Day 32 (Amristar)

Hello India...we've finally made it and I've been in training for years now in Khan's so do your worst (though not too bad cos I've got long bus journeys and no onboard toilet). Let's test your chicken tikka versus the one I love so much....and if get brave enough...let's try jalfrezi...or vindaloo!

We were up early to cross through Wagha into India for a one night stay in Amristar (30kms from the border). The walk from where we left Amjad &Arshad to the bus on the other side was pretty long, and was made more difficult because of a) the heat and b) delhi belly :( But being as stubborn as I am I was determined to cross on my own without hiring a porter to carry my bags so I just sucked it up and got on with it. We got through a lot quicker than I had expected and were pleasantly surprised at how close Amristar was. Driving there took longer than expected though because of traffic and the crazy way they drive here!

My first impression is that entering India we're back to a society more like home than we've seen in a couple of weeks. There are women out walking about for a change..it's not just men on the streets anymore which is refreshing. There are a lot more bikes and motorbikes on the road here than we have seen in Iran and Pakistan, but the common thing is how many people they squeeze on there! The streets are filthy and there seems to be more beggars than we've seen to date, but I'm excited to see how the rest of India is.

We got to Amristar pretty early on in the day thanks to the smooth border crossing so a gang of us headed off in search of a net cafe to check in with home (and sort out the photo albums that some of you seem to have noticed weren't actually up yet – sorted now...enjoy). We managed to get there squeezing 7 of us into a motorised rickshaw, but getting back was a different story. No motorised rickshaws to be seen and the group was now at 9 people. We didn't know for sure how far away the hotel was so we didn't know if we could walk it easily or not (we easily could have but had no map and no clue where to go). Eventually we gave in and went with cycle rickshaws, but had to fight to get three people on one as they were trying to limit us to two per rickshaw...eventually we got under way with Alex in the middle and Mel & I perched either side of him with one bum cheek hanging over the edge of the rickshaw and hanging on for dear life on the short spin back to the hotel. Quiet an experience..not really one I wanna repeat!

Amristar has one big attraction that we wanted to see – the Golden Temple. Each evening they have a ceremony lasting a few hours that involves 'putting the book to bed'. We went to see some of this and I was blown away by the place. It was so serene and peaceful and reminded me a lot of Egoli Park in Tabriz where Reza had taken us. There were thousands of people there all strolling around the lake, sitting praying or chatting and some of the boys & men were swimming in the lake (didn't look like ladies were allowed). The Golden Temple is accessible by a walkway out into the lake...we got in the queue to go in for a looksie and it was pretty cool. Inside there were lots of people praying and a full section of guys singing and playing the music that was being piped out around the whole complex outside. It was a beautiful place.

For photos from Amristar click here.