Amritsar/Jaipur

So... it's been awhile. For those of you who thought I was off doing sketchy things in dangerous places, you're completely wrong...... OK mom? NO danger. None.

Getting a shave

I was in the Sikh's holy city of Amritsar in Punjab visiting the golden temple (holiest shrine of the sikh faith.) I spent my nights sleeping in a gurudwara (sleeping place in the temple) with the pilgrims, which aside from the 4am mornings and lack of privacy (those pilgrims like to get as much praying in as they can.) was quite comfortable and pleasant. The setting was difficult to beat as well. The temple is absolutely beautiful.... stunning really. The sikh guards were very friendly to me, especially when they found out that I am canadian. "Canada!? VEEEEERRRRRY GOOOD!!!" was one's response. Not a particularly suprising reaction I suppose, when one considers the number of people in Punjab who have relatives in Canada. Amritsar is a pretty neat city, particularly the old part of town. I spent a full afternoon and evening exploring the laberynthine streets and alleyways.

Golden temple kitchen


Street scenes in Amritsar

One evening I took a trip out to the Pakistan border to witness the nightly border closing ceremony. The scene was completely surreal. Guards on both sides of the border in dress uniform marched up and down, yelling and marching theatrically yet aggressively, while thousands upon thousands of onlookers cheered, waved flags, and were revved up by an MC. The atmosphere was more like that of an NHL playoff game than that of one of the world's most sensitive geopolitical hotspots. There were vendors selling everything from roasted corn to postcards to peanuts, even beer! Like I said... surreal.

Border Ceremony

Border ceremony

Right before I got roughed up.... kidding! kidding mom!

I took an overnight train from Amritsar to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. I haven't really done much sight seeing yet. Mostly laying low and catching up on sleep. My guesthouse backs onto a mosque, the 5 daily prayer calls are blared into my room... which might be annoying in a city that wasn't as noisy as Jaipur. Now it's novel, and almost soothing. The touts and beggars here are the most aggressive and persistant that I have ever encountered. The usual disinterested "no" that has worked so well for me in other places is much less effective. I've come close to losing my cool a number of times with over eager rickshaw touts trying to block my path on the road while I'm being mobbed by beggar kids. I understand that everyone is trying to make some money to survive, and that i'm seen as being outrageously rich in comparison to these poor folks. BUT, I'm not willing to be cheated. I, like most well healed members of indian society give money to beggars, particularly those with disabilities. This country has no welfare system for these people, and giving alms is an important social custom, one I whole heartedly take part in. Mobs of aggressive kids are something completely different though.