okay so the bus ride wasnt thaaat comfortable, it was a local bus thou so one of those ricckety bumpy one where the luggage is on the roof and all.the windows were always opening or closing depending on the bumps we went over and the amount of people changed at every single stop.this being an intertate bus was also doubling as a normal side street bus.so at one stop we had only 10 people,then by the next stop we were over capacity with about 50-60 people on board.occasionally there was someone selling something on the bus much like those people on the television, trying to sell things like juicers and tablecloths that would not tear.so very interesting.
dharamshala had a nice cool breeze to it as we entered the mountains.and watching the sun set over the hills was pretty amazing as well.from dharamshala we had to catch a small cab to head up the mountain, which was about 2kms away.up the mountain is a small town called mcleod ganj,the actual home of the dalai lama and the tibetian government n exhile.we found the hotel alright and spent the night with a couple of tourists,who also happened to be from nz.we found a bar and they had some shisha, so it was pretty interesting.we didnt drink anything but the other guy got himself a kingfisher and it came up to 150 rupees for a 1liter bottal.
that night we didnt sleep much as we wanted to wake up just to see the sunrise over the mountains,from our balcony we watched the sun rise over the himalayas and the buildings that littered the hillside,the light from the sun shines differently over the mountains,the glow from the clouds below casts an impressive golden-purplish light all around.but the best best part about it was the fact that there was absolute silence all around.
that day we went for a walk around the 2 streets that made up the entire mcleod ganj,a tourist hippie like place where every other person was trying to find their spirituality by some means or another,amusing for the locals as well as being very lucrative for them.so you have these people walking around buying things like tibetian bells or little figurines,hashish and crystals,clothes that look horrible on westerners and things like that.the worst was one guy who bought a stick...he bought a long stick that had no purpose whatsoever except for maybe leaning on,or poking something...so we have this weird hippie looking guy holding a stick standing in the middle of the main square looking all weird...and then...you get another weird hippie guy coming along and very happily asking,where'd you get your stick from? and then he troddles of to buy one himself...so you can see, thats why the tibetian people,monks as well as locals (who have been displaced from their country btw,something like refugees) are holding things like iphones and mini dvd player and wearing nike and things like that.really mind blowing.
mcleod ganj was a perfect getaway a well as a place to redefine yourself spiritualy, the onlly thing was we missed seeing the dalai lama by one day.but all good, it was just amazing being in the same vicinity as him.
we were there for about 3 days in total, enjoying the views and the funny people.then we left to get ourselves to shimla. the bus to shimla was an overnighter and it wasnt thaaat interesting except for the fact that we sat in front so it was pretty exhilarating.think about it, its 3 in the morning, the driver looked high, the road was less than one laned,we had a ravine on one side and a huge dirt wall on the other,and at a speed that you could never imagine a bus to be able to go at,but the cold breeze from the mountains kept us awake and fresh thru it all.
shimla is a mini england,well according to rachel at least,she's been there,to england i mean.but it was a really beautiful place,like a little european resort up in the mountains and it was very organised,having one main street where cars couldnt drive on.shimla was really clean as well,the law is such where you cant spit or throw rubbish or carry plastic bags in the city.so it was a nice change from the norm.we spent the day trying to figure out our next steps and trying to book our tickets for the next bits of our trip. that was pretty hard for us as well as the travel agent took us to a cybercafe to do his booking and then in order to pay for it all we had to find the only money changer in the entire city to change our money,then wait 30 minutes for his guy to bring a wad of cash for us.haish...india...
anyways we left with high spirits as we were going on the train to kullu which headed thru about 130 tunnels high in the mountains,althou we didnt see much as it got dark very fast. the amazing thing was that as we passed around the mountain and were going into the valley, when you look up on the other side,where the next or previous mountain was, you could see all the lights where people were living scattered on the side of the mountains,it looked like the milky way,except here on earth.that was beautifull.
from kullu we caught the night train to delhi.
next stop, the capital of India,and where all the money is being pumped into as well.
Saturday, 12 December 2009
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Amritsar!
Hey guys sorry for the delay...again...there wasn't much Internet access where we were for the past week or so.well there waaasss...but not much time to get online and update.i guess you'd need to be backpacking in a totally foreign land to be able to fully understand.heh.
so anyways,continuing with our travels, we left Chandigarh to get into Amritsar and the bus ride was a long and tiresome one,the best parts about it was the one stop we had along the way (at THE MOST fabulous roadside rest stop I've ever seen, complete with a five star bathroom and restaurant that is able to rival any Indian restaurant in NZ,and a dodgem cars rink, AND a food court with candy floss and popcorn.the lights were amazing and the toilet was clean enough to eat off,albeit a little packed with Punjabi's heading along the same route), and the other nice thing about the bus was the free packaged water and a Hindi movie that was played along our ride,first one in India too.
we reached Amritsar in the evening and made our way to our room,it was a long walk but we decided to take in a few sights along the way to better understand the surroundings.we stopped for dinner at a dhaba in a little alleyway,food was good,extremely cheap too.Amritsar has the busiest streets just outside the golden temple itself,filled with all sorts of shops ranging from Punjabi clothes shops to turban and bicycle and sweet shops and a dominoes pizza shop and sword(kirpan) and other Sikh religious shops.so it was all hustle and bustle to get to the hotel.the hotel itself was pretty bad,room was under renovation and the hotel owner tried to convince us that its actual worth was about 400rupees more than the 500 we were paying for it.the entire hotel was under renovation so we couldn't do much,especially since it was pretty late when we arrived.it was a short sleep and the next morning we packed our stuff up after breakfast and headed out to find a different room.along the way a tout approached us and offered us a room for about 300 rupees,we checked it out and although is smelled like smoke,it was pretty decent,the hotel guys cleaned it for us and we went out for a walk to explore the shops.
the shops around the golden temple,which is in a huge complex about 800m - 1 km by 1km in size, sell mainly suits,jutis (Punjabi shoes), turban cloth and blankets and stuff.so we explored all that, and b the time we finished the main streets we went back to our apartment for a rest and freshen up before planning to go to the golden temple.just before we decided to go out we looked up the list of families that papa had given me before coming to India,of relatives that we have around Punjab and such.it took a while but Rachel convinced me that they wouldn't bite my head off if i did call them. so i did,the first number that i tried was the one for Massi (aunt) Beena. and when they answered it took a lot of trying to explain who i was and how i was related to them,but only because my Punjabi was crap and I'm guessing they couldn't hear very well either due to the connection.anyway all i heard was OK come over,now, and it ended up with papa's cousin(massi beena's son) coming to pick us up.he told us he'd see us in about half an hour so we quickly got ready and went downstairs to get something to eat,(as it was pretty late and we figured that they had already eaten dinner), I bought some sweets from the shop for them and stood nervously waiting outside the hotel for them. as we sat waiting Rachel mentioned how it would be funny if they came on a motorcycle to pick us up,sure enough after an hour and a half of waiting (Indian timing)...a motorcycle did come to pick us up. shit,i forgot to mention there was two of us, but then bunty, my uncle, who is very shy BTW, found us a rickshaw and set us off on our way to meet the rest of my long lost clan.although i guess we are the long lost ones to them...
meeting uncle and aunt was one of the most memorable things about India,they took us in with open arms and told us to sleep there that night,even though all our stuff was still in the hotel.they had made dinner but were waiting for us to eat with them, so we did, then spent a long while talking before going to bed in one of the most comfortable and warm beds ever.it was like being at my own grandmothers house.
after a good nights rest, we had a breakfast of rotis and sabjhi before heading out to the golden temple and to pick up our stuff(from the hotel we didn't actually use),we got the stuff, and headed for the golden temple.we left our things with one of Bunty's friends who owns a shop just outside the temple and put our shoes away and went thru the procedure of washing our feet and hands in the warm water outside(it was pretty cold in Amritsar) then we went inside,through one of the main entrances and as we stepped down the stairs to enter the compound the view that we were greeted with was one that was so powerful,just seeing the Harmandir Sahib gleaming in the sunlight is enough to bring such a profound feeling to anyone.
we took a walk around the complex,stopping at every thing that had some kind of significance,such as each Grant Sahib that was in the area,the bathing areas,( where we stepped inside the water from the pool, Amritsar, around the temple itself) washed in its water and then we went to the langar hall to see how big it was,and my was it huge.the amount of people eating there was magnificent,we had a bowl of tea and continued.around the other side of the complex, there was a procession of small kids in traditional clothes and instruments, getting ready for a parade , it was all very colourful and full of festive spirit(we later found out that it was in honour of one of the Gurus, for his birthday that day).we then went inside the actual temple in the middle of the pool,there was a long line of devotees and pilgrims but everything was pretty organised,which was quite a contrast from outside.the feeling of entering the temple was awesome,we had a quick look at all the three floors housing the main Guru Granth Sahib and then at the roof,which was plated in gold,it was very bright.I realised that the Golden Temple was much like Club med : free food and drink at anytime,constant and different forms of entertainment to keep you active such as the various celebrations going around us, a pool...and all the ambassadors i.e nihangs, with their awesome weapons. after that we left to see the other structures in the complex. we then headed out home as Bunty had made plans for us for our stay in Amritsar.
Over the next few days we did an array of things such as visited families,about 6 of them/people representing them, to be exact, we also watched the changing of the guard at the wagah border(if you don't know what that is,take a look at it on youtube,although the energy produced by the crowds watching was more fun than the actual event itself), the maharajah ranjit singh panorama(which was by far the BEST museum in all of India,plus finding out that you are related to the top generals in his army,priceless),seeing the Pind, (village) and learning about the history of my grandfathers and my grandmother,the Ram Tirath temple which was better than any amusement park I've ever been to, and SHOPPING of course,i bought a blanket for myself and Rachel got herself some cool stuff.but all that you'll see when we get home.
we didn't want to leave Amritsar but in the end we had to go.we had a good 5 days in the heart of the land of the Soldier Saints and our next stop, 7 hours away by bus, Dharamshala home of the Dalai Lama and Tibet in exile.
so anyways,continuing with our travels, we left Chandigarh to get into Amritsar and the bus ride was a long and tiresome one,the best parts about it was the one stop we had along the way (at THE MOST fabulous roadside rest stop I've ever seen, complete with a five star bathroom and restaurant that is able to rival any Indian restaurant in NZ,and a dodgem cars rink, AND a food court with candy floss and popcorn.the lights were amazing and the toilet was clean enough to eat off,albeit a little packed with Punjabi's heading along the same route), and the other nice thing about the bus was the free packaged water and a Hindi movie that was played along our ride,first one in India too.
we reached Amritsar in the evening and made our way to our room,it was a long walk but we decided to take in a few sights along the way to better understand the surroundings.we stopped for dinner at a dhaba in a little alleyway,food was good,extremely cheap too.Amritsar has the busiest streets just outside the golden temple itself,filled with all sorts of shops ranging from Punjabi clothes shops to turban and bicycle and sweet shops and a dominoes pizza shop and sword(kirpan) and other Sikh religious shops.so it was all hustle and bustle to get to the hotel.the hotel itself was pretty bad,room was under renovation and the hotel owner tried to convince us that its actual worth was about 400rupees more than the 500 we were paying for it.the entire hotel was under renovation so we couldn't do much,especially since it was pretty late when we arrived.it was a short sleep and the next morning we packed our stuff up after breakfast and headed out to find a different room.along the way a tout approached us and offered us a room for about 300 rupees,we checked it out and although is smelled like smoke,it was pretty decent,the hotel guys cleaned it for us and we went out for a walk to explore the shops.
the shops around the golden temple,which is in a huge complex about 800m - 1 km by 1km in size, sell mainly suits,jutis (Punjabi shoes), turban cloth and blankets and stuff.so we explored all that, and b the time we finished the main streets we went back to our apartment for a rest and freshen up before planning to go to the golden temple.just before we decided to go out we looked up the list of families that papa had given me before coming to India,of relatives that we have around Punjab and such.it took a while but Rachel convinced me that they wouldn't bite my head off if i did call them. so i did,the first number that i tried was the one for Massi (aunt) Beena. and when they answered it took a lot of trying to explain who i was and how i was related to them,but only because my Punjabi was crap and I'm guessing they couldn't hear very well either due to the connection.anyway all i heard was OK come over,now, and it ended up with papa's cousin(massi beena's son) coming to pick us up.he told us he'd see us in about half an hour so we quickly got ready and went downstairs to get something to eat,(as it was pretty late and we figured that they had already eaten dinner), I bought some sweets from the shop for them and stood nervously waiting outside the hotel for them. as we sat waiting Rachel mentioned how it would be funny if they came on a motorcycle to pick us up,sure enough after an hour and a half of waiting (Indian timing)...a motorcycle did come to pick us up. shit,i forgot to mention there was two of us, but then bunty, my uncle, who is very shy BTW, found us a rickshaw and set us off on our way to meet the rest of my long lost clan.although i guess we are the long lost ones to them...
meeting uncle and aunt was one of the most memorable things about India,they took us in with open arms and told us to sleep there that night,even though all our stuff was still in the hotel.they had made dinner but were waiting for us to eat with them, so we did, then spent a long while talking before going to bed in one of the most comfortable and warm beds ever.it was like being at my own grandmothers house.
after a good nights rest, we had a breakfast of rotis and sabjhi before heading out to the golden temple and to pick up our stuff(from the hotel we didn't actually use),we got the stuff, and headed for the golden temple.we left our things with one of Bunty's friends who owns a shop just outside the temple and put our shoes away and went thru the procedure of washing our feet and hands in the warm water outside(it was pretty cold in Amritsar) then we went inside,through one of the main entrances and as we stepped down the stairs to enter the compound the view that we were greeted with was one that was so powerful,just seeing the Harmandir Sahib gleaming in the sunlight is enough to bring such a profound feeling to anyone.
we took a walk around the complex,stopping at every thing that had some kind of significance,such as each Grant Sahib that was in the area,the bathing areas,( where we stepped inside the water from the pool, Amritsar, around the temple itself) washed in its water and then we went to the langar hall to see how big it was,and my was it huge.the amount of people eating there was magnificent,we had a bowl of tea and continued.around the other side of the complex, there was a procession of small kids in traditional clothes and instruments, getting ready for a parade , it was all very colourful and full of festive spirit(we later found out that it was in honour of one of the Gurus, for his birthday that day).we then went inside the actual temple in the middle of the pool,there was a long line of devotees and pilgrims but everything was pretty organised,which was quite a contrast from outside.the feeling of entering the temple was awesome,we had a quick look at all the three floors housing the main Guru Granth Sahib and then at the roof,which was plated in gold,it was very bright.I realised that the Golden Temple was much like Club med : free food and drink at anytime,constant and different forms of entertainment to keep you active such as the various celebrations going around us, a pool...and all the ambassadors i.e nihangs, with their awesome weapons. after that we left to see the other structures in the complex. we then headed out home as Bunty had made plans for us for our stay in Amritsar.
Over the next few days we did an array of things such as visited families,about 6 of them/people representing them, to be exact, we also watched the changing of the guard at the wagah border(if you don't know what that is,take a look at it on youtube,although the energy produced by the crowds watching was more fun than the actual event itself), the maharajah ranjit singh panorama(which was by far the BEST museum in all of India,plus finding out that you are related to the top generals in his army,priceless),seeing the Pind, (village) and learning about the history of my grandfathers and my grandmother,the Ram Tirath temple which was better than any amusement park I've ever been to, and SHOPPING of course,i bought a blanket for myself and Rachel got herself some cool stuff.but all that you'll see when we get home.
we didn't want to leave Amritsar but in the end we had to go.we had a good 5 days in the heart of the land of the Soldier Saints and our next stop, 7 hours away by bus, Dharamshala home of the Dalai Lama and Tibet in exile.
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