the holy city of the Golden Temple

My OH has been looking forward to this part of the trip, he’s always wanted to see the Golden Temple. So we went to see it twice (day time and evening) and it was worth the effort.

We walked from our hotel in the morning past the entrance the the Town Hall and it’s gorgeous chandeliers,

past the Partition Museum,

past the lines of coaches of people who had arrived at dawn, through to Jallianwala Bagh, which is now a memorial garden but was an enclosed square where, in 1919, the British army fired on unarmed demonstrators. There was nowhere for them to hide, only a well. Hundreds were killed and over 1500 were injured. Some of the people who died jumped into a large well for cover and were killed in the crush of people.

Today some bullet holes in the walls are still visible.

Today there is a memorial for those who died.

We managed to get past the stall holders who were desperate for people to buy, but they were out of luck, everyone was too focused on reaching the temple

Obviously, we had to leave our shoes (and socks) at the counter. We had to put on head coverings.

Then make our way to wash our hands then walk through the cleansing water before making our way down the steps, we were instantly confronted with the temple in all of it’s glory. Still shrouded in the morning haze.

We felt a little like intruders as people prostrate themselves and went down on their knees at the sight of the temple. We were overwhelmed with just how many people were there.

I asked our guide if I could see the kitchens, where they feed thousands of people every day. It’s run on military precision, with hundreds of volunteers helping to prepare the vegetables and do the washing up

In the kitchen there were massive pots to cook the dal and rice

There were a even more of volunteers doing the washing up. More than anywhere else!

We walked around the whole area

It looked even more gorgeous as the mist lifted and the sun shone on the golden roof.

It was an amazing experience. We went back the next evening and it was just as busy! And even more blingy!

After the Golden Temple we went to the less busy Silver Temple

The most bizarre and bonkers experience in Amtristar was traveling to the Wagah Border between India and Pakistan to witness the sunset performance of lowering the flags.

Thousands of Indians visit every day, coach load after coach load. We got there at 3pm so we could get a seat ready for the 5.30 performance. I keep on saying performance and not ceremony as that is exactly what it is. The seating area is like an arena and I reckon could seat 10,000 people on the Indian side, not so big on the Pakistan side. We were ushered into a narrow block of seats kept only for foreigners. They were very close to the gates but had railings along the side which got in the way of filming. Ah well we saw more than most.

All of those taking part are employed as Border Guards and I predict that when you go to the interview if you said you can do a high kick and touch your ear with your foot you’d be in before the ink was dry on the paper!!

It all kicks off (sorry 😂) with a guy with a microphone working up the crowd, the music blasts out and he encourages the ladies to “come on down” and strut their stuff. And they did.

He kept shouting slogans at the crowd and the crowd roar back. (Just like a warm up guy before a comedy show on TV.) So everyone erupted when they saw the first lots of guards march in.

The female guards came out first and gave a stunning display with their replica rifles.

Then it was the guy’s turn. They do a bit of a Maori’ish style of marching, obviously with a view to frightening the opposition.

Then they take it in turns to march up to the gates, each showing off more than the last one.

It all ends when the flags are slowly taken down, folded and marched away. This only takes a few minutes and you’re left there feeling quite bereft after all the earlier hype!

I would really encourage everyone, if they get the chance, to come to see this spectacle, and, it’s all free!

Sadda Pind

We had some spare time in Amtristar so our driver suggested we visit Sadda Pind. He said it would show us about Punjab, we thought that France had the Puy de Fou and the Black Country has their museum, why not give it a go.

We were the only white people there and as we went round the recreated houses which showed Punjab I skills and culture, we had to stop frequently to have our photos taken by the other visitors, who found it hilarious that we were there.

Anyway we saw a blacksmith, weaver, jeweller, could have milked a cow or ridden a camel and I did some embroidery. We were entertained by magician and had a very nice lunch along with a hundred or so small school children.