We travelled by bus from McLeod Ganj to Amritsar, a journey taking some
8 hours and using 4 separate buses. The first bus, from McLeod Ganj to
Pathankot, is shown here in the town square at McLeod Ganj.
The main reason for going to Amritsar - the fabulous Sikh Golden Temple.
It is well worth making the effort to see the temple at sunset and sunrise,
as we did. Even on a relatively dull day, it was still an extremely
impressive sight. The gold leaf covering is currently being restored,
primarily with money donated by the Sikh community in Birmingham, England.
The golden temple itself is in the middle of a rectangular lake surrounded
on all four sides by temple buildings, with a walkway out to the main
temple building itself.
The Sikhs have a tradition of offering hospitality. It is possible to stay
at the temple, and also to eat there. We found the enormous kitchens at the
back of the temple, and were invited in by the very friendly workers there
to photograph the preparation of the food. Just check out the size of those
cooking pots!
Just a five minute walk from the Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh is a garden
infamous as the scene of a massacre in 1919 - some 3,000 Indians were shot at
by British troops, and over 1,500 killed. This monument has been erected in
the gardens, and sections of the site have been preserved as they were on
that fateful day, which many historians regard as a key turning point in
India's struggle for freedom and independence from the British Empire.
