Today we went on an outing to the wrong place. Or, maybe it was the right place. Whatever, it was fun. We wanted to see this Laxminarayan Temple...
... but ended up seeing it's less impressive step-sister just a few km away. That being said, finding it, finding parking and walking in non-tourist areas is also an adventure. Also, once in the temple, it was much more authentic. The people there were very happy to have us. There were actually two temples right next to each other and, since there was no way to communicate, I'm not sure what the difference was. All is well that ends with a Starbucks in Connaught place.
One of our goals this year is to get out more. Sunday morning is a great time to get out in Delhi since it is the time of the week when there is the least traffic. This morning we decided to head out to the Qutab Minar complex.
The Qutab Minar was built in 1192 and the last story was completed almost 200 years later. It was originally constructed as an Islamic Monument. The structure stands 237.8 feet tall (pretty freakin' big).
The is the reason Drew really wanted to go - The Iron Pillar of Delhi. Anything we have left outside that is metal has rusted. This pillar was built 1600 years ago and only has a little bit of rust on it. Cool stuff.
This was a second Minar that was supposed to be twice the size of the original but, the dude died ...
We are still (over) a year behind in our blog but decided posting our quick trip to Amritsar this weekend might motivate us to get our butts in gear and start on the backlog of trips we haven't motivated to blog on.
We had a four day weekend for Gandhi's birthday and Dusshera (the Hindi holiday celebrating the victory of good over evil).
In hindsight, perhaps this national holiday weekend may not have been the best time to visit the Harmandir Sahip (Golden Temple - Holiest of Sikh temples that draws over 100,000 pilgrims per day), the site of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (British massacre of 1,000 non-violent protesters - think movie Gandhi when they were jumping in the well), and the Wagah Border Ceremony (India-Pakistan border's only road where a well-attended, crazy ceremony takes place each evening). Needless to say, the crowds were thick, even for India and especially at the border ceremony.
After arriving too late to attend the border ceremony on Thursday evening, we headed down to the Golden Temple at 830pm to, not just experience the temple, but to see where 100,000 people are fed (free) each evening - there are some great pictures in this article that show this process.
Before being told the proper way to take a picture at the Temple
...After being told the proper way to take a picture by a (giant) guard.
If you ever find yourself in Amritsar, please, for the love of God, eat at Brothers. The food was incredible and only approximately $3 USD per person. Liv enjoying her meal...
Here is a little video of us walking to, and around, the Golden Temple. Still not really feeling the whole video thing, but will keep working at it.
After a lazy start to the next day we headed back down into town. Here's a little video of the tuktuk ride which, amazingly, fit the seven of us quite comfortably.
We ended up at back near the Golden Temple at the site of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.
Just a wee crowded
Bullet Holes
Our last destination was the India - Pakistan border. There is only one road that connects the two countries and, each evening, there is a ceremonious closing of the border. Unfortunately, being a holiday weekend, it was extra crowded and Drew was the only one tall enough to get any sort of view of the happenings at the actual border; however, what we did see was frenetic and crazy. Once the ceremony started, it truly felt as if a stampede could have happened at any time.
Border guards need to be at least 6 feet tall
"Da Border"
Sunset over Pakistan
One more short video of some of the clips from the ceremony.
