We (Heather, James, Megan, Tim & myself) took the Shatabdi Express train from Delhi. The train ride was comfortable; this was my first time on an Indian train. They kept serving us food on the train - I think we must've gotten some sort of an eatable treat every hour and a half or so.
Like many countries, India also has a railway community - people that are permanent residents of railway stations all over India. For this community, the station is much more than a transit point, a final destination; it is home. My pictures below don't do the real scenery a justice. This reminded me of one of my all-time favorite movies Youssef Chahine's Cairo Station (Bab al-Hadid - باب الحديد).
We made it into Amritsar pretty late, around 1:30am or so. So, we went straight to our hotel, which was conveniently located a few blocks from the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib). Outside of our hotel:
Above a typical merchant's house - the architectural integrety is still intact, but the house is fairly run-down and is now, from what I saw, is used as a community house.
On Saturday morning after grabbing a quick bite to eat, we made our way to the Golden Temple.
(My breakfast)
The Golden Temple is absolutely magnificent and not just in an aesthetic way, but I think what fascinated me the most was how representative if a continuum of life.
Some devotees believe that their visit to the temple remains incomplete without bathing at this spot. So, it has become a custom to stop and bath here for any kind of healing.
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