Chilling train rides, Pakistan border and the Taj Mahal
On our return to our humble home in Bali we wish to recount to you the amazing week we have just had travelling the northern states of India. It feels like we have been away for a month!
We enjoyed a very special Christmas Day here in Bali, full of excited calls with our families and treasured ferrero rochers that we had kept safe since our trip to Jaipur. Plus we will never forget our stroll down the main road in salwar kameez dress complete with Santa hats, catching many a bemused stare and the odd ‘Happy Christmas Day’ when our Indian neighbours connected our outfits with the Christian holiday.
We set off that night for our big week trip that surprised us with the most wonderful and, we have to admit, horrible moments. Unfortunately it started with a tick in the horrible box on our first sleeper class train experience to Amritsar. We were completely unprepared. The windows wouldn’t close, the neighbouring squat toilet sent us wafts of its faecal delights, icy - and we mean icy - air continuously tunnelled through, seeking muscles and bones we didn’t know we had. We seemed to have lucked out with our company as well as our carriage. Armed guards and passengers kept warning us with a sinister tone to beware of our safety and possessions and we had a nasty encounter with two young bullying men who got a kick out of disturbing us. But there was good to come out of this hellish train journey. We had broken all barriers. We shared everything from the gory details of bodily functions to moments of great beauty and those little things that one might notice out a window. We actually kept forgetting to correct people who assumed we were sisters and we kinda liked it that way.
Before we go on, we want to emphasise that this first sleeper class experience was a one-off. We were delighted to share later berths with lovely ladies, doting families, friendly old men and young lads who went out of their way to help us negotiate the train system. As one commented to Claire, “If I were using the Eurorail, I’d be just as lost as you!”
We arrived in Amristar with the cold still lingering in our bones. We nearly cried when our hotel owner explained that the hot water was temporarily unavailable due to the current renovations (we hadn’t realised that the renovations were not restricted to unoccupied rooms when Amelia spied a man with a hammer through a rather large hole in our wall). Off to the Waggah Border we were in for a ridiculously exciting and unfathomable performance of passion and patriotism. The spectacle involved an M.C egging on the crowds, high-kicking border guards and monotone calls reverberating through the speakers and the final simultaneous lowering of the flags on both sides of the India – Pakistan border. What really got us was the intensity of the people who were loaded into the grandstands. The whole attention of the crowd was focused on the Pakistan side and proceedings and not one person held back from the chants.
Our peaceful evening drastically contrasted with the theatrics of the border. The Golden Temple, the reason for our visit, was just around the corner from our hotel. We stumbled across the kitchens. The rhythmic clanging of the mass washing-up production line welcomed us to a place that famously houses and feeds thousands of Sikh pilgrims and foreigners every day. We were gently guided to the shoe stalls where again the efficiency and general goodwill astounded us. Now barefoot, we followed the crowds in an almost zombie-like manner towards the glittering gold reflected in the surrounding water. The small golden temple had a powerful presence and magnetism as we circled it along with hundreds of devoted pilgrims. We left the Temple reluctant but uplifted, consciously treasuring the experience. We weren’t sure it could get much better.
But, with no fear of hyperbole we can say the Taj Mahal is simply the most beautiful thing we have ever seen. We were awestruck and in love. The memory of us side by side soaking it in makes even the roughest night in sleeper class well worth it.
The finale of our travel week was a Himalayan New Year. We rugged up around a woodfire on the rooftop of our hotel. With a glass of red in one hand and a stunner view of Nainital’s volcanic lake and jagged mountains we brought in 2010 in style. We couldn’t have been happier.
We’ll quickly skim over terrible food poisoning, train vomiting, dehydration and exhaustion and skip to now where we look forward to sinking our teeth into the intense week planned by FEGG.
Happy New Year everyone!
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