India Gate

Evening of day 48: Wandered around the India Gate just after sunset. Sorry for the repetition, but I thought all of these were cool!

The Red Fort

Day 48: We ventured up north to Old Delhi to see The Red Fort. It took us so long to get ourselves there, that the sun was setting as we arrived. It made for great light and awesome colors!

Rishikesh

Days 40-42: Spent the weekend in Rishikesh, where yoga was invented. It is also where the Beatles stayed when they came to India in 1968. They lived in an ashram and wrote a ton of music. They drastically changed their sound, as a result of the trip. Today, the town is known for its ashrams and yoga classes. However, we spent the weekend eating food, walking around town, and rafting the Ganges. One afternoon, a few of us walked 10 kilometers and got lost in a small village. We met a few kids and used our remedial Hindi to talk to them. They got really excited when we took pictures of them!

Tughlakabad

Day 40: These are boring pictures of rocks, but everyone NEEDED a new post (you know who you are). These stone structures were once the city of Delhi. The city itself has been rebuilt numerous times; new rulers took over and built their own cities. This "city" is 6 kilometers in circumference. The Tughlaks lived and ruled here.

Wandering Around Amritsar

Day 28: Before getting on our 5pm train for the long trek back to Delhi, we wandered around Amritsar's textile market. Not geared toward tourists, the market was an overwhelming look at a classic Indian bazaar: narrow, winding roads; brights colors; yelling; and shoving.

The Wagah Border

More from Day 27. The only place to cross from India into Pakistan, and vice versa, is about 45 minutes from Amritsar. Everyday at 4pm there is an extravagant ceremony, when the border is closed for the night. The energy on the Indian side was electric. The ceremony is obviously a point of pride. Loudspeakers played Punjabi music beforehand, obviously attempting to drown out creepy Pakistani music from the other side. Everyone on the Indian side was on their feet, dancing, clapping, and yelling, despite desperate attempts by soldiers to keep everyone seated. Before the ceremony starts, a bus drives through the gates filled with the last people to cross the border for the day. The ceremony itself involves dramatic marching on both sides. They lower both flags as the sun sets. It was incredible to see. A highlight of the trip!

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.