My trip to Pakistan...

It was pointed out to me last night that I didn't retell the experience of going to the Pakistan boarder.  It was pretty darn interesting.  While in Amritsar (where the golden temple is) one of the "things" to do is to attend the flag ceremony on the border with Pakistan.  It is called Wagah Border and it is about 1 hour drive from the golden temple.  You apparently need to get there early because the crowd on the Indian side is CRAZY.  To be honest, me explaining the trip is just not as good as you watching some video of it which many people have posted on YouTube...heres a linkWagah Border Ceremony Its a video that explains a little about the entire thing.  Notice the monty python-esk unusual walks.  There is a huge yelling match between those on India's side and those on the Pakistan side.  Before I get into it let me explain how we got there...(not that its a big deal but this is my blog so phttttt....)
Bloema (the dutch bossy chick) decided that the man I had contacted to take a shared taxi out to the border was not "good enough".  She felt completely threatened that I wanted to branch out on my own and make a decision without consulting her (at least thats the way it came across).  Regardless, I decided to let it drop and go with who she choose.  She ended up finding this guy who made it his mission to cram as many of us as he could into a SUV.  Now, I thought college students were bad and turning trips to the store into a clown car, this was uncomfortable for ME.  4 adult women (including me) into the back seat of a standard SUV plus 6 people in the back (where most of you store your dog or groceries) PLUS 3 people in the front seat.  At one point in the HOUR long drive I was literally squatting because I couldn't actually fit my butt onto the seat.  I did this because one of the women decided first that she got to sit next to the window and 2nd that it was my responsiblity to make room for her by sitting with just the edge of my butt on the seat.  This would have worked say if I were 4ft tall and didn't get most of my height from my legs.  She on the otherhand sat quite pretty thats for sure.  All her and her 4ft bossy self.  The other women in the car did not approve of this lady.  She was definately "middle upperclass" and the other women were upper class.  So the devilish looks between them were interesting.

Once we arrived at the boarder, it was maddness (when is it not in India) but we found a good parking spot and the second I fell out of the vehicle I was bombarded with men offering to watch my bag and camera...You see, according to these guys you weren't allowed to bring anything with you across the border and they of course for a small fee would be willing to guard my camera!  WoW what service!!!  I was completely lost in the confusion and turned to the driver to ask what this was about but he was long gone.  Bloeme told me he was lying and yelled at one guy told him to leave us alone.  I didn't know who to trust.  Bloeme and Bec then decided that they were hungry and wanted to eat street corn.  The bossy lady from the Taxi came up to me and pulled me down the road saying YOU MUST HURRY.  I yelling back at bec and Bloeme for help they decided to forgo the corn (which was smart later because we were late already) came running after me.  The croud was nutz and kept getting worse because the rich people were hiring rickshaws and the poor were getting more congested as we approached the 1 man gate.  Once I got to the gate though I was again approached by a kid, this time being told it wasn't my camera that was not allowed, rather it was my bag.  NO bags are allowed to go through the border check point.  For some reason I trusted the kid a little more (cuz he didn't go after my camera).  Remember the crowds and the pushing and the no personal space and excitement at being near Pakistan....The kid directed me to a pile of purses.  The pile of purses were literally just a pile on the side of the street where all women were directed (yelled at really) do leave their bag with no money, no phones, no passports no nothing.  Empty the purse and you can leave it here with us.  I was dragged by the kid while the guard yelled at me, Bloeme was yelling at the guard, me and the kid (she's talented) and the crowd of wome serging as I tried to take out everything and shove it into my pockets.  I gingerly handed over my bag to this growing pile and had a scrap of paper given to me in its place.  There was no indication of order to any of the bags or that I would get my bag back....

Once I went through the gate, women were directed towards a closed off area of the road where women guards felt us up…they were efficient, but didn’t miss any location. The men were checked on the street. It was about ¼ walk to the gate. I followed the crowd which was a mistake. We didn’t find out until later that they had a side entrance for Foreigners and families. I was funneled into a crowd that was worse than the Primus mosh pit concert that Matt Janine and I went to one year. I went up on my toes to look over the crowd (cuz most were shorter than me) and couldn’t get back down. The people were pushing and shoving and I feel sorry for the people who were up against the bar. Talk about bruises. I eventually got separated from Bec and then took about 10 minutes before I got angry enough to yell “you have to be shitting me!” which incited giggle out of the men and then I shoved my way out of the crowd. When I finally got out, I was drenched and it was not just my own sweat. I found Bec and Bloeme came running up and told us to follow her. She had been told about the secret side entrance. This entrance provided access to the bleachers, VIP, foreigner, and family seating. The problem is I had to go through one more check point…I say problem because I had brought my GPS unit with me and passed it off as a cell phone at the first check point, but this one the girl was a little more skeptical. I was able to pass it off only because another gal started making trouble which distracted my guard….Or at least that is what I think happened. Maybe she didn’t care, but I thought it would be hard to explain why I had a GPS unit in my pocket on the Pakistan Boarder.

Anyway, once we got into this beautiful seating area we got a sure view of the show. It was hilarious. The Pakistan side was segregated (women on the right and men on the left as I faced them) and the chanting between the countries and the yelling matches and then all the posturing. It was entertaining to say the least. The way out I did get my bag back, but not without another serge of panic of where the heck did the bags go.  I went back to the spot where the pile of purses were taller than me and found nothing.  I immediately thought WOW we've all been dooped....but no, they just moved all the bags to a back corner and my little ticket actually matched my bag.  It only cost me 20Rs and a few more grey hairs.

Weddings and Movies

So, Sunday I went into Dehra dun for my first theater going experience…it was an hour drive down the mountain in a hired taxi that Clair and Sophi hired for 1100 Rs.  wow what a lovely day!  First of all, we got to the theater “late” which meant we didn’t get the VIP seats which are 100Rs or the SIP seats at 70 Rs….it cost the  3 of us 90 Rs ( 29Rs each) to see the move…that is about $2 total.  Then, the theater is basically a very long rectangle (what other shape would it be really) but none the less it was LONG.  The VIP got the first 50 rows towards the back of the theater the SIP got the next 45 or so and then there was our seating…the up close to the screen seats.  The one good thing about the seats is that they had high backs to them so I could slouch down to try to get a better angle.  Since we were late we only caught the tail end of the scramble crowding pushing, shoving, and banging on the doors to be admitted.  It was PACKED and every seat was sold out.

Amritsar

We arrived in Amritsar and head for the Golden Temple which is the Mecca for Seiks (the Guru who created this religion was born there)  The Golden Temple is a place that feeds over 40,000 people a day for free.  It is mostly dhal and chapatti but everyone is welcome and everyone is equal.  Unlike Hindus, Seiks do not believe in the cast system, they believe all human beings are equal (men and women alike), they are a warrior group that have 5 symbols to indicate their faith.  1. The turban head wrap for both sexes, 2. special undergarments that allow them to jump on horseback and ride into battle if necessary (a good pair of jocky shorts will do this too, but apparently this isn’t good enough), 3. they believe that hair is a gift and thus should never be cut thus they grow long beards (men and women alike) and to this end they have a comb in their hair at all times,  4. They wear an iron bracelet to protect their wrist from swords and 5. They wear some type of sword at all times. 

This particular weekend was preparation and celebration for Monday’s birthday party for the first Guru.  So, there was a parade and they took the holy book around which brought out the beggars and people wanting to be blessed.  The parade’s lasted about 6 hours and then it was into the temple for all sorts of other prayers and lighting of the temple.  The main temple that houses the book during the day (because they put the book to bed each night from 11-4am is gold plated (hence the name) and they wash this part of the temple down with holy cows milk.  In the temple there are 4 men who are constantly singing and playing the drums or other musical instruments.  I am not sure if or when they rotate? But this occurs from 4am to 11pm all day every day and they are filmed so you can tune in your TV if you would like to watch and listen from afar.  The temple has a constant stream of people going through it at every minute of the day.  Everyone who “works” there is a volunteer.  Pilgrims come and help make chapatti, cut onion, peal garlic, wash dishes, hand out plates, serve food all in duty to their faith and helping each other.   They are very proud of their system, especially the 3 chapatti machines which when all three are running, make 6,000 chapatti an hour.  In taking a tour of the kitchen (which I did not have my camera and am super sad) they had literally VATS of food boiling over flames as thick as my calves.  It reminded me of movies like Oliver Twist or dingy slaves churning boiling vats that I could literally stand in and be covered chest high.

 

The temple which housed the book is surrounded by water – which is considered holy to bathe in.  There are 2 set aside chambers for the women to bathe in and the men then get the rest of the 1km loop to take a dip should they desire.  It is inappropriate to see women wet and since everyone strips to their undies or nude, it is nice that they have the set aside room. 

This weekend was spent traveling to Amritsar.  It was an interesting place, but I have to say I did not enjoy  the train rides.  The trains were hectic, chaos, that were squishy and uncomfortable to say the least.  We took an evening train meaning we got sleepers – which just ends up being these benches that the top and bottom bunks are permanently out and the middle folds out.  Which means the middle and bottom bunks are screwed because they are dependent upon each other and if one person doesn’t want to go to sleep it can be awkward.