First stop today was the little chai stall outside the gate to the Golden Temple. They sell really good masala chai! We watched the pilgrims outside the temple and chatted to a few of them, though they didn't speak any English. They took charge and insisted we went inside the temple complex for Langar. One of the men kindly guided us to where we needed to deposit our shoes and then took us to join the Langar queue.
Langar is the Sikhs community kitchen where everyone is welcome. In fact the Golden Temple is also the largest free kitchen in the world. During festivals up to100,000 meals are produced each day!
We waited in line and were given a plate, bowl and spoon. We were then ushered into the dining room, where we sat crossed legs with around 5000 other people. Men with buckets of food distributed it carefully as they walked around the hall. The meal consisted of rice, daal, chapatis, rice pudding and sweets. It was delicious! The whole experience was unforgettable and the number of meals made is truly incredible. Wow! We then sat and listened to a group of men playing music in the Golden Temple before our next unbelievable Indian experience.
After our morning at the Golden Temple we booked a shared taxi to Attari. This is the border town with Pakistan. At 5 o'clock each day the Indian and Pakistani border guards take part in the very elaborate Wagah ceremony. The closest thing we can compare it to is the changing of the guards or a flag raising ceremony. However, it is really something else!
We met a really nice husband and wife in the shared taxi and they acted as our guides for the ceremony. We caught a cycle rickshaw to speed up our arrival, so we could get good seats.As we were foreign passport holders we could have sat in the VIP seats but we stayed in the Indian stalls, where the real action takes place. Indian flags were waved, Indian caps worn and huge flags were surfed across the crowd.
The whole ceremony is like a face off between the Indian and Pakistani border guards. On the Indian side there is huge grandstand seating thousands of people. Loads of ladies were called to the 'stage' and marched with Indian flags. They then had a kind of dance off while the crowd cheered. There was chanting and shouting and waving arms and clapping. It was quite amazing to watch and you have to be there to believe it. The guards then goose stepped towards the border crossing in perfect time to the music. Flags were raised, lowered and folded whilst the crowd went wild.
The whole experience took half an hour and was quite something. We caught the auto back to Amritsar and went for a cup of special Amritsar hot milk with our Indian guides, who were so kind to us. The welcome and hospitality we have received in India never stops to amaze us.
Langar is the Sikhs community kitchen where everyone is welcome. In fact the Golden Temple is also the largest free kitchen in the world. During festivals up to100,000 meals are produced each day!
We waited in line and were given a plate, bowl and spoon. We were then ushered into the dining room, where we sat crossed legs with around 5000 other people. Men with buckets of food distributed it carefully as they walked around the hall. The meal consisted of rice, daal, chapatis, rice pudding and sweets. It was delicious! The whole experience was unforgettable and the number of meals made is truly incredible. Wow! We then sat and listened to a group of men playing music in the Golden Temple before our next unbelievable Indian experience.
After our morning at the Golden Temple we booked a shared taxi to Attari. This is the border town with Pakistan. At 5 o'clock each day the Indian and Pakistani border guards take part in the very elaborate Wagah ceremony. The closest thing we can compare it to is the changing of the guards or a flag raising ceremony. However, it is really something else!
We met a really nice husband and wife in the shared taxi and they acted as our guides for the ceremony. We caught a cycle rickshaw to speed up our arrival, so we could get good seats.As we were foreign passport holders we could have sat in the VIP seats but we stayed in the Indian stalls, where the real action takes place. Indian flags were waved, Indian caps worn and huge flags were surfed across the crowd.
The whole ceremony is like a face off between the Indian and Pakistani border guards. On the Indian side there is huge grandstand seating thousands of people. Loads of ladies were called to the 'stage' and marched with Indian flags. They then had a kind of dance off while the crowd cheered. There was chanting and shouting and waving arms and clapping. It was quite amazing to watch and you have to be there to believe it. The guards then goose stepped towards the border crossing in perfect time to the music. Flags were raised, lowered and folded whilst the crowd went wild.
The whole experience took half an hour and was quite something. We caught the auto back to Amritsar and went for a cup of special Amritsar hot milk with our Indian guides, who were so kind to us. The welcome and hospitality we have received in India never stops to amaze us.