Hotel Shiraz Regency Amritsar

... on the van, Altaf and us are jumping into a rickshaw trying to find the replacement part! Going on a special sightseeing tour! It took a whole day, but in the end (almost) all is fixed for less then $50! Thank you Altaf for all your help, translating and good laughs!<br><br>Islamabad &#8211; Lahore &#8211; Wagah. We make it easily in one day. At the border we enjoy our last Pakistani meal and milk tea when one guy comes and warns us that we should hurry if we wanna cross ...

... cleanse my feet, I walked up the steps and there was the golden temple in front of me.<br>WOW it looked serene, the golden building floating in the middle of the water. Singing from the sacred book was also being played over the loudspeakers. Walked down the steps to the marble walkway which surrounds the lake and just stood there taking everything in.<br><br>There were people there but luckily not too many,it was still early in the morning. Took a ...

... the guy next to him selling same deal for 100 rupees less.. it was pretty chaotic. <br><br>We got on our rickshaw to our guesthouse which didnt actually drop us there, no he dropped us about a 10 minute walk away, he didnt tell us which way to go so we ended up with backpacks walking through the main bazaar God knows where we were heading in 40 degree heat.. but finally we found our hostel. <br><br>Now Ive been in a lot of hostels and I know they are a bit ...

... hands, ask us our name, country, and profession, and then ask for "one snap" - meaning a photo of them, sometimes with and sometimes without us in it. It was fun to be around here, especially because most of the kids their age that try to talk to me around Delhi only know how to ask for money. <br><br>After taking a short tour of the temple, we started to try to find a driver to take us down to the Pakistan border for the closing ceremonies. Every day around sunset, the ...

... idea what that consisted of either! answers on a postcard please.<br><br>the most mental place we visited here was wagha border, the only crossing point between india and pakistan, where every evening the closing ceremony is something to behold!! its kind of a cross between the hakka and the ministry of silly walks from monty python, with both countries sending their high kickinest and ...

... unhappy with Hinduism and Islam, the two dominant religions of the region at the time, so he created Sikhism by combining aspects of both religions. Nowadays, Sikhs make up about 2% of India's religions.<br><br>On my second day in Armitsar I made my way to see The Golden Temple and got my first real introduction to just how severely crowded India can be. In order to enter the temple complex you have to remove and check your shoes at a massive ...

... the India side had been blaring Indian classical music, but when the soldiers decided that enough women and children had run to the border waving flags, they shut off the classical music and started blaring electronic-pop Bollywood dance music. All the women and children in the line disassembled and formed an unruly dance party-- we guess to show Pakistan just how fun India really is. It was so confusing-- it was hot and we were practically in a desert and this dance off went on for at ...

... the charkha (spinning wheel) and khadu (weaving) there could be no Swaraj (self/home rule), so he spun every day, for the rest of his life, while fully reviving both art forms thro'out India. <br><br>I loved this exhibition of wheels and looms and studying the excellent detail contained in both the pictures, text boards, art work and displays. It was a very humbling experience, but great honour, to be here learning about his philosophy, politics and determination ...

... the pool. ... The architecture, like the religion, is a blend of Hindu and Islamic styles but very different to both. The golden dome (said to be gilded with 750kg or pure gold) represents an inverted lotus flower, a symbol of Sikh devotees' aim to live a pure life. Like the Taj Mahal, it's worth seeing at different times of day. ... Four priests inside the temple keep up a continuous chant in Gurmukhi from the Sikh ...

... while the crowd goes crazy cheering, clapping, chanting, and snapping hundreds of camera phone pics as if the guards are the stars of Bollywood. After our taxi back to town we decided to make a night visit to the Golden Temple, get some night pictures, and venture inside the main building. Inside the actual temple worshipers were chanting, offering money, and a priest was reading the largest book we've ever seen (the Original Sikh Holy Book ...