Mohan International Hotel Amritsar

... snaps, unfortunately there was a breeze so the standard photo of golden building reflected in the pool was not perfect - too many ripples on the water!

Took a walk around the pool (the pool of immortality given nectar as it is known) to have a look at all the other buildings. The Harmandir (the golden building) is only one of many buildings in the complex.
I was still the only white person there so there was lots of curiosity and yes the ...

... man trot, skip and kick all in one go!! I dont have the camera here but I will upload the pics maybe tomorrow for you to see but still it doesnt do it justice..

These guys do this for 20 mins or so and basically try to out do eachother with kick height ability.. hilarious.. And the crowd, you would think they have never seen such a thing like us Goras but they go all the time.. so passionate, not quite like HRH changing of the guard/colours... I ...

... non-Indians I was with. The Indians in the van weren't phased one bit as they left this guy on the side of the road.

The drive to Wagah, the Indian border town, took about an hour, and as we were getting close, the sky to the west started to look very dark with approaching rainclouds. I thought it was what I expected the skies over Pakistan to look like. We finally arrived and had to park about 2-3 km from the border because of all the other cars that were already ...

... pole keegi.
Nüüd vaba aeg, mida kasutan, nagu näha, internetis.

Nett läbitud, suund taas templile. Et kuidas see ka päevavalgel välja näeb. Esimese pool tundi saan üsna rahulikult sammaskäigus habemike kõrval istuda ja ümbrust vaadata. Juba üle 400 aasta on inimesed samamoodi mööda seda valget kuuma marmorit jalutanud. Paar perekonda pildistab ennast koos minuga. Lähedal istuv sikh harutab turbani peast ära, käib vees ja asub siis taas rätti pähe keerutama. Saan seega ...

... filthy and many tourists politely objected but angry abuse followed, so we all turned back down the stairs. Thankfully, I met a Japanese couple who said they were duped, as it was nothing special at all inside.

I tried to visit the Digambara Jain Temple, but that was closed until 6pm, so I had a look around Meena Bazaar, but preferred to leave. Shopping is a hardship most of the time, but especially when you don't want anything and you're constantly being ...

... having some young Indian guy, oggling at us and taking our picture!

We made it to Amritsar and headed to the Grace Hotel, where Ragga had stayed the last time she was there. Our room was pretty disgusting. The toilet seat was dirty when we checked in. So, I asked the guy if someone could clean it. He flushed the toilet. I again pointed to the toilet seat, which doesn't really get clean from flushing the toilet. He looked at me and said "What? Room is already been ...

... to be the Paris of Punjab, but was later on replaced by others, Amiji told us. It is one of the most important cities for Sikhs, because it is a holy city- like Jerusalem for the western faiths. We're going to visit my great great Aunt- my maternal grandmother's mother's sister- we think that qualifies as great great. 16th. We spent the day resting. Mommy felt much better, but Janpal still didn't feel great. We just lazed ...

... per hour! Gordon has mastered his turban wrap (headcovering is mandatory), and was even invited to help pass out chapatis at dinner last night.

and all of this -- food, accommodation, spiritual experience -- is by donation only, a welcome change.

from here we plan to sight-hop down to Agra tomorrow for the Taj Mahal, then to Jaipur to see a desert fort, and then, south to Goa!

i'm gonna go chant now...

... by our window. Inside, of the train, was a hive of activity with musicians, Sikh warriors, chai-wallahs and countless other characters mulling about. Outside the views changed between slums, green fields, garbage, and mixtures of the three. For lunch we ate samosas, bought through the bars of the train window; 2 for 20cents and delicious. We learned about Tibet and Myanmar from Sam, in addition to life as a photojournalist in Vancouver. Once ...

... sculpture without a permit from the tourism office in the light of tightened security after the latest blasts. So instead we took a pedalboat onto a local lake for a waterbird spotting spree. We also wandered through some of the many parks, the most notable of these being the quirky Rock Garden. This was started up in secret and illegally by its initiator, 80 year old Nek Chand, in a plot of woodland and only dicovered years later during a land survey when he had already single ...