Sunday, January 31, 2010

If there was something to do in Amritsar, we did it...
















Day 27: We woke up at 5:30am to see the sun rise from inside the temple. We spent hours watching people make their pilgrimage, before enjoying langar, the free meal. The temple feeds about 30,000 people everyday. There are volunteers preparing food and washing dishes at all hours of the day. The sound of metal cutlery, water splashing, and shouts in Punjabi, can be heard all around the temple grounds. After breakfast, we visited a Hindu temple nearby and spent a few hours exploring Amritsar's Old City. After lunch, we piled into a small van and headed to Pakistan.

Our First Solo Adventure!










Early morning, day 26: 6 of us embarked on our first trip outside Delhi, without program leaders! We took the train to Amritsar, in the state of Punjab. Amritsar is home to the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh temple in the world. The temple has dormitories for Sikh pilgrims, free of charge, and offers meals 24 hours a day, also for free. We took advantage of both and got to experience a religious pilgrimage first-hand. Over 3 days, we spent hours wandering, getting involved, and then sitting and people-watching. We did make an offering in the Golden Temple, just as the Sikhs do. We had to have our heads covered at all times, could not have shoes on or with us, and had to wash hands and feet before entering the temple. The first afternoon, we got to the temple around 4 and stayed until well after dark.

The religion is based on equality, it was developed by Guru Nanak in the 15th century as an alternative to religious hierarchies in Hinduism and Islam, as well as the caste system in India. Gender equality existed among Sikhs centuries before any other culture or religion. This holds true today. We, non-Sikh westerners, were treated to the same amenities the Sikh pilgrims received. People were curious about us, but not offended by our confusion and sometimes accidentally disrespectful behavior.

I could go on for days and not include everything. All in all, it was incredible!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Khajuraho to Delhi: The Great Adventure






Day 14: We had the morning free to continue exploring the town of Khajuraho. We were scheduled to leave the hotel at 11:45am, but found out that our train was delayed a few hours. Instead we left at 12:45pm. The train was preceded by a 4 hour bus ride, made longer by the one-lane roads and two-lanes of traffic, but gave us a chance to see rural Indian. Throughout the bus ride, our train was delayed further due to fog. Winter fog in India is the equivalent of a blizzard in the Northeast; trains will stop and sit on the tracks until the fog clears. Upon arriving in Jhansi, where we caught the train, we found out the train was delayed another 3 hours. It was 9:30pm. We spent a few hours in a local hotel, drinking chai and eating soup. Despite arriving at the train station in time, the train did not arrive until 1:30am. With a few stops along the way, again for fog, the originally 5 and 1/2 hour ride got us into Delhi at 10:15am. Almost 21 hours of travel. That should have taken only 10. It was an adventure! These are pictures from a pit stop during the bus ride, the yellow plants are mustard!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

More Khajuraho!
















Day 13: Arrived in Khajuraho the night before. Woke up early for a trip to the Khajuraho temples. They are Hindu temples, built between 950 AD and 1050 AD. Of the 85 original temples, 25 still exist. They are covered in intricate carvings and are architecturally incredible. We finished our morning with a tour of another Hindu temple of the same style, roughly 2km away and explored a nearby Jain temple. Tours were followed by lunch at a small cafe, overlooking many of the temples. We all tried Indian french toast for the first time. Imagine, sweeter batter and deep fried, so the moisture stays in the bread. Incredible! We had the afternoon free to shop and explore the town.

Khajuraho!





















Day 12: For the last weekend of Orientation, they took us on a trip to Khajuraho. It started with a very early
train ride from Delhi to a small town called Orchha, where we had lunch and visited a palace. The Jehangir Mahal was built in the 17th century and today, is an incredible place to visit. There are tons of back staircases, small hallways, and secret courtyards. Plus, Indians do not believe in safety precautions the way Americans do, so visitors can walk around the entire palace and there are no guard rails. As you can see, views from the fourth story were incredible.