Amritsar - the home of the Golden Temple

Due to not having an alarm clock and not enough charge on my cell, I had to relay on my body to somehow wake up by 3.30am to catch the 4.00am bus to Dharmasala. I woke up at 2.30 am and after getting ready, had to count every minute before leaving for the bus stand at 3.45am. Once again, I was nervous walking the alley this early in the morning but did not have a choice. Met 2 fellow travelers from Paris, who were also on their way to Amritsar. Since there seemed to be big debate with the locals as to if or not the bus to Dharmsala had left already, we hired a cab.Seems like everyone here wants to be right and being wrong is not an option.

The ride to Amritsar was long(6 1/2 hours), the bus only stopped once for a tea break. I kept praying that I wouldn't have to go to the bathroom.I realized a day later that that I only took one bathroom break in 36 hours. I was drinking water but also sweating it out so much that I didn't realize that I was not hydrating enough.

My first impression of this holy city was that it was a chaos.It got crazy hot as soon as I got here, I was sweating just sitting in the bus, the thought of walking around with a 35 pound backpack was going to be an experience.The bus dropped us off at the bus stop and I caught a cab to the entrance of the Golden Temple. My goal was to see the temple and check into the pilgrim house that was going to save me some bucks.Upon arrival of the Niwas(guest house) I was bumping into hundreds others trying to get a place here. It wasn't going to be safe for me, so that money saving idea went down the drain.The temple itself can be spotted from quiet a distance due to its golden dome roof top. But the golden dome roof is not the Golden Temple.

I checked my shoes in at the shoe locker and decided to store my big bag pack at the luggage locker as well, since both were free and seemed trustworthy. Tied the scarf over my head, washed my face and hands before dipping my feet at the water pool at the enterance of the main gate. Walked down the stairs and there it was,Surrounded by a pool of holy water, the Golden Temple looked breathtaking. There was also a very long line sprouting out of it. I decided to walk around the grounds and take pictures from different angels. Men were bathing in the holy water while women could go into a small bathing house. Hundreds were laying under the shade observing the atmosphere that seemed to be oozing off the temple. There was a teaching in progress so I sat down to listen. Even though I could barely make out what they were saying, it was giving me a peace of mind. The Golden Temple in my personal record would have to be one of the most amazing things I have seen to date.

I was pretty hungry by now and decided to check out Lonely Planets recommend “Neelams”. Their vege burger was quiet good, not sure because I was hungry or it actually was that good. Tour guides were swamping the place from every direction and I decided to listen to one. Booked a very reasonable price tour to check out 2 local temples and the closing ceremony at the Wagah border between India and Pakistan. The border ceremony was one of my many destantions that I needed to check out on this trip.

We started the tour at Sri Durgiana Temple which is a Hindu version of the Golden Temple since it is also surrounded by a pool of holy water. The second temple was of someone I had never heard of before, “Mata Temple”. This is a cave temple where women who wish to get pregnant come to pray. For the record I am not wishing to get pregnant. One thing is for sure, I will lose count of the number of temples I will be visiting on this trip.

The India – Pakistan border at Attari/Wagah is a must see for anyone in the Amritsar area. We arrived close to 5 pm to already find hundreds(maybe thousands??) lineing up to get enterence in the public viewing area. Due to the populatiry of the closing ceremonies, both countries have built a stadium like facilty to accomdate the public. The general admission area is quiet chotic. People would be pushing around to catch a glimpse of the guards in their tradtional attaire or to get a view of the gates. Due to having my American passport I was able to get into the VIP area which was still crowded but without the pushing and pulling. The offical ceremony took a while to start, they was a lot of dancing to India themed songs, running around with the Indian flag and everyone trying to get their pictures taken with the guards. The guards,the lowering of the flags and closing the gate for the day is quiet entertaining. While leaving the border it occured to me that if the Indian goverment provided enough trash cans, there actually might be less pollution in India. Plastic water bottles were dumped by hundreds right at the enterence of the gate. No one is permitted to take any water or food inside the stadium resulting in everyone dumping the plastic right outside. It was a shame, imagine this scene every day? You are looking at millions of bottles over a short period of time.

I had made plans of staying in Amritsar and doing some shopping before heading off to my next location, but unforntaely battling the choas there for one day was enough. I booked my ticket to Delhi for 10pm that night. So long Amritsar, If life is with me I shall visit again.

Mathura - The birthplace of Lord Krishna

I was up at 6.00am to make my journey to Agra. I was going to skip Delhi again since I really did not like to deal with the chaos that this city emitted. I asked the auto rickshaw to drop me at the bus station and was informed that the bus drivers were on strike and were demanding more pay.My other option now was to take a train,which I was trying to avoid due to over crowding and having to purchase the AC and Sleeper tickets in advance. I did not have a set itneray so buying tickets in advance was not an option for me. I brought a ticket to Agra and got on the train only to get off at Karnal(the next city). Lets just say that it wasn't one of my best train rides to date. I managed to catch a ride to Panipat where I was informed that I could not get a bus to Agra either because the drivers were on strike here too.I had to try my luck on catching a passing bus to Delhi and get a bus from there to Agra. Well after asking a few people and waiting for 30 mins, I finally got a bus to Delhi and arrived to the chaotic city again. After arrival I was told that to catch a bus to Agra I had to go to another bus station which is about 15 mins away. This was going to be along day, I could feel it.Finally I set my backpack down and was on the way to Agra, but I was to get off at Mathura, the birth place of Lord Krishana.

Arrived in Mathura about 3.00 pm and checked into the Agra hotel. The owner was a very pleasant senior gentleman who asked me all about my travels and gave me some tips on Mathura.

I showered and decided to walk to the nearest temple. The alleys were lined up with Sari stores, food stalls and sovereign stores. Everywhere was Lord Krishan, which really showered how much devotion this city had.The evening prayers were in full swing and I am still surprised at how many people always turn to fill up these temples at every hour of the day. A priest helped me do my prayers for a small donation. The first prayer was for Yumuna River at Vishram Ghat. Vishram Ghat is where Lord Krishna is said to have rested with his brother after killing his evil uncle King Kansa. Devotees were sending off oil lamps into the river and were in the efforts to wash off their sins. My prayers were for the effort that upon my parents journey to heaven, the Yumuna River shall make their journey a success. I stayed for the main Aarthi(prayer) which almost attracted the whole village. Temple bells were rang continuously and there were prayers in every small temple( at every 10 feet almost)through out the village.I arrived back the hotel to have for the first time a real meal. It was at no charge from the hotel since it looked like I was the only guest here.I ate every piece of rice.

The hotel had arranged a tour for me to see some of the big temples and the spot where Lord Krishna was born. I had to leave for Agra around noon so the tour started at 7am. Mathura to date was the one city that I spent the most money for prayers and donations.I can not officially count how many temples I visited in this holy city but all had certain characteristics to them. For example the Mira temple where Lord Krishna gave Mira an appearance after her extreme devotion to him. A group of over 500 widow women chant devotional songs through out the day.It is at Kesava Deo Temple that in a small room with a slab of rock points out the exact spot Lords Krishna was born 3500 years ago.

Vrindavan village is where Lord krishna was bought up. Cows are especially scared in Mathura and Vrindavan and over 1000's cows are cared for. There are barns between both towns and grass is bought in from outside to feed them. Cows also roam free in alleys and driveways but no way takes offense and cars and cycles just shoo them away.

I feel blessed to have seen these sites, someone said that when god wants you there, he makes it possible no matter how far you are from them.I have also managed to go vegetarian for over a week now. Not by choice but situations have just permitted me. It was about time to get my stuff packed to head in for the bus station.

The ride to Agra was pleasant and short. As soon as the bus pulled in to the city I noticed light showers on the bus window. I was heading towards a auto rickshaw when I saw a cloud of dust coming towards me, five seconds later, it was pouring like the whole freaking sky was let loose. I was soaking wet only to realize it had started to pour down hail. Hail in Agar??? Yes, penny size ones.

After an hour of driving around to get through traffic and pot holes, I made it to the hotel. Spoke to the hotel owner and selected one of the priciest rooms. The restaurants roof top looked over the at Taj Mahal. Would you believe it in a hundred years that I was looking at the Taj Mahal while I sat here writing this....A wonderful end to an adventurous day. Good night for now.

Kurukshetra - the epic battle ground

Since I wasn't spending the night a Amritsar, I caught a AC overnight bus to Delhi. I requested that the driver drop me off at Kurukshetra, which is 3 hours before Delhi. Estimated time of arrival at Kurukshetra was going to be around 4 am. I was nervous about how I was going to get to the hotel from the drop off location next to the highway. I tried staying up most of the trip as to not miss my stop, but the driver totally forgot about it till we had passed it.

Arrived in Delhi and hated it from the moment I got there. It was about 6.30am and people had literally lined up next to a river taking care of there morning business. It was disgusting!!, but that's India I guess.

Got the bus to Kurukshetra and landed there 4 hours later. I was getting used to the long bumpy bus rides but my butt wasn't. I wasn't drinking enough water so bathroom breaks weren't a problem like it usually is back home. Upon arrival at the hotel I was informed that they did not have a reservation for me. I had already paid the cost online through my credit card and was very upset, plus the front desk were being awfully rude. I decided to not pursue the idea of staying there and went across the road to look into another hotel. This one was twice as expensive and dirty, but I was on the road for 2 days now and needed a shower bad.

After freshening up, I asked for directions to Bhramasarovar. It was right behind the hotel and a few minutes walk. The whole town of Kurukshetra is where the 18 day Mahabharata battle took place. Bhramasarovar, which is India's largest water tank is said to be created by Lord Brahma. I had not taken any water with me so walking around the whole tank was going to be a problem and I had to take a detour to cut the journey in half. Women, men and children were dipping in the holy water. Some were drying their clothes in the sun while I few were sleeping or cooking meals in make shift wood stoves. I paid my respected to the temple and made my way back to the hotel. It was about 3 pm and I had yet to eat a meal. Being cautious about street foods and not liking the selections at restaurants, I had ended up eating almost one meal a day only.I was to attend the evening prayer at Jyotisar that day and had a few hours to kill for now, so I grabbed some samosa and ladoo(I love ladoos!!) and made it back to my room. I fell asleep trying to finish my blog for the previous day.

Jyotisar is where the banyan tree is said to be an offshoot of the one under which Lord Krishna delivered the Bhagavad Gita. There are several banyan trees around but few have been marked and are worshiped. So blessed are the people of India to have the holiest sights that Hindus all over the world worship.Being here made me feel at peace. For some reason I felt relieved and truly believe that Lord Krishna was all around here. I pray that Lord Krishna shall strengthen my faith in him,shower me with his love and care for me upon my journey. I thank him for all that I have and assure him that I will not leave the path that he left behind.

I was safely back in my room and for the first time since leaving home a week ago, I felt lonely.Traveling alone has never been a problem since I could always keep in touch with friends and family through phone calls and emails. There was no internet in this town and find a STD to make a phone call was a difficult task since I was feeling a little nervous in this town. I miss my friends.....................

McLeod Ganj and his Holiness

I bet cars in India would be out of service if their horns were not working.There is a list of things I wont miss about India and one of them would be cars honking all day and night. I know that most of you know how crazy of a driver I am, but you haven't seen the worst till you get to India. No one uses their turn signal here,there's nothing called “right of way” or a signal system( I haven't seen one so far) and it is perfectly ok to cut people off.

Since I had made an appointment with a fellow traveler to go to the Dalai Lama complex at one in the afternoon, I decided that I would take a stroll out to the 2 small villages next to McLeod Ganj. Bhagsu has a Shiva temple and a swimming pool that only men seems to be allowed into. While walking by I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to gaze at all the men in the underwear, not that there was anything interesting in the first place.

Lonely Planet had mentioned that I could get to the village of Dharmkot by taking a side road from Bhagsu. What it forgot to mention was that it is a single trail(not a road!!) all uphill. At some points it seemed to pass by people’s doorways, where you could literally peek into their bedrooms and kitchens. I had to ask several people for directions every time I wondered into farms and boulder climbing situations.

It was about 11am when I made it back to McLeod Ganj and enough time to get lunch and use the free Wi Fi at the local Monk hangout cafe. The internet had sufficient speed to get me online, but not enough to let me upload pictures.

Carol, who has been to India on several occasions and hails from England was a older women whose parents and grandparents were born in India during the British rule. She is retired now after a long career as a school teacher and was glad to accompany me on this venture. We arrived at the temple and were surprised to see quiet a large number of monks chanting mantras surrounded by mostly the senior Tibetan community. His Holiness the Dalai Lama had left for Australia that morning hence I was unable to be blessed by his presence. We decided to stay a little while and enjoy the peaceful environment that was bringing a calmness over every soul that happen to be around there. Later we learned that the Holiness has given the monks a piece of a scared mantra which was now being recited.

Brought a Mandela from the market as a sovereign for my trip to Dharmasala and got the bags ready for the departure to Amritsar early morning. I know that there is a reason I did not get to see the Dalai Lama, that reason may be that I am bound to come back again.

Dharamsala - With Yoga and cafe's at every corner

The flight from Heathrow to Delhi was pleasant. If anyone ever gets the option to fly in KingFisher Airlines, go for it . You get plenty of leg room,tasty meals with actual silverware, a neat dinner napkin(cloth, otherwise all airlines go paper these days), thick blankets that cover you head to toe and cute mini pillows. The service staffs are excellent as well.

I had a connecting flight to Dharamsala from Delhi which was 4 hours after my arrival. Cleared customs and had to go out the airport and enter again for domestic. Went through their TSA and didn't beeped but still got petted down by a female officer. Mostly slept on the 1 1/2 flight but was able to catch excellent views of the Himalayas. The pilot pointed a 22,000 feet high peak that was hiding behind clouds.

Dharamasala is not the actual residence of the Dalai Lama. He resides closer to the town of McLeod Ganj known as Tsuglagkhang .McLeod Ganj is a 45 min bus ride up windy narrow hills and the Tsuglagkhang residence is about a 15 min walk from here. There's plenty of tourist here with a hostel every 10 feet. Monks walk around the tiny alleys , with cars honking through out the day trying to give warning to pedestrians to get off the tiny 7 feet wide lane.

I am staying in a room with a view to one snow covered peak in the distance and a small valley.I have to put the curtains down if I have to change clothes unless I want the Monks across the building below to see me naked. I have sit down toilets and hot water, do have to use a bucket and bowl but I am used to it from my days in Fiji.

To visit the two temples which were 3 1/2 hours away, I woke up at 3.30am to catch the 4 am bus. Was a little nervous walking the alley so early in the morning, but was comforted to see 2 policemans patrolling the main square. Was helped by local man to get bus and directions to the temples which was greatly appreciated.

The town of Jawalmuki is small yet bustling with people. The street leading to the temple is filled with stores selling Puja (prayer ) items and prasads(sweet offerings). I purchased one and was given a brief run down on the ceremony, allowed to leave my shoes and walk up the rest of the way. There's trash, spit, pee and beggars all the way up. It was only about 7 something and there were hundreds here already to pay pilgrimage. Had to move my backpack in the front to avoid pickpocketers. The Jawalamukhi temple(the goddess of light) is where Shiva's first wife Sati's tongue has said to have landed after her body was consumed by flames and split into 51 pieces. The site is worshiped in the form of a natural-gas eternal flame issuing from the rocks.No pictures were allowed inside.

I got a view of Kangra Fort on the way back that was used by Hindu rajas.It still stands high and strong even after getting destroyed by a earthquake.Got dropped off at the bus stop close to the temple. The Brajeshwari Devi temple is where Sati's left breast has said to have landed. Again a huge amount of devotees were walking up the small ally lined up with stalls and beggars. Paid my respects to the goddess and asked for a safe journey while I traveled this magnificent country. Wandered around the grounds and was offered prasad by a priest which was really appreciated since it was 12 and I had yet to eat anything. Went to the market and bought a duppata(scarf) for my journey to Amritsar(it is wise to keep the head covered while paying pilgrimage in the this holy city which is home of the Golden Temple). Couldn't find a decent street stall to eat since I was wary of getting Diarrhea form the water. I had come across plenty of places where they used the alley water to wash dishes and using that same water to clean chickens and vegetables. Caught a bus back to McLeod Ganj by 1 pm.

Had Momo (Tibiten vege dumplings) for lunch and used the net at Green Hotel.Went down the alleys to shop for long shirts and snacks a little later and fill up my water bottles for 10 rupees(there's over pollution of plastic in McLeod Ganj and the Green Hotel charges 10 rupees to fill up 1 liter of mineral water. It seemed safe since every other tourist was doing the same). Was in the middle of writing my blog when I started falling asleep. It was still light outside so it wasn't late,dinner was long forgotten and I ended up sleeping with my wallet, watch and bra on. Woke up around 5.30am with Monks brushing their teeth and drying there clothes inthe building next to me. The sun was up, today I was spending my time at Dalai Lama residence. Should get up now and get ready.