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November
11, 1999
Amritsar, India to Lahore, Pakistan
Todd here
for the Team Aroundtheworld1999. Today was a low mileage day, I believe
only about 60 km. But border crossings always take time, especially when
there is a lot of tension between the two countries involved. We did not
have an early wakeup call because Nick was feeling less than stellar.
Nick was still feeling bad in the morning, and unfortunately in the
course of the evening, whatever Nick had snuck across the hall and
infected Doug. When we woke up in the morning, Doug was found seeking
refuge in the bathroom. I am sure it is nothing that time and a lot of
fluids won't cure.
Anyway,
Amritsar is the home to the Golden Temple, which is a sacred place for
the Sikhs. Since I did not know much about the Sikhs, I really did not
know what to expect when I visited the temple. If my research is faulty
please correct me, as I am very eager to learn whatever I can about this
intriguing religion.
Based on my
limited reading and research, Guru Nanak founded Sikhism in early 16th
Century in hopes of uniting Muslims and Hindus of all castes into one
brotherhood under the rule of one true and universal god. Although, his
goal has not been achieved, the Sikhs have fought many battles to
preserve their identity, their dream and their religion. They are very
well known and highly respected for their valorous military service and
tenacity. They are easily spotted throughout the world by their
distinctive turbans, which represent bravery and spiritual power. They
work on self-improvement and are very community conscious. I have been
told that you will very rarely find a Sikh begging, or very poor Sikhs.
Sikhs are very conscious of their family and obligations to other Sikhs,
which is apparent in their strong and united communities.
As I was
interested in seeing the Golden Temple of the Sikhs, Earle and I jumped
into a rickshaw and went downtown. It was a wild ride that took us down
crowded streets and congested roundabouts. After a 15-minute ride we
arrived at what looked like a shopping or business district. I was a bit
confused when the rickshaw driver appeared to be dropping us off. We did
what we were told and got out of the rickshaw. At this point our driver
instructed us to remove our shoes. Always suspecting a con game, Earle
and I weren't sure what to do. We knew we could not enter the temple with
our shoes on, but where were we anyway? We removed our shoes, gave them
to the driver and followed the end of his finger to a rope-matted
walkway, toward a sink.
Before
entering this holy place one should prepare himself/herself by washing
hands and face, a ritual that prepares both the body and the mind. We
received cleansing instructions from several young men standing near the
entrance. They guided us to the foot pool where we cleaned our feet and then
to a sink where we washed our faces and hands.
After
completing the cleaning ritual we descended down a flight of stairs,
through a hallway and into the outer ring of the temple. It was
beautiful! In the center was a small ornate building topped with multiple
golden domes. A walkway encircled this center building and spanned a body
of water to connect the inner walkway to the outer one. A large pool
surrounded this center temple. I am not sure of its dimensions, but it
must have been larger than 50x50 meters square. It was decorated with
white tiles and even had fish. We saw people bathing in this as well as
people cleaning it. I am not sure what the cleaning regimen is, but the
water seemed fairly clean. The outer perimeter was covered in white
marble flooring with a carpet (AstroTurf) running down the center. I
believe this was for traction, since wet marble tends to be slippery. On
the outside of this walkway were white buildings that enclosed the
square. Hallways leading to the outside stood at the midpoint between the
corners on all four walls. The entrances all had golden domes. This truly
was an impressive creation.
Earle and I
strolled along the perimeter observing, being observed and listening to
religious chanting that was echoing from the central building. People
were extremely friendly and seemed genuinely happy that we had come. At
first we were very skeptical and standoffish, as the previous week we had
been hounded by hawkers, taxi drivers and I am not sure what else. But
apparently, people just wanted to say hello and ask where we were from.
When conversation ceased, they would go and finish what they had been
doing before we came along. It was nice to be treated like a person
again.
As I said
earlier, I wished I had known more about the beliefs and practices of the
Sikhs. I wanted to see and learn as much as I could while I walked
around, but at the same time, I did not want to get in the way of what
was going on. As we made our way around the outer perimeter toward the
walkway that led to the inner perimeter, we became more and more excited.
The music and the chanting created a wonderful feeling.
Crossing
over the water took us straight to the heart of this religion. Many
people filed in and out of the center of the temple. In the middle of the
temple, a band was playing while a cantor was chanting. All around us
people were listening, praying, watching and reading. It seemed like a
great place to go for reflection, meditation, learning, and thinking. It
had a great vibe. Upon exiting this inner sanctuary, we received a kind
of sweet couscous. It was given to us as a blessing from God. The Golden
Temple was a great experience that made for a delightful morning. I have
newfound respect for the Sikhs and a desire to learn more about them.
Just as we
were leaving, we saw Jeff walking up to the temple entrance. This was all
the incentive we needed to stay a little longer. We again strolled around
the outer walkway and I bought a few books about Sikhism that I look
forward to reading.
As mentioned
earlier, Jeff, Doug and Earle had become huge cricket fans, so on our way
back to the hotel we stopped to outfit Jeff with cricket equipment. We
had a great time shopping and learned some of the finer points of
salesmanship. However, we also learned that a successful shopping
experience requires a serious time commitment. The outfitting took over
90 minutes, and was not limited to the review of merchandise. In the
course of the deal, the store owner sat us down, bought us Cokes and told
us many stories about his family, particularly the cricket exploits of
his late son. Tears welled up in his eyes as he spoke of his son, for
whom the shop was named. He made such an impression on me that I owe him
the honor of thinking of him whenever I play cricket. This might sound a
bit sentimental and strange, but it was an experience, and a neat one at
that.
We returned
to the hotel, gathered up the sick crew, settled our bill and proceeded
to the border. The border stop was fairly uneventful, although quite long
(especially for Doug, who was barely keeping his cookies down). We had
some carnet troubles but after a while things were worked out.
This border
was not very busy. Probably the most exciting event was a truck that
couldn’t hold its cargo. A huge crate fell off the truck just as it was
squeezing through the border. This is just the sort of uncanny material
that makes a trip an experience; the sort of thing you would never dream
to plan for. We did not see or hear the accident. We just saw the large
and heavy crate where it had come to rest, blocking the entrance to
Pakistan. It was large enough to completely block the narrow gateway
between the two countries. It made us a bit nervous in light of our last
border crossing. The last thing we wanted to do was spend the night at
another border. People were working on the problem as we stood there in
disbelief at what laid before us. We knew we would face many obstacles on
this trip, and this was an obstacle in the most literal of senses. The
crate was finally moved out of the way with some clever uses of simple
machines.
In this
part of Pakistan, one of the most populated areas, driving was a madcap
adventure, complete and utter chaos. It seemed as though everyone was
looking for that narrow spot in which to pass or get around. You have to
be aggressive, defensive, and aware, all at the same time. Unfortunately,
I experienced a lapse of concentration somewhere and managed to tattoo
Alaska (the '62 Land Rover) with a yellow mark from a rickshaw. We got
lost finding our hotel in Lahore, but eventually made it to our
destination safe and sound. We contacted the American Consulate where we
are setting up a meeting to ensure our safety throughout Pakistan. We are
all tired so we are crashing out until tomorrow, which promises to be
another new and exciting day in Pakistan. This is Todd signing off.
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