Hotel Royal Inn Amritsar

... needs replacing. Also the stairs have kissed some hard rocks and has gone a bit crooked. The car repair shop is nothing more then a big parking where each mechanic has its own space to work. As soon as we turn up, 6 Pakistani men dive under the car, taking it apart, each one playing a different role. Improvising is what they do best here, something the mechanics in Europe are not allowed to do, due to the strict procedures and quality regulations! While they are ...

... the statue. Got the mark on our foreheads (forgotten the name but you know what I mean!)<br>Then we heard that this was the Mata temple (translation Mother Temple) which was where women went if they want to have children. Maybe they should have told us this before two young(ish) woemn went in!!!<br><br>Later after I left the Golden Temple I realised that I still had the mark on my forehead. Good thing that one part of the Sikh faith is tolerance to other religions! <br><br>

... the journey was great, we had chai, food, water and comfy seats by the window so saw all of the farmland and water buffalo the country has to offer. We both felt relief leaving Delhi I must admit the chaos of touts and hawkers just was too much to handle and so heading to Amritsar we finally felt we were starting our trip..... <br><br>Unfortunately Amristar although smaller, is still full of touts, hawkers, tour guides who have THE best offer in town ...

... made out of 750 kg of pure gold) and the view of it sitting on the water. We spent a while just walking around and looking at it from different angles but decided that we would not go inside yet because the line to enter looked like it would take at least an hour. All the people that we encountered on the Parkarma was really friendly and all wanted to talk to us, especially the kids. I cannot count the number of boys who came over to Tamir and me and wanted to shake ...

... One can't help thinking that India will be in a better place than it is now twenty years from now. I don't think I feel that way at all about Pakistan.<br><br>The city of Amritsar is a nice first stop for me on the long road I will be taking through India. Its most famous attraction is The Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for the Sikhs. Sikhism is about a five hundred year old religion that was founded by a fellow named Guru Nanak. He ...

... we could see the Pakistan side, and they did not seem to be attracting the same kind of crowd India was. Then all of a sudden some of the soldiers told the women and children of the growing mob to get in a line, and two by two they were passed giant Indian flags, and sent to run towards the border gate waving it around and screaming for their country. This seemed a little provocative and it was definatly symbolic-- but what happened next was just off the wall ridiculous. Since we had ...

... old tradition of Indian spinning &amp; weaving as pivotal, in his crusade for the economic regeneration of India's villages. Having been exporting Indian handmade textiles to Europe in great volumes, the British government imposed high taxes on Indian cloth and the use of its fabric in England. So they imported the raw cotton and exported cheap, mill-made cloth to India, leaving Indian village weavers idle, with no work. Because of this travesty, Gandhi knew that ...

... Guru Granth Sahib. The Guru Granth Sahib is the ten Guru's poems and stories and is the holy book for the Sikhs. The tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, selected the Guru Granth Sahib to be his successor. Lonely Planet said: True to Sikhism's inclusive nature, all are welcome to the Sikh's holiest shrine. The atmosphere inside is genuinely spiritual but not al all po-faced or daunting, with crowds chatting and bathing ...

... the spectacle included a DJ and dance groups showing which country knows how to shake their hips and wag their fingers the best. Then the gate closing ceremony started with guards yelling a single tone into a microphone for as long as possible. Long yells resulted in cheering and clapping from the crowd. Then the team of guards marched closer to the gate to show off their individual high kicking, fast marching, and overemphasized stomping ...