Cross Border Rivalry with Pakistan in Attari

So another major "tourist" attraction in Amritsar is to visit the India/Pakistan border for an elaborate closing ceremony at sunset.

There were definitely some great scenes from the 30 minute journey to there-

Crowded on the back of a scooter

On a bike rickshaw-

Peering out the back

Popcorn-wallahs



And at the border itself, both the India and Pakistan side had stadium seating filled to capacity eagerly anticipating the show to come...
India side-

Pakistan side (on the Pakistan side men and women sat on opposite ends)-

Close up of a guard-


The Attari border was almost like a sporting event. There were national chants and plenty of flag waving galore. It was a source of pride for kids to come out and parade the Indian flag in front of the frenzied crowds.



Flag waving AT the Pakistan side.


And of course, what would a party in India be like without some Bhangra???!!!!

More Scenes from the Golden Temple

Religious prostrations at one of the entrances to the Golden Temple.


Pilgrims circling around on the Parkarma, the marble walkway surrounding the pool.


Bathing in the holy waters.



Definitely long lines to go inside the main temple, but taking advantage of the "tourist pass" (membership has it's privileges), we got to enter through the exit. The Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, is kept inside under watch by priests chanting and singing. No cameras were allowed so no photos unfortunately.



The Golden Temple definitely has a very communal atmosphere as well. Water is made available to thirsty pilgrims, and plenty of people were willing to clean plates.





Without a doubt, a very special place.

The Golden Temple

The Golden Temple is the holiest site for Sikhism and is one of my favorite places that I've been to in India. I know every tourist and their mother visits the Taj Mahal, but I personally like the Golden Temple much more! For one thing, it's an actual functional holy site that outsiders, both male and female alike, are more than welcome at. If you think about it, it's kinda morbid to go see a mausoleum too. Anyways...

Because it's a holy site, Sikh pilgrims are always visiting. One of the nice things about The Golden Temple is that everyone is fed. Check out the assembly line for washing dishes!




It's also one the cleanest place in India! Actual clean sinks to wash hands! If those two things in themselves don't make this place a "holy" site, I don't what would.



On approach, the Golden Temple is simply... stunning. People are in religious ecstasy.


The Golden Temple was completed in 1604. It's surrounded by a manmade lake called AmritSar (Lake of Holy Water or Immortal Nectar).


I liked how some of the local teenage boys liked to use it for their swimming pool. A guard would show up, chase them out, and the boys would walk to the other side and get back in. Cracked me up, although I couldn't blame them, it was hot!

A Typical Day in New Delhi... (part 3)

6:30p Back in my neighborhood... avoid the cows at the round about.

Or if you're my roommate from Montana, try to start a cow street stampede to no avail. Indian cows are just chill, they know they can do whatever they want...



6:35p I'm long overdue for a haircut. The "expensive" hair stylist joints have left me looking like an escaped mental patient. After too many of these incidents, I've decided that I will no longer get my haircut at a place where I can also get pedicures and manicures. I figured this time, I'll give the 50 cent streetside barber a try!

6:40p I'm drawing a crowd, it's not everyday a foreigner gets a haircut from the same place as where the rickshaw wallahs do...


6:45p Ah yes, I'm freshly shorn, and it's hands down the best haircut I have had so far in India. But wait, there's more! Every haircut comes with a scalp/back massage for better circulation. What a steal!



6:50p With my spiffy new haircut, I'm all ready to go out on the town tonite. It's still early in the evening though, time to head back home and rest up for a bit, maybe I'll do some reading.

On the recommendation of a friend since procrastination is common among grad students, here's a book I brought along with me...


I'm pretty sure I actually dragged this book to India purely for looks because I didn't even come close to finish reading it. Imagine that, a book on procrastination and time management, and I never got around to finishing it... Honestly, why would anyone who procrastinates ever finish a book about time management? Am I the only one who this doesn't make any logical sense to? Hah!

To be continued...

A Typical Day in New Delhi... (part 2)

9:35am Opps, a bit late for the meeting that started 5 minutes ago.


10am-1pm Typical work day stuff- drink coffee, check email, check news sites, check facebook, run analysis, drink chai, chat with others about project/dissertation stuff, drink water, make calls, etc...

1:15pm Ah, it's time for my favorite meal of the day! Lunch at the office is family-style, which is fantastic for me. Everyone brings in their home cooked meals in little aluminum pots and shares with everyone else like a mini-buffet. Home-cooked Indian food is without a doubt much better than what you can get in a restaurant. I'm not sure how I avoided gaining 15 pounds this summer. Of course I brought my "home cooked" food to share courtesy of a food vendor downstairs, made it myself, hah!


2p-4p See 10a-1p. I'm very well hydrated by this point.

4pm If it's a Friday, I'm probably scrambling around trying to figure out transportation and tickets for a weekend trip that night. Yep, I like to procrastinate in work AND leisure. I really do like taking the trains around in India, it's just less hassle and fantastic people watching! While trying to book tickets online for the Indian Railways, I found this very helpful website to buying tickets at the train station that one should "Take a print and keep in your Travel Bag" (I just love things like this about India).

Step 1: YOU ARE AT NEW DELHI STATION (PAHAR GANJ SIDE).
Step 2: THIS IS “INTERNATIONAL TOURIST BUREAU” BUILDING.


Boy, I don't know what I'd do without these very helpful steps (I'm not making this up, you can see for yourself here.)! Thank god they made the ticket buying process so "easy" for tourists!

6pm Work is over! Time to head home.

6:05p Doh! It rained. That means more haggling with the autorickshaw drivers (rain means they'll try to charge more since no one wants to walk during the monsoon). Worse yet, the streets are flooded, water "seasoned" by the streets of New Delhi is splashing everywhere (yay for a healthy immune system), and traffic jams galore. A 10 minute commute turns into 30...




To be continued...

A Typical Day in New Delhi...

Most of my blog posts have either been about rural villages or common tourist destinations in India. Truthfully, the majority of my life in New Delhi has been about the mundane, typical, everyday events. Here's a very common day of my life in India...

6:30am- Indian sunshine is beaming through the windows of my room. It's much too bright, I feel like a vampire. Pillow immediately goes over my head.



7:00am- "Alarm clock" goes off. It's laughing yoga in the park behind our apartment! It feels like I'm waking up to a studio audience in an Indian sitcom. It starts off with rhythmic clapping followed by lots of "ho ho ho's" and "ha ha ha's". Have a listen by clicking here.

7:30am- "Snooze" alarm goes off. "Ding dong, ding dong!!!" Our cleaning lady is ringing the bell downstairs. Despite the gate being open, she's a pretty persistent ringer. Ugh. Myself or my roommate stumble out of bed to let her in. I scare her with my bedhead and my boxer shorts wearing shirtless physique (that early in the morning I can care less what the neighbors think...). I go back to bed while she cleans up around me while I try to sleep. Yeah, yeah, I know it's pretty snooty, but dangit, 7:30am is just painful especially on the weekend! I'm pretty sure she hates me, my washed clothes have been coming back looking like they've been mysteriously tye-died with pink and blue blotches with rust thrown in for style points.

8:00am- No big surprise, can't go back to sleep while someone is sweeping and mopping around my room. I unhappily crawl out of bed to make a rousing breakfast of toast and either banana or mango. Everyday. I now hate toast.

8:30am- My roommates and I scour the the local newspaper for any of the parties we went to the other night and random funny stuff. Gotta love the Indian advertisements for fitness gyms. Stripper poles!

You too can look like a scary escaped Indian convict after working out at the gym!


9:00am- Time to leave the luxurious New Delhi apartment and find a ride to work.

Plenty of fruit/vegetable sellers on our street. Everyone is having their car washed too, which is a novelty to me since I haven't washed my car in the states in ~2 years.



9:05am- Avoid the cow at the round-about.


9:10am- Find a auto-rickshaw wallah.

9:15am- Haggle over $$$ with the auto-rickshaw wallah.
9:16am- Walk away in "disgust" over the inflated "tourist" price.
9:17am- Auto-rickshaw driver acts "offended" and grudgingly gives a counter-offer.
9:20am- Repeat the above several times...
9:30am- Arrive at work slightly frazzled. For those of you who haven't experienced an auto-rickshaw, it's kinda like the Indian version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disneyland.

To be continued...