because taking a relaxing three day weekend over easter sounds absolutely normal, lauren and i once again decided to hit india at full speed, this time dragging along our kiwi friends, ben and emerald. we left woodstock right after school thursday and took the 12 hour overnight train to amritsar, fully feeling the pinch of our wallets and traveling by the cheapest means possible, which resulted in quite a few interesting bits... one of which includes me getting ear plugs stuck in my ear canals (yes, plural) because i was so sick of the loud train noises and beggars at the window that in a tylenol pm state of mind/coma, i forced them in further than recommended, and thus was deaf for an entire day.. luckily it was upon our return to woodstock and lauren was nice enough me use her bobby pin to pull them out..
amritsar is home to sikhism's holiest shrine, the golden temple. for sikhs, a visit to the golden temple is the equivalent to mecca for muslims; attracting thousands of pilgrims from all over the world each day. one of the primary religions of india, sikhism began as a reaction against the caste system and is a very peaceful practice. it maintains a strong belief in the equality of all beings which is demonstrated through a variety of practices and traditions, most famously, langar; a communal meal made by volunteers in which people from all walks of life sit together and feast at the golden temple.it was a much welcomed breath of fresh air; a place of rare peace and a scene of immaculate beauty. we spent about an entire day exploring, contemplating, watching and being still. sadly, the streets of amritsar were nowhere near as calm, i think out of control is the best way to describe the actual city; i was often utterly frazzled. luckily the golden temple was always available as a retreat from the pandemonium..
tourist?
langar
about an hours drive from amritsar is the india/pakistan boarder where each night there is an elaborate, quite theatrical closing of the boarder involving quite a bit of showing the bottom of shoes and wobbling hats as insults, guards kicking high enough to shame even the most flexible show girl, a big lady bollywood dance party in the middle of the street, shouts of 'hindustan zandabad' (long live india), loads of moustaches, and more nationalism (from both sides) than i have ever experienced before. i was quite impressed by the pakistan turn out, and desperately wanted to cross the boarder, but i listened to kellie shriver's STRONGLY advised warning that if i was to venture into pakistan i would be in deep trouble for the rest of my life...and because i don't want to be grounded at the age of 23, i listened and returned safe and sound.to get to the boarder we spent quite a bit of time waiting in the ridiculously long lines (note they are separated by gender) until we saw a large group of white people passing by, we hopped into their tourist group and bypassed all lines and got the best seats in the house..sometimes it pays to be a 'foreigner'- as long as they don't look too close at my visa...
india representing
Pakistan equally representing
enjoying the simple pleasures in life.
perfect embodiment of overnight sleeper class train experiences: it doesnt get much better than this...the best part is: even when we look like absolute shit like this, people STILL ask to take our pictures..
we left saturday night feeling we experienced amritsar to the absolute max. it was a sprint but we managed, and even made it back in time for easter chapel at school. now we just have to push through our sheer exhaustion and tap into the back sources of energy to effectively make it through the week.family easter photo.
