Thursday 20 February 2014

Chapter five: Golden temple & Wagah Border

One of the things that you must go an visit for sure is the golden temple in Amritsar! The trip was 3 hours away by bus (the jumping bus) and the expectations were big after a lot of feedback from the crowd.

Packed with a bag of fresh fruits and fine pastries nicely wrapped for us with a "have a nice day" note, we started happily our trip!!
We arrived in a sec and carried by TONGAS! (a carriage pulled by a horse)

Once you arrive, SHOES OFF!!
When you are walking down the street you can't imagine what will come next.. Since is a lot crowded and some parts underconstruction, but when you realize you are in front of this beauty...
The golden temple is a sacred place for the Sikh religion followers.

Sikh is a follower of Sikhism, a monotheistic religion that originated in the 16th century in the Punjab region.[The term "Sikh" means disciple, student. A Sikh is a disciple/subject of the Guru.

My first reaction was to observe and listen all the chants played as a soundtrack, amazed for the sound and delighted for the view.
I found my new home!! Made of real gold and with marble, like in a fairytale.
Then we decided to go inside of the temple, we went to the front side to the gate, there was a square with music and more buildings beautifully designed.
You cannot enter into te temple with empty hands, before you do an offerings de of leaves and seeds
The line to enter in to the temple was an adventure too since you have to wait for almost an hour standing for you turn, but if you are lucky you can make new friends and talk while you are waiting.
Once inside you can observe the beauty and delicacy of the construction filled with elaborated details and of course the magnificence of the "Guru Granth Sahib" the holy book.
The book It is a collection of teachings by Guru Nanak, as well as other founders of this religion, and also Muslim and Hindu saints. The Guru Granth Sahib is written in Punjab.
 After this acomplishment we decided to go to the communal kitchen where I experienced a different way to eat, reflect and be grateful at the same time. Eating on the floor and with food made by volunteers, I ate as a king. Amazing!
After my original Punjab food, I was still observing and meditating in that amazing place.
And having fun with friends!
In the way back i was the lucky one sitting on the front right after the driver!! Was so exciting and fun!!!
Then we literally run to our next stop at Wagah border!

Wagah Border is the only road border crossing between Pakistan and India, and lies on the Grand Trunk Road between the cities of AmritsarPunjab, India, and LahorePunjab, Pakistan.

The Wagah border closing 'lowering of the flags' ceremony or The Beating Retreat ceremony is a daily military practice that the security forces of India (Border Security Force) and Pakistan (Pakistan Rangers) have jointly followed since 1959.

It was so funny and we screamed a lot!!

We had a lot of fun and we also danced at the rhythm of some Hindi music very popular in Punjab!
Was a great afternoon, we felt identified with the Indian culture and we screamed as the locals!!!

And then with a beautiful sunset we finished our incredible day of tourism around the Punjab region!
Simply beautiful and enigmatic! 

Thanks for read!:)

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