I recently returned from a whirlwind trip to Delhi and Amritsar, mostly to see family but also to do some shopping and touristing. A summary of 2 days / 1 night in Amritsar:
Low-cost flights are available on Jetlite and IndiGo - we flew in and went straight to our hotel, the Golden Tulip. The location is excellent - about 15 minutes to the Golden Temple. I'm told that they'll offer shuttle service to the temple by 2012, but until then it's easy to hire a taxi (the hotel can arrange one) or hop in a three-wheeler. For the price, you can't beat the location - and included breakfast - but we found the walls a bit thin, the shoeshine machine down the hall a bit loud, and the staff - although friendly - a bit forgetful. For a higher end experience, the Ista is pure luxury but if you're on a budget, the Tulip is a good option.
Before heading to the temple though, we hit the shops. Amritsar is a great place for juttis and beautiful hand-embroidered fabrics, and we started by spending a very intense hour at Raunak Juttis. I planned on just looking but before I knew it, I had a bagful of new shoes. Afterwards, it was on to the fabric stores for North Indian and Pakistani fabrics where I discovered my new favorite fabric design, phulkari.
Lunchtime meant specialties from Kesar Dhaba, for North Indian food: ghee- and oil-laden palak paneer, chole, and crispy, hot, masala kulchas. Dessert was a cooling fruit cream - heavy cream, ice, and fruit all whipped together for a sweet treat. Despite my longing for a post-feast nap, we set off for the Wagah Border to see the daily "changing of the guards" ceremony, basically a hyped-up pep rally pitting the Pakistanis against the Indians in a spirit contest. The car dropped us off about .75 miles from the gate, so we walked the rest of the way among the crowds. After a quick security check and long walk, we were guided to our seats and watched as the rest of the viewing gallery filled up. For the next hour, we were entertained by people running the Indian flag up to the gate and back, dancing in the streets to Bollywood music, and border guards high-kicking.
The India side of the border was completely full with about 50,000 attendees, facing approximately 50 spectators on the Pakistani side - naturally it was a lot louder on our side of the gate. Note that foreigners sit in a separate, front row section. I'm told if you flash your passport, you too can join the group with the prime seats. After a quick handshake across the gate, a bus crossing, and a beautiful sunset, the ceremony was over and it was every man/woman/child for himself as the masses headed back to town. We were exhausted by the heat, crowds, and noise, so headed back to the hotel for a rest. The plan: off to the temple in the early morning for the 4:30 am kirtan... and to watch the temple at sunrise.
The morning was spent watching the sun rise over the sparkling Golden Temple. Watching it at night, and again early in the morning actually took my breath away. We made sure to drop our shoes outside, wash our feet in the water on the way in, and then buy a plate of prasad. Luckily, it wasn't too crowded (although the crowd still shoved a good bit, as they do), so we went inside, walked around, and came back out in less than 30 minutes.
After a sweet, hot cup of chai at the langar - an amazing facility where volunteers serve copious amounts of delicious free food - we headed back to the hotel for breakfast and a nap. The last thing we did before getting on the plane home was eat more masala kulchas, at a (highly recommended, although nameless) dhaba across the street from the Best Western. Oh yeah, and take a couple of hot kulchas to go with us for our family in Delhi - that is, if we could resist digging into them on the flight over. All in all, 2 full and perfect days spent taking in Amritsar, and just some of what Punjab has to offer.
Low-cost flights are available on Jetlite and IndiGo - we flew in and went straight to our hotel, the Golden Tulip. The location is excellent - about 15 minutes to the Golden Temple. I'm told that they'll offer shuttle service to the temple by 2012, but until then it's easy to hire a taxi (the hotel can arrange one) or hop in a three-wheeler. For the price, you can't beat the location - and included breakfast - but we found the walls a bit thin, the shoeshine machine down the hall a bit loud, and the staff - although friendly - a bit forgetful. For a higher end experience, the Ista is pure luxury but if you're on a budget, the Tulip is a good option.
Lunchtime meant specialties from Kesar Dhaba, for North Indian food: ghee- and oil-laden palak paneer, chole, and crispy, hot, masala kulchas. Dessert was a cooling fruit cream - heavy cream, ice, and fruit all whipped together for a sweet treat. Despite my longing for a post-feast nap, we set off for the Wagah Border to see the daily "changing of the guards" ceremony, basically a hyped-up pep rally pitting the Pakistanis against the Indians in a spirit contest. The car dropped us off about .75 miles from the gate, so we walked the rest of the way among the crowds. After a quick security check and long walk, we were guided to our seats and watched as the rest of the viewing gallery filled up. For the next hour, we were entertained by people running the Indian flag up to the gate and back, dancing in the streets to Bollywood music, and border guards high-kicking.
The morning was spent watching the sun rise over the sparkling Golden Temple. Watching it at night, and again early in the morning actually took my breath away. We made sure to drop our shoes outside, wash our feet in the water on the way in, and then buy a plate of prasad. Luckily, it wasn't too crowded (although the crowd still shoved a good bit, as they do), so we went inside, walked around, and came back out in less than 30 minutes.
After a sweet, hot cup of chai at the langar - an amazing facility where volunteers serve copious amounts of delicious free food - we headed back to the hotel for breakfast and a nap. The last thing we did before getting on the plane home was eat more masala kulchas, at a (highly recommended, although nameless) dhaba across the street from the Best Western. Oh yeah, and take a couple of hot kulchas to go with us for our family in Delhi - that is, if we could resist digging into them on the flight over. All in all, 2 full and perfect days spent taking in Amritsar, and just some of what Punjab has to offer.
now THAT is a weekend getaway. emphasis on away.
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