After a relaxed last morning in Chandigarh we caught a tuk-tuk to the bus station, armed with some take-away veg pakora. When we arrived the 12:30 pm bus was completely full. There was no counter from which to purchase our tickets, so we were slightly worried that we might not be able to get on the next bus either as more and more people seemed to be arriving. Thankfully we spotted a group of people next to a bus that was waiting on the other side of the station, and managed to buy tickets before the bus reached the crowd. People ignored us for a while but eventually someone grabbed the money from John's hand and a little later delivered a ticket. Thus we left Chandigarh at around 1pm on a direct bus to Amritsar.
The "deluxe" bus was comfortable and John settled back to immerse himself in his recently acquired book on India. I was delighted that after a few kilometres the music stopped, TV screens were pulled out, and we were shown Bollywood movies. The first movie seemed to be a comedy, but it was a bit hard to follow without understanding Hindi. The second movie was a typical Bollywood romance full of little video clips and with great replicas of Top Gun scenes (the hero was in the air force). It was much easier to follow, but turned out to be very tragic, as the two main characters were always separated. We arrived in Amritsar before the end and this came as a relief as there was no sign of any happy ending.
After a five hour bus journey it took us two auto rickshaws to get from the bus to the hotel. Our first auto rickshaw stopped right by a crossroads as he was allegedly not allowed to enter the area; we then transferred our luggage onto his friend's rickshaw for what was only 200m in the end. The City Heart Hotel, with its marble floor and well-appointed rooms, was a significant upgrade over our hostel in Chandigarh without much of a price difference.
Another great advantage was the hotel's location: we quickly dropped our bags and walked the 100m to the Golden Temple's entrance. No shoes or socks are allowed inside the temple, and visitors also have to wash their feet in the little basins at the entrance. In addition, both men and women have to cover their head. John looked even more silly than usual with my red scarf over his head.
The "deluxe" bus was comfortable and John settled back to immerse himself in his recently acquired book on India. I was delighted that after a few kilometres the music stopped, TV screens were pulled out, and we were shown Bollywood movies. The first movie seemed to be a comedy, but it was a bit hard to follow without understanding Hindi. The second movie was a typical Bollywood romance full of little video clips and with great replicas of Top Gun scenes (the hero was in the air force). It was much easier to follow, but turned out to be very tragic, as the two main characters were always separated. We arrived in Amritsar before the end and this came as a relief as there was no sign of any happy ending.
After a five hour bus journey it took us two auto rickshaws to get from the bus to the hotel. Our first auto rickshaw stopped right by a crossroads as he was allegedly not allowed to enter the area; we then transferred our luggage onto his friend's rickshaw for what was only 200m in the end. The City Heart Hotel, with its marble floor and well-appointed rooms, was a significant upgrade over our hostel in Chandigarh without much of a price difference.
Another great advantage was the hotel's location: we quickly dropped our bags and walked the 100m to the Golden Temple's entrance. No shoes or socks are allowed inside the temple, and visitors also have to wash their feet in the little basins at the entrance. In addition, both men and women have to cover their head. John looked even more silly than usual with my red scarf over his head.
It was already quite dark but the temple was nicely lit, with its golden colour reflecting on the surrounding water-tank (the "pool of nectar"). We enjoyed the soothing sound of the prayer as we walked around the beautiful temple. We later found out that we were hearing priests chanting in Gurmukhi from the Sikh holy book, broadcast by loudspeakers.
A friendly Sikh, recognisable by his brightly-coloured turban, came up to us and shared a few interesting facts about his religion and the temple. Apparently he comes every evening to pray and talk to tourists. There was no sting in the tail; he really did just want to tell us about the temple. We were surprised to see that among the crowd of tourists and devotees were women wearing red turbans and white robes. He told us that they were Americans who had converted to Sikhism and were studying in the Sikh school of Amritsar.
We then followed pilgrims on the walkway (the "gurus' bridge") crossing the pool of nectar to reach the temple (Hari Mandir Sahib or Darbar Sahib). The prayer room on the ground floor was richly decorated and full of devotees. The original copy of the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, was kept under a shroud. The interior of the temple was as beautifully decorated as its exterior (no photos allowed, sadly). We slowly proceeded to the second floor where a similar prayer room with a balcony overlooking the ground floor was located. Another holy book seemed to be covered under a shroud. Again, many devotees were sitting, absorbed in prayers. We thus continued our visit walking up to the rooftop and then back down and out of the temple.
We then followed pilgrims on the walkway (the "gurus' bridge") crossing the pool of nectar to reach the temple (Hari Mandir Sahib or Darbar Sahib). The prayer room on the ground floor was richly decorated and full of devotees. The original copy of the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, was kept under a shroud. The interior of the temple was as beautifully decorated as its exterior (no photos allowed, sadly). We slowly proceeded to the second floor where a similar prayer room with a balcony overlooking the ground floor was located. Another holy book seemed to be covered under a shroud. Again, many devotees were sitting, absorbed in prayers. We thus continued our visit walking up to the rooftop and then back down and out of the temple.
On our way out we decided to have a look at the pilgrim's canteen and perhaps have a tea. As it happened they were serving dinner rather than tea; as we were quite hungry, we decided to give it a go. We followed the line of people, were handed a plate and a bowl, and walked to a large room on the first floor. A few mats had been laid out and people were sitting with their plate in front of them. We did the same and a few minutes later our plates were full with delicious dahl, a vegetable curry, some kind of rice pudding, and chapatis. The thirst for the experience dealt with our initial concerns as to whether the food would be safe for us to eat. It turned out to be absolutely fine. The dahl, heavily flavoured with ginger and garlic, was one of the tastiest we have had all trip.
Three meals a day are served to thousands of people of every origin and religion for free every day. You are welcome to make a donation (as we did, since we are lucky enough not to need a free meal) but nobody demands it. We really enjoyed our dinner and were truly impressed by the generosity of the community and the peaceful atmosphere in and around the temple.
Three meals a day are served to thousands of people of every origin and religion for free every day. You are welcome to make a donation (as we did, since we are lucky enough not to need a free meal) but nobody demands it. We really enjoyed our dinner and were truly impressed by the generosity of the community and the peaceful atmosphere in and around the temple.
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