Amritsar Weekend Journey

Last weekend’s adventure started with a 6 hour drive to Chandigarh. Nandan and his older brother took me on the adventure. There seems to be a temple off the highway every 0.5-1 miles. We stopped for breakfast about 4 hours into the drive which consisted of dal and paranthas. Parantha is like a quesadilla but made fresh to order. It is used to scoop up the dal.

We arrived in Chandigarh and it is the cleanest town I have seen here. All the streets were wide and had trees on the sides. The town was engineered by a Frenchman and uses the block system. We ended up at Nandan’s uncles house. I was treated like family. The Indian’s have a custom to treat all guests like gods. I was always served first and treated very well. We picked up one of his cousins and headed north about 40 km to the timber trail. This 24 mile drive took 1.5 hours and was on a windy road. It had a great view as the hills started in this location. We arrive at the timber trail which is a cable car ride up to a top off one of the hills where there is a park and restaurant. The cable car ride had great views and 1 kid that screamed and cried the entire way. We get to the top of the hill and start to walk around. They had a small area with a couple rides. Three of the 4 of us went on one ride that spun is around and had you dangle off the side of the mountain. Then we headed off to lunch at the restaurant on the mountain. It had great views and I tried all new food again. I did not take any pics of the food on the entire trip though. The menus were interesting as they were in either Punjabi, Hindu or English.

On the way back the cousin was taking about 3 things that would fulfill the dream life of every Punjabi, the state they live in. First was the Golden Temple, which I saw on Satruday. The next was to own a bullet, a scooter, and the third was to live or visit of all places Canada. I told them that I was living the dream then. My parents own a scooter, I have been to Canada a few times, and I was going to see the Golden Temple. I was then honored with the name of Jason Singh.

We then went to the Rock Garden in Chandigarh. It was made by an eccentric artist in the 1950’s by creating a park by using only recycled materials. He created little statues of people all over the park and a few waterfalls. It is in the Guinness Book of World Records for all the statues in the place.

It was dark by the time we left the Rock Garden and we headed to my hotel room to check in. It was 900 rupees or $18 a night for a double room with a good ac. I stayed there by myself as the others stayed at the unless house.

We then went to the uncles house for dinner. It was a big spread or different vegetarian foods. I liked every thing but the curd, to me it tastes like rancid milk. Plus they specially did not make anything spicy for me. It was like an all you can eat buffet. As soon as I took a scoop of something, the aunt would fill up my plate again. I ate more in the three meals than I usually do in 2-3 days. I would pay the price of a bad stomach ache on Saturday. This region also uses a lot of butter and ghee, which makes the food very heavy.

Around 10 they drove me back to the hotel and I was fast to bed.

We left about 7 the next morning for another 6 hour drive up to Amritsar. We stopped after about 3 hours for breakfast and had paranthas and dal. This area was more known for farming. It was mile after mile of sugar cane. The area had many rivers and swamp areas. It was green and clean until we got to Amritsar. A storm rolled in at the same time and it was a 5 minute sand storm followed by a 30 minute rain. I was happy as the temps cooled off a little.

We then headed to another family members house which was in an exclusive area of town. I again was treated to snacks and drinks. We picked up a different cousin and headed to the Golden Temple. The roads in Amritsar are very narrow and crowded, but it only took about 15 minutes to get there. Once there I was told to take my shoes off at the car and walk the way barefoot. First we passed the dining area where anyone can sit down and get a free meal. The we walked down a walkway to the gate. This walkway consisted of a water way of about 3 feet that you walk through to cleanse your feet before entering. At this same point I was told that anyone that enters must cover their heads. Nandan wrapped a bandana around my head. It is the Sikh custom to not to show their head to the sky. All Sikh men must follow 5 rules 1. Always wear a turban, 2. Have a beard, 3. Always carry a knife or sword with them, 4. Wear special underwear and the 5th was something that I did not understand. The Sikh are know as the protectors of India and are highly respected. Then as we continued to walk the gold of the Golden Palace stood out. The second thing I noticed were men in just their underwear were in the waters taking a bath. The water is considered holy as is this is the holiest Sikh place in the world.

We continue to walk around and I continue to take pictures. The reflection off the water followed me around and looks great in the pics. We decided to wait in line to go inside the Golden Temple. As this was one of their bigger religious holidays, there were many people their. We waited in line about 1.5 hours to see the temple. I noticed in line many people were carry a bowl with a leaf over it. Nandan said this was to cover the water that they were carrying around. I was not allowed to take any pictures in or around the temple itself. It was beautiful though. The parts not covered in cold were inlayed marble with flower designs. Inside were 3 people playing songs that echoed through the entire complex and people bowing to the ground and praying. As we left it said to scoop up a handful of water to drink. I noticed people scooping up water and washing it over their hair. I followed as I could use some devine intervention.

By the time we went through it was already 3 and we wanted to be at the Pakistan border by 5. We headed back to the family house for what I thought would be a quick lunch, but it lasted a good hour and was another heavy meal. At this point it felt like everything from yesterday was still settling and my stomach was hard as a rock. After the hour drive to the Waga Border, we begun a 1km walk to the site. With this being a festive weekend, there were about 20,000 people there and we were too late to be able to get a seat or a good view. We walked around to try to find a spot but no luck. I held the camera as high as I could to get a few pics, there is a Pakistan flag in one pic. We ended up on an outer border that had no view. It was right next to what the guys called no man’s land. The actual territory border. I stuck my hand through a couple inches just to say I touched the Pakistan border. At this point in was 100 degrees, 100% humidity and my stomach was not cooperating. I began to sweat and could not stop. They guys were getting worried and we left early since there was nothing to see anyways. However we could hear as the Indian people were yelling out battle cries to Pakistan and they were yelling back. Then there was a one man how long can you yell contest with Pakistan. That got the crowd all riled up. We decided to walk back and our car was blocked in. What do we do? We picked up the other car and dragged it out of the way. Only in India with all the sand and a small car can you get away with this.

We headed back. I was not feeling well so I told the guys to drop me off at the hotel and I would skip supper. It was already 7 anyways. This time I spent 1200 or $24 for a room. The room was slightly nicer, but it was against a main road and I fell asleep to the honking of the traffic.

We left about 7 the next morning. The guys told me that the supper was the heaviest meal yet. I am glad I skipped out. Who would think the vegetarian would be so heavy. It is all breads and gravy type dishes though.

IT was a long journey back. We stopped at one more family members house for an hour. I got back to my place around 9 at night. I don’t think I have ever been in a car for so long over a 3 day period without any night driving at all. It is dangerous enough driving during the day, I would not want to drive at night.

It was my favorite trip yet. Just seeing the family dynamics and the way I was treated was the highlight of the trip for me. There are little things like when Nandan and his brother would great his elder family members they would touch the feet of the elder family members. I got away with shaking their hands.