Amritsar
We arrived in Amritsar pretty early in the morning and took a rickshaw to our digs, the Tourist Guesthouse. After staying in hotels and guesthouses for so long, this place was a refreshing change. You could stay in dorms and there was a common room so it had a very hostel like atmosphere. Our double room was 250 rupees (£3.50) and had loads of character so it was a complete steal! Immediately we could tell that Amritsar was a special place just from the local people we met on arrival and the hotel owners. The first day we wandered around taking in the local area and at night we bought some Kingfisher beers and spent the night chatting to other travellers. Kingfisher beer is definitely an experience – it contains glycerine which gives you a bad head the next day even if you drink one or two. Also we could only find strong kingfisher so it tasted like special brew!
That night we met a woman who had experienced some pretty bad sexual attention from the locals all over India. Up until then we thought that I was having the same problem because I was blonde, turns out the all western women experience this no matter what they look like. Ahmad has probably mentioned this in previous entries but I feel the need to put my own spin on it as the main victim! Before we came to India people told me that men would stare at me (no problem with staring I thought) and that Ahmad being there wouldn’t make a difference. Nothing could prepare me for the reality of travelling India as a western woman. I got stared at everwhere but it wasn’t a curious stare it was a look that said ‘I’m thinking about having sex with you in the dirtiest way’. Teenage boys were the worst but even men aged 40-50 would do it as well. Being with Ahmad actually made things worse because they knew I was open to Indian men and often they thought I was his prostitute. There were a few times where I just ended up crying in public spaces because it was so violating. Ahmad was brilliant about it and actually started confronting people who were trying to take my photo or were staring at me too long. I even started shouting ‘what? What are you looking at?!!’ because it was so fucking tiring. One of the reasons I loved Amritsar was because I hardly got any of this attention, Sikhs are very relaxed people and I love them for it! This factor definitely affected by experience of India and I honestly think it would take a lot of mental preparation before going back.
Back to the blog…..the next day we went to see the Golden Temple, THE place for Sikhs in India to worship. I was never that fussed about seeing the temple, it was Ahmad that really wanted to go and I’m glad he did because it was absolutely incredible. In my opinion it beat the Taj Mahal, that’s how good it was. The temple itself is in the centre of a huge pool of sacred water where people swim and bathe to cleanse themselves. The surrounding four walls are beautiful and a brilliant white which contrasts against all the vibrant colours worn by the people – stunning. We decided to get into the spirit of things and have our lunch in the temple. You collect a thali dish and a bowl from the kitchen entrance and are lead into rows in a huge hall where you sit on the floor. Men come round with different buckets filled with rice, dhal, vegatables, roti and water and spoon it into your dishes. The food was lush and of course it’s free, you just make a donation of your choice when you leave.
That night we walked around the city centre and found the best restaurant in India – the Punjabi Dabah. Ever since Ahmad introduced me to Keema (essentially Indian bolognese) back home I had been looking forward to trying it in the motherland. We had some at the restaurant and it was pure taste. I told the chef that it was incredible and he looked pretty pleased!
The next day we went to the India/Pakistan border closing ceremony, another amazing experience! We took a minibus from the Golden Temple to the border for about a pound each and made our way to the entrance. Up until now Ahmad had been trying his best to pass for a local Indian so he could get stuff half price or get the ‘local’ discount so we were flabbergasted when the police didn’t believe he was British and nearly didn’t let him sit in the foreigners section (right near all the action!). Eventually he managed to persuade them and we slipped in. I’ll try and explain the situation for those of you who haven’t seen the Michael Palin episode. On the Pakistan side the men and women are separated and on the Indian side everyone is mixed. When everyone was seated a line formed on the Indian side and women took turns running with the Indian flag. All the time traditional Indian music was playing at full volume. After the flag running loads of Indian women hit the floor and started dancing – they went mental when Tai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire came on! The atmosphere was awesome! At sunset the guards on each side form a line and then proceed to walk towards to border in pairs in the most strange and amusing fashion! They lift their legs as high as their chests and swing their arms in front. When they get to the end they flick their legs around all the time keeping a straight face!
We had a wonderful time in Amritsar and I would definitely go back. We would love to see more of the Punjab in the future. The next night we took an overnight train to Varanasi.