We were both pretty apprehensive about heading back to India after having such a great time in Sri Lanka. When we arrived back in Delhi the temperature was 43C (and that was at 7pm). We were not staying here long this time and had booked an overnight train for Amritsar as we were making our way up to Dharamasala.
The taxi ride through Delhi from the airport was incredibly hot. We were both sweating buckets and the traffic was insane, honking, beeping and generally crazy. We also had our first exposure to some of the extreme poverty in Delhi with lots of young street kids coming to our window and begging while we were stopped at traffic.
We also had a few hours to wait around Old Delhi station which was an intense place late at night. We were continually questioning if we were in the right place as there weren’t any other tourists in sight. While we were waiting we saw lots of Delhi’s street kids running around the station and over the tracks. They all had a very desperate look in their eyes which was very sobering to see.
When our train finally arrived we had to fight through a sea of people to find our carriage. Thankfully we had booked sleeper seats in an AC carriage so the journey to Amritsar was relatively comfortable.
When we finally arrived in Amritsar it was about 9am and already unbearably hot. As tourists, we were of course immediately surrounded within seconds of disembarking the train by eager rickshaw drivers and hotel owners keen to get our business. We ended up choosing to take a ride into town with a nice old guy but didn’t realise that we were actually getting on a “cycle” rickshaw until we had already agreed everything. The poor old guy must have been at least 60 years old and laboriously peddled us through the streets of Amritsar to our hotel.
The main site in Amritsar is the famous Sikh Golden Temple. Our hotel was nearby so we visited it later that day and the next morning. The temple was very impressive and looked amazing as it reflected off the water surrounding it.
Another impressive thing about this temple is that the Sikhs provide everything for free. They actually have dormitory rooms and a huge kitchen providing free meals so that anyone who wants to visit the temple doesn’t need to pay to stay. We didn’t stay in the temple but had breakfast in the huge kitchen with two local boys who we met outside. The kitchen is quite an operation as it serves tens of thousands of people per day, all for free.
The guys we met were very friendly and enjoyed hanging out as much as we did. They also seemed intent on documenting our encounter with their phones. One of them actually asked for me to step out of a photo so he could have one just with him and Kim. I can only imagine what he told his mates…
seven months on the road 