Well, until we saw the Mumbai terrorist attacks on CNN, we thought India was turning out way better than we expected. We crossed the northern border a few weeks ago and were immediately invited to several people's homes. We had dinner with the family of Harendra, a student Rusty conversed with on our first bus ride from the Nepal border to Bareilly, India. Harendra wanted us to meet his family for dinner during the two hours we had before our scheduled train to Amritsar. The family was extremely friendly and kind, but unfortunately we didn't have much time to spend with them.
After visiting with Harendra, the invitations continued. At the train station a little boy around five years old invited us to his home. Then another family invited us over on the train ride to Amritsar, but we didn't have time to accept any other invitations than from Harendra. We couldn't believe the generosity of the people in India. It wasn't what we were expecting based on stories we'd heard from other travelers.
In Amritsar, we visited the Sikh's most holy site, the Golden Temple. It may have been one of the most rewarding cultural experiences we have enjoyed during our travels. On the temple grounds, everyone was walking laps around the temple, and they took us by the hand to join in with them. They even took us into the temple to listen to the music and prayers with them. We were also invited to stay in the Golden Temple guest dormitories for free! On top of the free room, the Golden Temple also provides free meals for all guests no matter class nor religion, so we also enjoyed a free meal there of rice, curry, and chapati (flat bread).
Even though one of the main reasons we went up north was to see a border closing ceremony between the Indian and Pakistan borders in Attari, just 30 minutes from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, we actually ended up enjoying visiting the Golden Temple even more than the border ceremony. The boarder ceremony was very exciting as well though. There seemed to be a few thousand people on each side of the border cheering for their country while the soldiers performed a dramatically choreographed stomp-off with loud national music playing on each side. It was pretty fun to be part of the experience. And luckily, we were there the day before the Mumbai terrorist attacks as the Pakistan border may not be so safe now.
From Attari, we spent a full day from before the sunrise until after the sunset on another crowded (more than you could possibly imagine) and bumpy bus to McLeod Ganj, the city where the current Dahli Lamma lives in India. We arrived in time for a nice Thanksgiving dinner of Tandoori Chicken and Spaghetti as well as some chocolate cake for dessert. We visited the monastery there that evening as well before leaving early the next morning again to head to our next destination, Manali, before making our way to a Dec. 3rd meditation course in Sarnath, India, located thousands of miles away in the middle of India.
Manali, India's extreme activity capital, did not disappoint us. In addition to bungee jumping, white water rafting, and skiing, Manali had an unusual activity called "ZORBING." The basic idea is that you climb into the inner chamber of a giant inflatable ball (see the picture). After being strapped inside by a body harness, they roll you down a ski run... kind of like a Gerbil ball for humans.
Fortunately, the ball was big enough to comfortably (if that is that the right word) accommodate both of us at the same time. Needless to say, it was hysterically funny to see each other flopping around like rag dolls as the ball accelerated and began bouncing off the ground. Aside from whiplash (which a holyman yogi cured... no lie), no serious injuries occurred, so we give it our full endorsement. People who get motion sickness should consider sitting this one out, as vomiting inside the zorb would produce a sort of disgusting shake and bake effect.
We've been covering a lot of ground in the last month aside from the things in this update, so we'll try to get caught up with our going ons in the next week or so.
After visiting with Harendra, the invitations continued. At the train station a little boy around five years old invited us to his home. Then another family invited us over on the train ride to Amritsar, but we didn't have time to accept any other invitations than from Harendra. We couldn't believe the generosity of the people in India. It wasn't what we were expecting based on stories we'd heard from other travelers.In Amritsar, we visited the Sikh's most holy site, the Golden Temple. It may have been one of the most rewarding cultural experiences we have enjoyed during our travels. On the temple grounds, everyone was walking laps around the temple, and they took us by the hand to join in with them. They even took us into the temple to listen to the music and prayers with them. We were also invited to stay in the Golden Temple guest dormitories for free! On top of the free room, the Golden Temple also provides free meals for all guests no matter class nor religion, so we also enjoyed a free meal there of rice, curry, and chapati (flat bread).
Even though one of the main reasons we went up north was to see a border closing ceremony between the Indian and Pakistan borders in Attari, just 30 minutes from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, we actually ended up enjoying visiting the Golden Temple even more than the border ceremony. The boarder ceremony was very exciting as well though. There seemed to be a few thousand people on each side of the border cheering for their country while the soldiers performed a dramatically choreographed stomp-off with loud national music playing on each side. It was pretty fun to be part of the experience. And luckily, we were there the day before the Mumbai terrorist attacks as the Pakistan border may not be so safe now.
From Attari, we spent a full day from before the sunrise until after the sunset on another crowded (more than you could possibly imagine) and bumpy bus to McLeod Ganj, the city where the current Dahli Lamma lives in India. We arrived in time for a nice Thanksgiving dinner of Tandoori Chicken and Spaghetti as well as some chocolate cake for dessert. We visited the monastery there that evening as well before leaving early the next morning again to head to our next destination, Manali, before making our way to a Dec. 3rd meditation course in Sarnath, India, located thousands of miles away in the middle of India.Manali, India's extreme activity capital, did not disappoint us. In addition to bungee jumping, white water rafting, and skiing, Manali had an unusual activity called "ZORBING." The basic idea is that you climb into the inner chamber of a giant inflatable ball (see the picture). After being strapped inside by a body harness, they roll you down a ski run... kind of like a Gerbil ball for humans.
Fortunately, the ball was big enough to comfortably (if that is that the right word) accommodate both of us at the same time. Needless to say, it was hysterically funny to see each other flopping around like rag dolls as the ball accelerated and began bouncing off the ground. Aside from whiplash (which a holyman yogi cured... no lie), no serious injuries occurred, so we give it our full endorsement. People who get motion sickness should consider sitting this one out, as vomiting inside the zorb would produce a sort of disgusting shake and bake effect.
We've been covering a lot of ground in the last month aside from the things in this update, so we'll try to get caught up with our going ons in the next week or so.
2 comments:
Wow, you guys are skinny minnies! Are you sure you're eating enough?
I've seen the gerbil ball thingy before- how fun!
That is cool that the people were so nice to you there and invited you to their homes!
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