Flying Solo... (Nov 22)

Morning came and Brad was completely immobilized. We tried massage, stretching and pain killers but he could barely even stand. Around 11 am I propped him up in bed, gave him the remote control for the TV and some crackers and headed out the find something to eat and check our train reservations on the internet.

The Lonely Planet showed a restaurant that looked like it should be next door to our hotel so I headed in that general direction. I walked for a bit... passing sari shops, a Docker store, a Levis store.. I was sure I'd missed it but I kept going and figured I'd find something else on the way. Then it appeared. It was not on the same street as the hotel, it was actually around the corner from the hotel. I slipped inside to discover a very posh restaurant with cloth napkins and waiters dressed in white shirts and black vests. I had spaghetti bolognese. It didn't occur to me until it arrived that it had beef... or did it? It was a meat sauce and it tasted good so I decided not to ask. After lunch I asked directions and headed to shopping complex up the road that had internet cafes. It looked more like an abandoned, multi-level self-store than a shopping complex but I did manage to find an internet place. I checked our train reservation and tried to find Brad a chiropractor. There don't seem to be very many in India and none in Amritsar.

Back to the hotel to check on Brad. He was sitting up in a chair - a good sign!! He still couldn't move around much. We had come to see the Golden Temple so we decided I should go without him and take lots of photos.

I called Jai and had him pick me up. An exhilarating ride through streets filled with every sort of shop and traffic. We scooted down alleys, over pot holes, around bicycles... in one alleyway there was a traffic jam. Jai decided to do a U turn and take another route. It didn't seem wide enough to me to turn around but he was driving - back up.. ok... forward.. ok... back again (hit the wall), forward.. oops, not forward, hit the wall again, forward? nope.. forward? ok...back... nope, forward again - the gearing was just not cooperating. He had a rickshaw driver from behind us help to push us backward and we were out... just as traffic started moving again (of course). We headed back into the alley... it was really quite comical. We eventually arrived at the temple. I arranged for him to come back and pick me up at 4 and headed for the temple.

The Golden Temple is the Sikh holy shrine with a large golden dome that is supposed to be covered in 750 kg of pure gold. Four priests keep a continuous chant 24 hours a day, 7 days a week that is broadcast by loudspeaker across the complex. There's even a TV station where they show the temple live (though there's not a great deal of action really). I wandered down past the market stalls selling temple souvenirs, including a small scarf you could wear on your head that was emblazoned with "Golden Temple".

The temple gate is guarded by men with very large mean looking spears. You have to cover your head and remove your shoes while inside the temple complex. There was a large green garbage can filled with scarves for people to put on - I had brought my own so I didn't have to use the communal ones. I put my sandals in my bag but a man told me that I had to check them. I guess shoes aren't even allowed inside. I checked my shoes, washed my feet in the pool at the entrance and went in.

The temple is made from white marble similar to the Taj. You walk down a staircase under a large archway and out to a very large courtyard - kind of. There is a large building that runs all the way around a sacred pool circled by a wide avenue. In the centre of the pool is the main temple, covered in gold. This is where the priests carry on their endless chant. I have to say, the temple is pretty darn golden. There is one bridge that leads to the temple called guru's bridge and it was lined with people waiting to go through with their offerings. I did a circuit of the pool, strolled by the dining hall where they give somewhere around 30,000 free meals a day, looked at the marble work and sat and watched the giant goldfish in the sacred pool. It didn't look all that clean to me but there were people bathing in it at a couple of ghats that were set up. At one point I caught someone sneaking a picture of me (tourist attraction again).

Since the place is white marble, even with everyone removing their shoes and washing their feet, it needs cleaning regularly. Men with buckets were flooding the walkway is some kind of assembly line while others came behind with giant squeegees. I got run over by a squeegee since I didn't hear him saying "watch your toes" - I should have learned Punjabi I guess!

After a couple of laps and plenty of photos to show Brad, I headed back out to meet Jai. He was waiting as planned. Another crazy ride back to the hotel but I was back safe and sound.

Brad had been trying to move around and get loosened up while hanging out in the hotel all day (rotting his brain with bad TV). We decided to walk to the restaurant I'd had lunch in since it was good and fairly close by. Trekking pole in hand, we struck out into the fray. A little slower than usual but we made it just fine and had a really nice dinner. The tandoori chicken was excellent. To loosen up a bit more, we decided to walk up to the internet place I'd been at earlier in the day, checked emails, called the hotel in Bodha Gaya and walked back. Some mobility was returning (thank goodness!)

One warning on eating in India... if they look like green beans, double check, they may be chilies and... if it looks like carrots..hmm... may be raw ginger... or so Brad told me after he finished choking!