On March 23rd I shut the door to my apartment for the last time, tearfully hugged my neighbors goodbye and headed to the Surat train station with Drew. I was on my way to Delhi and destinations unknown and he was on his way to catch his America-bound flight out of Mumbai. I spent only one full day in Delhi despite the fact that it took 20 hours to get there and I was off again on a ten hour train to Amritsar.
Amritsar is in the Northern state of Punjab and is home to the Golden Temple, the holiest temple for followers of the Sikh religion. The Golden Temple attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal and lies in the center of a man-made lake known as the Immortal Nectar. Being the holiest temple, visitors are required to cover their heads, remove their shoes and no alcohol or meat is sold within the vicinity of the temple. It really did have a calmer and more peaceful feel than many of the Hindu temples I had seen and I returned later that night to watch the sacred Book being put to bed at 10pm.
After viewing the Golden Temple I went in search of transportation to the Pakistan border to witness the border closing ceremony. I struck up a conversation with some Brits who had already arranged a jeep and we were off. Our jeep let us out about a mile before the actual border which is where we joined one of the longest lines I have ever seen. It took quite a while to get to the security check point where I was given a thorough (and uncomfortable) pat down, and finally, we were admitted into the stadium. It was quite a show with lots of yelling, flag waving, and finally a handshake before closing the gates for the day. You can see a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4luORtjKu4
I spent only two days in Amritsar before the heat proved to be too much, so the next day I packed up and went to the bus station. I bought a 10 hour bus ticket to McLeod Ganj which is nestled in the hills just above Dharmashala, the Dali Lama’s refuge home. I had already spent time there after running the half marathon, but the cool weather and peaceful surroundings brought me back. I arrived at 8pm, had some Tibetean momos for dinner and found a room for the night. The next morning I was out the door by 6:30am to see the sun rise and to watch McLeod Ganj come to life. The weather was perfect, the air was fresh and the sky was blue. I spent the entire day walking around and then at 5pm I went to yet another bus station, and was leaving again after only spending a day there.
At the bus station I boarded a 12 hour night bus bound for Delhi to meet up with a friend. The roads in and around Dharmashala are notoriously dangerous because of the numerous hair-pin curves and I said many prayers during the long journey as the driver flew down and around the sharp corners. After we reached the bottom of the hill and were on a straight stretch there was a loud noise from the back of the bus; one of the tires had blown. Had it happened just ten minutes before on the curvy road, the driver wouldn’t have been able to control the bus. In the early morning we finally reached Delhi and as I was getting my bags from the bottom of the bus I happened to look at the tires; they were all completely bald.
From Delhi my friend and I took a 12 hour train to Jhansi, the nearest station to Orchha, an ancient city known for its many temples. The most interesting temple is the Ramaraja Temple, which is actually a palace and the only temple in which Rama is worshipped as a ruler. I stayed several nights in a heritage hotel palace named Amar Mahal with sprawling grounds and swam in the infinity pool by moonlight.
After Orchha we were off to Khajuraho, yet another city famous for its unique temples. The Khajuraho temples, from the 9th and 12th century, are known as the Erotic Temples and for good reason. Discovered in the late 19th century, the carvings at these temples depict the various ways in which people can um, enjoy each other (I don’t recommend children to view the pictures on my Picasa album).
From the Erotic Temples we changed vehicles at a friend’s house and then rode around in a 1942 Ford jeep from WWII to the city of Satna which was a lot of fun. The next day we left the jeep behind and drove an SUV to Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh. Bhopal is a nice city complete with a wildlife park placed alongside a huge lake in the center of the city. Without knowing the background on Bhopal, you would never have guessed that it was the site of the worst industrial accident in India’s (some say the world’s) history. In 1984 the Union Carbide plant leaked a lethal gas that immediately killed 9,000 people and eventually left an estimated 20,000 people dead. Today, people are still suffering the effects of the leak and many children are born with birth defects while the people of Bhopal await justice from the new owner of Union Carbide, Dow Chemical. I you are interested, you can see a short documentary here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ehFcv4ywvA
While in Bhopal, I was taken outside the city and was able to see some cave paintings. These paintings are relatively unknown and have only been viewed by three groups of experts who date them at 20,000 years old. After the caves we drove through the wildlife park and were able to see a large variety of animals, including some tigers and sloth bears. After our time in Bhopal we met up with another friend and drove to Jhirabagh Palace in Dhar, a lavish palace redone in 1943 in an art deco theme. We were the only guests at the palace and I spent time wondering through the large estate which felt like a jump back into time. From there we traveled to Fort Amla, a historic fort in central India, for a night before boarding a night train back to Delhi where I spent my final day in India.
On April 8th I sadly went to the airport. Kirsten and I boarded our flight to London and said goodbye to India. As the airplane lifted off the runway the life I was living suddenly became a series of memories; the present became the past. In a matter of minutes, India was a speck behind us, and unknown adventures in England were in front of us, stories of which are soon to come.
Pictures from my India trip are here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lyndi.milton
