Saturday morning we took off for Amritsar, India to see the Golden Temple. We left from New Delhi train station this trip and were amazed with the size of the station. 16 platforms in all. We boarded at 7:20 am and arrived at 1:35 pm. It was a full service train so we enjoyed being waited on hand and foot. First, we started with tea & coffee, then cornflakes with warm buffallo milk, then a choice between veg or non veg breakfast. We chose non veg and had an egg omelet with 2 pieces of toast with butter and jam. Later on we had another tea & coffee and around noon a refreshing glass of mango juice. I'm truly falling in love with mango juice. I can't get enough of it! We took a taxi straight to the Golden Temple and then went inside for our first daylight view. A very impressive Sikh Temple that is considered a religous pilgramage. Sikh's are defined for their perfectly worn turbans. We had to have our head covered the entire time we were in the temple. On the way in you walk through a pool of water to clean your feet and then we watched as most people touched each of the steps going into the temple and then immediately fell to their knees and placed their forehead to the ground once they saw the temple. We walked clockwise around the temple and witnessed several who were either splashing the holy water on their face or completely dunking themselves in the water. They have a large population of very large fish swimming in the water. Large goldfish, catfish, carp, and a number of others who surfaced frequently. We left the temple, checked into our hotel, and then arranged transportation for an event that EVERYONE told us we couldn't miss. I recognize that the upcoming information may sound like a very stupid decision on our part, but the minister's wife from Minnesota told me we couldn't miss this opportunity. We took an hour taxi ride 30 km west to the India/Pakistan border to watch the sunset border ceremony that happens everynight. A place that I was hesitent to go to despite all the expats urging us to participate, but a really wonderful experience to see. Thanks to the Golden Temple, Amritsar is actually one of the safest places in India to be. The border is also surprisingly safe as more than 5,000 people were there to view the ceremony and lowering of the flags at sundown. The Pakistan crowd was fewer in numbers than the India crowd, but they were still singing and chanting back at the Indian crowd all in good fun. They have a special section for international visitors to sit that is close to the action. The guards wear tall fanned hats and kick their legs really high in the air. A very fun thing to see! I sat down and the man next to me asked where I was from. I said the U.S. in a low voice as I didn't want to exactly sing the national anthem next to Pakistan. He asked where abouts and I said South Dakota. Sure enough he is an Alliance Insurance agent from Minneapolis. I have met more people from Minnesota in India than I did while living in Cincinnati. Crazy! He reassured me it was a very safe place to be. We snapped a few pictures with the guards, stood with a few school children and got our celebrity photos taken, and then headed back to Amritsar for dinner and a view of the Golden Temple at night. 3:30am to 10 pm the Sihk men sit inside the temple and sing. That singing is broadcast all throughout the temple via Bose speakers. I believe saying that these folks have money may be an understatement. They are loaded! I'm sure they have no problem maintaining the temple made of gold. Additional historical reading:
http://www.sgpc.net/golden-temple/index.asp
Ben was the big winner of the weekend. He won the prize for most celebrity photos, the Ritz Cracker challenge, and our UNO marathon on the train home. As you can see in the pictures he developed quite a fan base at the Golden Temple. The Ritz Cracker challenge is what happens when you have been riding on a train for 7 hours. He challenged me I couldn't put 5 in my mouth at once and eat them. I did it so he had to eat 6. He accomplished that with no problem so that made it 7 for me. The rule was you could use your hand to put them in your mouth, but then no hands. Sure enough I started laughing and crackers went everywhere. Ben was also the big winner of the UNO marathon. A true champion! Next trip....Germany for Christmas (Weinachten) and we can't wait!
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