Amritsar. Golden Temple and Wagah Border Ceremony with Pakistan


Amritsar was the first “real” destination of the trip. Mumbai was more of a stopover and meet up point. We had a day and a half in Amritsar with every second accounted for. We landed around 4:00PM which gave us time to check in to the hotel before heading out. We splurged a bit on this night by picking the Fairfield Marriott, but I was glad we did because we were exhausted at the end of the day.

The room at the Fairfield Marriott.



We decided to meet up with the other person traveling with us at the Golden Temple around sunset so we hopped in a cab shortly after checking in.



Walking to the Golden Temple.



The Golden Temple is one of the most revered spiritual sites of Sikhism.



Golden Temple.



Tripods weren’t allowed but I managed to get a decent long exposure.



After visiting the Golden Temple, we did some shopping.



Kara. They’re steel bracelets worn by initiated Sikhs.



We went to Kesar Da Dhaba for dinner, which was fantastic. Included was Tandoori Roti, Aloo Paratha, Dal, Raita, Chole, Indian Pickle and Paneer Tikka Masala.



Dessert consisted of Rasmalaai, Firni and Rasgulla.



Day 4


Day 4 started with another early morning alarm. Everyone had said to visit the Golden Temple for sunrise to witness the praying and the line is usually shorter (we didn’t go inside the temple the day before).

We arrived at the Golden Temple right at sunrise, relaxed and took in the environment.



After sunrise at the Golden Temple.



The Golden Temple is covered in 750kg of Gold.



We proceeded inside, however, photography wasn’t permitted.



Akal Takht, one of the five seats of power of the Sikhs.



We proceeded to walk around a bit and take in the city.



We then visited Jallianwala Bagh, which is a garden and memorial for the 1919 massacre in which British occupying forces killed 379 people and wounded an 1,100 or so more. Below is the memorial.



Bullet holes in a building.



Walking around.



Cow.



Next we stopped by the Durgiana Temple. There was basically no one there so it was a nice place to walk around.



Durgiana Temple Gold.



Walking around.



Bull.



It was about noon at this point, which meant it was time to head over to the border with Pakistan for the closing ceremony. The people we were traveling with hired a rickshaw to take us there, wait, and then bring us back. Great deal when divided amongst the five of us for the one hour drive.



We also stopped for some Pakoda on the way to the border, which is basically fried vegetables. Tasty.



Arriving at the border was interesting. The rickshaws and cars are held back about 750m from the actual border. We stood in line there before they allowed us to go to the security check. After that was another line, where we were eventually allowed to enter the stadium.

Border sign with the flags in the background (that’s the border).



Waiting in line.



The Indian side is called the Attari Border, but Wagah Border is the more popular term.



The nationalism is strong here.



The stadium.



Signage.



Armed guard.



Pakistani flag.



Indian women running with the flag.



Around 3:00PM, the Pakistani side started blasting some music. Within seconds the Indian side followed suit. It was quite loud but made the experience rather unique. We were seated about 100 feet back from the border at first, but since our group had foreigners (my co-worker and I) they allowed us to move to a completely empty section getting us about as close as you could get to the border. My phone even connected to a network in Pakistan although the jammers blocked all data connections. Below were the security guards in charge of our section. There was a lot of whistle blowing for people that were misbehaving.



They brought out these highly trained dogs.


The ceremony began around 5:00PM.




The gates were closed and opened (rather aggressively) several times over the next 45 minutes.



The flags were then lowered simultaneously.



Along with the large Pakistani flag.



The gates were then shut one last time.



I ran down to the center of the street at the conclusion of the ceremony for a picture.



Exiting Wagah Border.



Keeping to our hectic schedule, we headed straight back into the city to collect our bags at the hotel then proceeded directly to the airport for our flight to Delhi.



My first time on an ATR for the short flight down to Delhi.



After arriving in Delhi, we took a cab over to the Bloomrooms Hotel @ Link Road, which is near the Hazrat Nizamuddin train station, where we’d be departing for Agra the next morning. Short night.