Train from Delhi to Amritsar....

Tuesday July 9, 2013

The railroad from New Delhi to Amritsar tells its own story of India.  We traveled for six hours and over hundreds of miles.  From Delhi on at the entry and exit point of each town we saw slum housing of black tarps, mud and remnants of building materials.  We entered an area suffering from heavy monsoons with people living in muddy, wet and warm conditions.  We followed rice fields the entire way with men and women in them sowing the rice.  Taking the train was one major hassle, but one that we wouldn't have missed.  It provided a lifetime of education in one six hour journey.  

Now we are in the Punjab State in the city of Amritsar http:// amritsarcity.org. We arrived for a very late lunch at another great hotel.  We had Asian noodle bowls which were a change of pace.  I've been sticking to a very strict vegetarian regime with no eggs or cheese, but baked yogurt is okay and very good with honey on it.  We aren't really supposed to eat fruit, but we are because the fruit at the hotel is too delicious to pass up. Some of the group have succumbed to the infamous Delhi Belly and they have almost quit eating entirely.  The rest of us are very wary outside the hotel as we don't want to miss the tours due to food related problems.  We are on our own for dinners and the hotel prices are high and we don't always know where to go for safe food.  The food from the street vendors looks good, especially the bread but we have to pass it by.  Last night we called it good with Sprite without ice at the Khan Market McDonalds.  In Amritsar we are right next to a mall, so there might be some possibilities.  We aren't going hungry because when we are served meals they are good sized.  We sweat so much during the day and try not to drink much so we don't have to use public restrooms.  At night we fill up quickly with a gallon of water and food isn't a pressing issue.  

Amritsar is the center of the Sikh religion which began in the 16th century and reached great heights in the 19th century under "the Lion of Punjab" who fought great battles and built a strong Sikh State.  Sikh land was in Pakistan and into parts of Afghanistan before the 1947 Partition of India into new nation states.  Late this afternoon we visited the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama, an exhibit chronicling Singh's life.  Tonight we are just resting, maybe a saunter through the mall.  Not as exciting as Old Delhi, but welcome.    Tomorrow The Golden