Aug. 20, 2009

Hi all,

Greetings from Amritsar! Pete and I are up at the Golden Temple, which is the holiest site for Sikhs. We are leaving tomorrow to wrap up my final few days in India. So, where have we been? ...

Our parents came to India on Aug. 7 to 1) see Pete and 2) visit my Mom's friend Hansa, who has been our connection to the ashram in Delhi. Hansa has had the most incredible life and she is very giving, thoughtful and tough -- a good combination to have in India. Hansa, who is Indian, grew up in Kenya and was living in Uganda with her husband and two children (with two more on the way) when Idi Amin came to power. Because she was a U.K. citizen, Hansa and the children were able to flee to a refugee camp in London and eventually made their way to Chicago, where she was reunited with her husband. They went on to own several motels in South Bend, Indiana and now she lives in an ashram in India. She and my Mom have known each other for 35 years so they were very excited to be reunited in India. The first two days of the trip were spent getting used to India -- the heat, the bargaining and the crowds. Pete took all of us on a walk through Old Delhi, which started off well enough but sort of went down hill once the heat got to us and we took a turn down the way of all the butcher shops. Disgusting. The highlight was ... wait for it ... a bowl-full of brains. Yep, I went there.

The four of us flew to Udaipur for a tour through the desert of Rajasthan. The plane -- complete with propellers on the wings -- was just large enough for 12 1/2 rows of seats and was not equipped with air conditioning. However, beyond that, the trip was luxurious, especially compared to the mice-infested hostels with cold water and no electricity that Pete and I have learned to call home. We had a driver take us from Udaipur to Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Jaipur and Agra and at each stop we had a guide to take us through the former palaces and forts of the maharajas. We also got the chance to ride elephants and camels. The camel ride was in Jaisalmer, which is very close to Pakistan. As we headed out for the trip, our guide announced, "We will now drive 45 kilometers toward our most friendly neighbor, Pakistan. This will be the closest day of your life to bin Laden." Well, I certainly hope so.

In Agra, we saw the Taj Mahal with our guide Vinnie. Vinnie tried to sell us marble and gem stones the whole time ("You must see how they cut marble! It's incredible!"). What was further annoying, at least to me, was that he kept talking and kept us from actually seeing one of the Seven Wonders of the World! First, let's stand outside the gate for 15 minutes and hear all about ... who knows what. Then, once we actually go inside the complex, he had us stand there and talked on for another 20 minutes ("Shah Jahan loved his wife, more than any of us could love someone. Do you know how much he loved her? When she died, he built the Taj Mahal so people could remember their love. Do you see the Taj Mahal behind me? That's what he built for her when she died because he loved her so much.") Luckily, Vinnie released us from his captivating tales just in time to tour the actual site in the pouring rain. Needless to say, it is beautiful.

Following the 10-day tour, Mom and Dad flew back to Chicago and Pete and I took the train to Amritsar. The Golden Temple is unlike any place I have ever been. The temple is surrounded by a man-made lake and marble complex. Foreign tourists are allowed to stay on site in a hostel, for free. Pete and I have been sharing a room with a poor, yacht-selling German who said he once knew a man from Chicago but that was 20 years ago. Good story dude! So, let's say you are hungry and want to eat lunch at the Golden Temple. First, you must be barefoot and your head must be covered with a turban, scarf or bandanna. Then, you head to the dining room where volunteers -- everyone here is a volunteer and everything is free -- feed 10,000 people a day. It is intense. On the way into the dining facility, you collect a plate, metal bowl and spoon. Once inside, everyone sits on thin, narrow sheets on the floor. More volunteers come by with buckets of lentils, potatoes and bread. Everything, for the most part, is eaten with your hands ... and very quickly. Everyone is done within 10-15 minutes, at which point a small zamboni-looking machine comes in to clean the floor. It is just a sea of people.

The other big thing to do in Amritsar is to go to the Pakistani border and watch the guards take down the Indian and Pakistani flags for the evening. When Pete first mentioned this activity I thought it did not sound like the best idea. You want me to go up to Pakistan? Yeah right. But, you only live once so off to the border we went with a group from the hostel. We were on a empty road that was bumpy and kind of dusty when we finally came up to what can best be described as a carnival-like atmosphere. Vendors were selling balloons, popcorn and fruit. Other guys had Indian flags, visors, wristbands. This was a MAJOR event. There were 2,000 to 3,000 people. Everyone walks down the road leading out of India ("Kindly visit again") to a makeshift security checkpoint. Then, as you get to the actual border, there are permanent concrete bleachers like you would find for a football match. Tourists get to sit in the VIP section. Similar seating is set up on the Pakistan side and the actual border is divided by two ornate fences. The whole thing was like a football match with vendors hawking sodas in the stands and a MC pumping up the crowd. Bollywood music blasted through loudspeakers as women danced in the middle of the road. There were also flag races. Ok, so as the sun started to set the main event took place. Guards on both sides of the fences would goosestep and march up to the other side like a competition. The Indian guards had helmets that were fashioned with mohawks and pants that were too short. They wore them with white socks and black shoes for a Michael Jackson-like appearance. Finally, after all of the guards have done their little dance, the Indian and Pakistan flags were lowered for the night and all the Indians rushed the road for a glimpse into Pakistan, which was visible through the open fence. It was so incredibly bizarre.

We're off tomorrow for what I hope will be an uneventful few days. On Wednesday, I will fly to London and Pete will ... well, we'll have to wait and see.

Love, Alice