Trehan's Ashiana Amritsar

... must say that the BSF jawans were trying their best to stay in control. The parade was an interesting one which saw both sides saluting and dehoisting the flag and closing the gates for the day. There wasn't much of visibility due to heavy fog which already had seemed to set in and made our return journey in the rick even tougher. We then went to the golden temple on our return which was at its best with all its illumination . We walked back to our hotel after dinner at one ...

... were some remarkable trees around - tall with the vast branches. Somehow these reminded me these from Chen boulevard. So I was walking around, enjoying myself (even got measured my weight - 73kg - just as it was when I left, I believe) when I was hit by a car! Well it wasn't as bad as it sounds, but yes, it was a small car that went slowly backwards, and hit me from behind, while I was taking another picture. Fortunately nothing happend outside me shouting ...

... hour to kill so sat in the garden and had a beer!<br><br>Now we come to the bonkers part - the daily border ceremony, Every day the Indians and Pakistanis try and outdo each other. They have the tallest soldiers om display wearing the most incredible headdresses. Everyday hundreds if not thousands of people turn up on both sides of the border to scream, shout, support their country and try and outdo the neighbours. Considering the antagonism between ...

... marble pathways leading you around, its a sight that everyone should see and so quiet despite the chaos of the world just outside. We didnt have long there though as we had decided to make a move that night to Jaipur.. so we washed our feet, hands and threw some water in my face did a quick walk around the temple site and took some pictures, and some of the young boys took pictures of me posing with them.. this happens alot.. very odd.. probably being put ...

... along the narrow road, so we had to hustle to see the already-started ceremony. As we got close, rain started to pour down, and I was glad I had brought my poncho. At the border, there were so many people, and it was the first time I had seen such a mass gathering of Indians that was not a market or anything like that. It was really difficult to see over all the bodies in the way, and the rain did not help. We had somehow made a little bit of progress to the front on ...

... overall, the museum was fascinating. <br><br>Although I haven't been in India long I can definitely say so far so good. The crowds might prove to be a big challenge, as I've seen with booking train tickets, but the jury is still out. I'm going to spend a few more days in my very comfortable and cheap hotel to further acclimatize myself to this planet of a country before moving on to the big time in Delhi...<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br ><br><br><br>

... and singing, mostly women in their wonderful saris.There is a unique athmosphere in the air, especially when the border gate closes,and the flags of both countries are lowered.I estimated the crowd on the Indian side to be near 5000, while on the other side of the border, in Pakistan, there were less than 1000, so it was clear who had the stronger voice on that night..

... the Orlando Science Center only the exhibits were on different Hindu gods. It was so strange that we can't even really picture how it worked architechturally, but walking into the main hall and up a flight of stairs we entered. The whole thing was one long hallway that weaved in and out and back on itself, at times shrinking so small that you had to crawl, other times going through enclosed rooms with water up to your ankles and then emtying out into a large room with several shrines ...

... 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.<br><br>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 ...

As we pulled away from New Delhi station our train passed through some waste land which had been turned into a public toilet by the locals. The presence of the train seemed irrelevant to the hundreds, and I mean hundreds, of squatting locals. We could not believe our eyes as we gawked out of the window. Our fellow Indian passengers barely took the time to look up and paid little or no attention whatsoever. The smell was outrageous, worse than a ...