Amritsar and Dharamsala
The overnight train to Amritsar was nice and I slept well. I met a very nice woman named Gita on the train who was marveling at my clothes as I simultaneously marveled at her gorgeous chiffon sari. She was a very beautiful woman of 50 years old with two children. She showed me 3 of her "snaps" (photographs) of herself, a black and white school picture at age 16, another black and white portrait at 21 taken on her wedding day (bejewelled with gold), and finally, one color snap taken when she was 24 while visiting the Golden Temple. She was descending some stairs and holding her 9 month old baby girl in her arms when a tourist approached her and asked if he could take her snap. She agreed and he sent her the photograph. As I met her, at 50, Gita is a very regal, poised, and beautiful woman. But at 24 she could have been on the cover of any magazine around the world. In the picture, her delicate floral pink and white silk shawl is draped over her head, highlighting her powerful but beguiling onyx eyes. She was like Cleopatra, reincarnated. Stunning.
We arrived in Amitsar 7:30 a.m. and my travel companions took the first rickshaw driver that approached us. Doh! Personally I prefer to bargain until I'm blue in the face (unless its in the middle of a monsoon). Turns out he was a very nice guy and drove us around for the next day and a half all around the city and helped us sort out some issues with the trains for "a donation." Amritsar is a completely different place from Uttaranchal and I was grateful to have my shawl to cover my head.
We tried several guest houses until we found one that was relatively decent and after showering we headed off to the Golden Temple. We toured the temple itself in midday, in the searing heat and sun. I am going to forego most of my description of the place, only to tell you all that it is the most important of all Sikh temples, its gold (duh), and then I will let you google it yourself to see what it is like (or better yet, come for a visit.) All I will say is that maybe it was the heat, my chronic dehydration, my lack of eating for like 20 hours, the press of the pilgrims and visitors, the continuous and enchanting singing and praying coming from each direction, the giant feather duster action, the piercing sparkle of the gold, or the many Indians who wanted to take their picture with me (?!), but it was a very moving experience. It's a freaking TEMPLE MADE OF GOLD SURRONDED BY A LAKE!! HOLY CRAP! It's just incredible.
In late afternoon we set off to watch the nightly show at the Indian-Pakistan border. I had heard about this strange event but nothing could prepare me for the total absurdity of it all. Stands are erected on both sides Wagsu border. On the Indian side, the show is preceded by raucous Bollywood-style dancing in the streets. On the Pakistan side, the men sit on one side and the woman on the other, and there was no dancing. The show itself consists of strange military manuevers from the soldiers on both sides. The soldiers wear fans on their heads and do some very strange high-kicks as they march back and forth alongside the border gate. It was one of the top 3 strangest shows I have ever watched. And that is saying something. I will be sure to post pictures of it.
The next day we took a 2 hour train and then a four hour taxi up the side of the mountains to McLeod Ganj, an adjacent town to Dharamsala and home to Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile. Also home to many new age hippies, Buddhists, and yoga enthusiasts, mostly from Europe and Israel (although Richard Gere hangs out here a lot.) I found a very moldy room to rent, had a great dinner of Tibetan long noodles, caught a concert of classical Tibetan music, and fell fast asleep. The chill in the air is a welcome relief to the searing heat of Amritsar.
This morning I got up early at 6 and walked for about 2 hours down to the Tibetan housing compounds and to the Tsangpa monastery. And I mean down the steep side of a mountain. I watched the monks, school children, and other Tibetans make their way up the mountain towards town. The views were stunning over the Himalayas, with Tibetan prayer flags fluttering in the early morning breeze. I then visited Bhagsu, the waterfall, where again people wanted to take pictures of me. I hightailed it out of there after I followed a goat up a small path and ate some momos and did some shopping.
After tomorrow's trek to a temple and lake, I have no idea where I'm going to next...I'm still waiting for inspiration.
We arrived in Amitsar 7:30 a.m. and my travel companions took the first rickshaw driver that approached us. Doh! Personally I prefer to bargain until I'm blue in the face (unless its in the middle of a monsoon). Turns out he was a very nice guy and drove us around for the next day and a half all around the city and helped us sort out some issues with the trains for "a donation." Amritsar is a completely different place from Uttaranchal and I was grateful to have my shawl to cover my head.
We tried several guest houses until we found one that was relatively decent and after showering we headed off to the Golden Temple. We toured the temple itself in midday, in the searing heat and sun. I am going to forego most of my description of the place, only to tell you all that it is the most important of all Sikh temples, its gold (duh), and then I will let you google it yourself to see what it is like (or better yet, come for a visit.) All I will say is that maybe it was the heat, my chronic dehydration, my lack of eating for like 20 hours, the press of the pilgrims and visitors, the continuous and enchanting singing and praying coming from each direction, the giant feather duster action, the piercing sparkle of the gold, or the many Indians who wanted to take their picture with me (?!), but it was a very moving experience. It's a freaking TEMPLE MADE OF GOLD SURRONDED BY A LAKE!! HOLY CRAP! It's just incredible.
In late afternoon we set off to watch the nightly show at the Indian-Pakistan border. I had heard about this strange event but nothing could prepare me for the total absurdity of it all. Stands are erected on both sides Wagsu border. On the Indian side, the show is preceded by raucous Bollywood-style dancing in the streets. On the Pakistan side, the men sit on one side and the woman on the other, and there was no dancing. The show itself consists of strange military manuevers from the soldiers on both sides. The soldiers wear fans on their heads and do some very strange high-kicks as they march back and forth alongside the border gate. It was one of the top 3 strangest shows I have ever watched. And that is saying something. I will be sure to post pictures of it.
The next day we took a 2 hour train and then a four hour taxi up the side of the mountains to McLeod Ganj, an adjacent town to Dharamsala and home to Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile. Also home to many new age hippies, Buddhists, and yoga enthusiasts, mostly from Europe and Israel (although Richard Gere hangs out here a lot.) I found a very moldy room to rent, had a great dinner of Tibetan long noodles, caught a concert of classical Tibetan music, and fell fast asleep. The chill in the air is a welcome relief to the searing heat of Amritsar.
This morning I got up early at 6 and walked for about 2 hours down to the Tibetan housing compounds and to the Tsangpa monastery. And I mean down the steep side of a mountain. I watched the monks, school children, and other Tibetans make their way up the mountain towards town. The views were stunning over the Himalayas, with Tibetan prayer flags fluttering in the early morning breeze. I then visited Bhagsu, the waterfall, where again people wanted to take pictures of me. I hightailed it out of there after I followed a goat up a small path and ate some momos and did some shopping.
After tomorrow's trek to a temple and lake, I have no idea where I'm going to next...I'm still waiting for inspiration.
posted by Julep | 7:48 PM
3 Comments:
I had seen a clip of the Indian-Pakistan border ceremony many years ago. It IS a bizarre and fascinating ritual.
Speaking of bizarre rituals... are you hearing any news about things going on in the US?
Stumbeled upon your blog when I was googleing for trains in India, very nice reading and inspiring :-) Might go this summer by myself, it sounds like you were a woman travelling solo as well :-)
All the best,
Johanna (In Stockholm, Sweden)
Hi Luma,
Traveling solo as a woman in India is safe, and for me, it was the best way to go! Just be sure to talk to others who have done it. You'll learn some tricks to help you. Also don't wear tight clothes or sleeveless shirts. The trains are so much fun- I wish you the best. If you need any advice, just email me at julep2323@yahoo.com and I will share some ideas!
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