The gate dividing India and Pakistan

Our next stop, the India/Pakistan border.  The lowering of the flags ceremony at the Wagah border is a daily military practice that the security forces of India (Border Security Force, BSF) and Pakistan (Pakistan Rangers) have jointly followed since 1959.  The drill is characterized by elaborate and rapid manoeuvres, which have been described as “colourful”.  It is alternatively a symbol of the two countries’ rivalry, as well as brotherhood and cooperation between the two nations.  The first thing I heard was the deafeningly loud music - I imagine this is done in an attempt to drown out the chanting/jibing/jeering from the Pakistan side.  There is a grand stand on either side of the border as well.  I am in awe of the Patriotism I’ve witnessed in India, and the weather certainly didn’t put a damper on it.  As the grand stand filled up on both sides and the chanting/jibing/jeering began.  The ceremony got into full swing when the cheerleader (yes, they have a cheerleader) started doing his thing, leading the cheering.  Any ladies/girls that wanted to dance could stand in front of the crowd and do so.  I resisted on this occasion purely because I had so many emotions making my head swirl.

I found myself welling up several times, and even though this ceremony is not all about rivalry, I couldn’t help feeling sad.  I’m sure that if I were in a less stressed-out frame of mind, I would have felt completely different.  As it was, I felt like I was looking at an example of all that was wrong in the world, and it upset me.  I was wrong.  As I type this and look back on the experience, I feel completely different.  This is how differences should be dealt with – sure, they don’t get on, but each side gets to jeer and taunt and show how much they love their individual countries, in a controlled environment - it'  s really rather beautiful.  Many Pakistanis live peacefully in India.  At the same times every day, their calls to prayer bear witness to this.

View from the train

It was time to leave.....our next stop was Varanasi and we had a train to catch.  Thankfully the rain had taken a break and a few stalls had opened up.  I was able to buy a couple of much needed shawls to keep out the cold.

It was going to take 24 hours by train to get to Varanasi.  This would be a new experience for me.  Even though I had travelled by train a few times, this was going to be a really long trip.  As with air travel, it is always a good thing if your travel companions are nice.  I shared a compartment with an elderly lady who is well travelled.  Unfortunately, I don’t speak Hindi but Himmat was able to tell me a few things about her.  We had such good egg Biryani that night for dinner, and even though the bottom bunk had been allocated to me, I gave it up for another traveller who would never have made it to the top bunk (aren’t I just saintly J).

I met two English travellers on this trip, a father and his daughter (Jonathan and Kym) who had been travelling for some time.  The following morning Jonathan paid me a visit and asked me to join him and Kym for tea later on.  How cute is that!  I accepted the invitation and joined them for tea and biscuits at around 4pm.  It wasn’t long after that that we arrived at Varanasi station.  Naturally Himmat had to help them into a tuk tuk, and once they were on their way, we could find our own transport and head to our hotel.

Thought I would share a couple of things I learned about train travel in India: The Indian toilets are definitely better to use than the Western ones.  Trains sway when they are moving, and so did I when trying to sit on the toilet seat.  There is no hand rail so you go with the flow - oh yes, doesn't it conjure up a really funny picture in your mind.  I got the giggles as I always do in these situations, so staying on the toilet got really tricky.  The Indian toilet is equipped with a hand rail, so it was a doddle using those facilities.

Another valuable lesson is that you need to pay attention when buying chips, or any other nibbles.  Lays chips in India are not the same as they are in South Africa.  The packets look the same, but I soon started scrutinising the flavour names because they are not the same, and in many instances, obviously I suppose, they are VERY spicy.