First Starbucks coffee - do not understand the hype??

My third Indian adventure was different from the first two for a few reasons, mainly because I embarked on my journey having had an extremely stressful 2017, and so my mind-set was completely different this time round.  I believe that everyone needs stress to survive – I certainly do – but like everything in life, too much of anything is never good.

That being said, as we all know, it’s easy to get carried away by all the bad stuff, so I’ve decided that instead of harping on that, I will mention the good stuff and the angels in my life that kept me going.  In the midst of the worst year ever, I managed to pass the Master TESOL course with merit – YAY me!!  Thanks to Sam Ferreira, my teacher at Better You Training School, I kept my head above water and didn’t lose the plot.  Of course, my winged angel Schnukie, who I know I cannot live without – if I didn’t have her to go home to every day, my cheese would have slipped off my cracker ages ago.  At work, Chantille was an incredible support – oh my word, have we been through some tough times, and had to swallow some nasty experiences/behaviour!!!!  Lorraine, you beauty, thanks big sister for coming to my rescue and taking such good care of my SchnuNoo.  Last, but by no means least, my niece Diana, whose regular phone calls are always a source of joy, and never fail to boost my spirits.

I decided at the beginning of 2017 that I wanted to visit my friends in India during December 17/January 18 – all good you say – hah!!!!!  Almost immediately my life blew up in my face, and by the end of 2017 I was on the verge cancelling my plans.  Add to this the fact that after I had made flight bookings, etc., I was told that Kiddo’s younger sister was getting married in March 2018 and I was invited – the answer “no” was not acceptable.  I’m afraid when you travel cattle class, cancellations or changes mean no refunds.  By this time it felt an awful lot like the Universe was frantically trying to tell me to give it a miss.

I didn’t.  On the 9^th December 2017, for better or worse, I started my 3^rd trip to India.  Everything about this trip was going to be different.  I wasn’t going for any function or festival, and I would be visiting a few new places along the way.  I also left a great deal of the arranging up to my friend Himmat, and so didn’t have a detailed itinerary – OMG, so “devil may care”.  The trip, as always, was long and cramped.  I cannot believe how many people are crammed together in one aeroplane – one row now seats 10 people!

It took 4 flights to get me to my first destination.  I flew from East London to Cape Town to Dubai to Delhi to Amritsar……..whew!  The biggest surprise for me was how busy the Dubai airport is.  It is crazy.  When you’re walking through the airport and it’s teaming with people, it feels strange to think that it’s the middle of the night.  True to form I was dying for a cup of coffee, and so my first cup of Starbucks coffee was had……I was not impressed, but when you’ve been travelling for a million hours, fussy is not the way to go.

I did not see Dubai and I did not see Delhi……I saw airports, and I am very happy to say that my layovers were very reasonable this time round.  I arrived in Amritsar on Sunday 10^th December at around 3pm (bear in mind that India is 3 and half hours ahead of South Africa). Himmat was there to meet me and it was really good to see an old friend - it felt a bit like coming home.  The first stop was the hotel – I was in desperate need of a shower and fresh clothes.

The street housing my hotel in Amritsar

I had only ever visited Rajasthan before and was surprised at how different everything felt in this new place.  I’ve thought about it a lot and can’t quite put my finger on what it is that is so different.  It is probably much the same feeling you get from one Province to another in South Africa – all the same, but oh so different.

The cold weather took me by surprise.  I had packed a thin jacket  that wasn’t nearly enough – yes, I was in India and feeling cold!!!  What made the temperature drop even more was the fact that it was raining.  My hot flushes were not going to save me from this……..isn’t life grand!

The first sight I was privileged to see was the Golden Temple.  For those who don’t know, Amritsar is a city in the state of Punjab, and the Golden Temple is the holiest religious complex of the Sikh religion.  Doesn’t that sound so cool? J.  Ever since seeing the movie The English Patient, I have wanted to see a real Sikh, and in Amritsar my wish came true. The temple is beautiful and the set-up around the temple is remarkable.  Apart from the vast number of foreign tourists, Indian people travel from far and wide to visit the temple.  Meals are provided on the premises for anyone who wants to partake. There is a tranquil atmosphere in and around the temple, that I have experienced at every religious structure I have visited in India, regardless of the number of people visiting.  Lack of respect is not tolerated.  There are guards who make sure that everyone adheres to the rules/protocol – thousands upon thousands of tourists, both Indian and foreign visit daily.  Everyone has to cover their head, and makeshift scarves are provided – covering your head with the hood attached to your hoody is not allowed.  Shoes have to be removed, as is the case in all temples and places of worship that I have visited.  I’m sure I have mentioned this before, but the number of shoes at the entrance always makes me smile.  At the Golden Temple, feet have to be washed by walking through a shallow pool of water before entering – yup, my feet were like ice – reminded me of my swimming days.

 As you can see from the pictures, the temple at night is breathtaking.  The lights bounce off the water and the golden structure, which creates an incredible sight.  Make no mistake, it is beautiful in daylight too, but just like a Christmas tree, the lights add that special something.  Not being religious myself, I am always amazed by the absolute dedication and faith that I see when visiting India.  The queue to get into the Golden temple speaks volumes.

On a lighter note, I do love a man in a turban, so being on Sikh turf, I had a smorgasbord to feast my eyes upon.  Even in Rajasthan, the turbans come out for wedding season.

By this time I was knackered.  I had blistered feet and an empty tummy.  So, we had a yummy dinner and had a much needed good night’s sleep......... Good grief, one day gone already.....

Statues at the site of the massacre

The next morning after breakfast, we set out to see more of the sights.  Little did I know, this was going to be an emotional day – I’ll explain as we go along.  Our first stop was a memorial sight of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre which took place on 13 April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army, under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer, fired rifles into a crowd of Baishakhi pilgrims, who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh. The civilians, in the majority Sikhs, had assembled to participate in the annual Baisakhi celebrations, a religious and cultural festival for Punjabi people and also to condemn the arrest and deportation of two national leaders, Satya Pal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew. Coming from outside the city, many may have been unaware of the imposition of martial law.

The Jallianwalla Bagh is a public garden of 6 to 7 acres (28,000 m²), walled on all sides with five entrances.  To enter, troops first blocked the entry with a tank and locked the exit. On Dyer's orders, his troops fired on the crowd for ten minutes, directing their bullets largely towards the few open gates through which people were trying to flee.  The British Government released figures stating 379 dead and 1,200 wounded.  Other sources place the number of dead at well over 1,000.  This "brutality stunned the entire nation”, resulting in a "wrenching loss of faith" of the general public in the intentions of the UK.  The ineffective inquiry and the initial accolades for Dyer by the House of Lords fuelled widespread anger, leading to the Non-cooperation Movement of 1920–22.

Yes, I know I’ve gone on a bit, but you have to understand what you’re looking at when you see the pictures.  This is where I started to feel really emotional.  I suppose the events of the year bubbled to the surface and images that would undoubtedly have saddened me before, really packed a punch.

Not only are there statues, but all the damage done by the bullets has been left, and I was told that many people tried to hide in the well.  Most, if not all of them drowned or were shot at from above.  I cannot imagine myself pointing a gun into a well filled with people screaming and struggling for their lives, and then opening fire.  The sad thing is that this is happening all over the world.  Switch on the television or look at social media and it’s crammed with hatred and intolerance.

From this site, we returned to the Golden Temple where my spirits lifted substantially.  Because of the cloudy, wet weather, I didn’t get to see the temple in sunlight, but it is beautiful and tranquil no matter what.