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Amritsar was our first stop and it was for two nights. Amritsar is famous for the Golden Temple where thousands of Sikhs seek (heh) pilgrimage each year. The temple itself sits in the centre of a pool that gives eternal life to those who bathe in it. I read that the temple has some accomodation for tourists in addition to the pilgrim sleeping quarters - Sikh's beleive in human equality (strange when so many of them live in one of the most class divided countries in the world) and therefore have the same beautiful hospitality as the Muslims. So as soon as I got to the campsite on the outskirts I headed there for sunset and sunrise.

10) Camel

I grabbed a cycle rickshaw and my man started peddling away. It was like having a slave, where was my whip? I felt sorry for the old guy as he puffed away through the potholed streets and past painted cows (sacred to the Hindu's and so free to roam anywhere in India). We both had to get out and walk at one point because there was a hill!

The temple was very busy (think it was the main pilgrimage time of the year, a festival or something) and everyone walked clockwise around the pool, the temple in the centre. Before entering I took off my shoes and was told to wear a bandana to cover my head - a nice purple and gold shiny one. I was repeatedly asked for my picture to be taken with various people, they were very friendly and interested. When going round I noticed (having only been in India an hour or two) the amount of women and children present, something, as I blabbered on about, lacking in Pakistan. It was good to see families and ladies again and not just for the obvious reasons; it made the streets feel more comfortable, more safe. In addition to accomodation there was food as well. I sat in a large hall, cross legged on mats with a metal tray I had collected with my guide (a 10 year old boy had kindly led me there). Grace was called across the hall and a little 5 year old boy nudged me and gestured to place my hands together to pray. Was funny. After some rice, dal and naan I had an early night and then enjoyed the sunrise (4.30am) by the pool which was strangely just as busy as sunset.

10) Monkey! McLeod Ganj

Rest of the day was spent with a few beers in the pool (our first the whole trip!) and in the evening we went to watch the obscure border closing ceremony between India and Pakistan. Tiers of seating surrounded the border gates and the whole thing started with girls from the crowd dancing to bad pop music as other members of the public walked around with the Indian flag. Looking over at the Pakistani side you had a colourful left hand side (the women) and a bland right hand one (the men) whereas the Indian side was speckled with colour as there is no segregation. Eventually the ridiculous marching was carried out by the soldiers (it did drag on a bit, like my blogs...) accompanied by one soldier shouting for as long as he could into a microphone. The big finale - a handshake. Kashmir? What Kashmir?

11) Praying in McLeod Ganj

Kashmir is of course not the only iffy subject round these parts, as I was sorely reminded when we went to see the Dalai Lama (well, you never know we might of seen him) in McLeod Ganj. A Tibetan colony with a Scottish name in India. Sadly it has become a tourist trap: shops galore, Italian restaurants and streets lined with all sorts of useless crap - I bought a one note bowl and fur hat for the Himalayas. Visited the Tibetan museum where, in its brutal reality, is the lowdown on the plight of the poor Tibetans. I wont go into detail but basically the Chinese have acted like the Nazis but in the 21st century, torturing and persecuting people because of who they are (to create a monolithic state). I spoke with two Tibetans who, like most there, had escaped over the himalayan mountains by foot when they were 9 in a small group of 15. I found a lot of admiration in them, of course - as children they walked for weeks with all their belongings over the biggest mountains on earth to escape certain prosectution. Interesting dudes as well with their spritual buddhist minds.

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