Sunday, June 30, 2013

Trip to Amritsar - Part 1

After a long wait and eagerness, our trip to Amritsar was finalized. Early morning sun was our witness to the forthcoming lovely vacation that we were ready to experience. Our journey started with a fun filled Shatabdi train ride from Delhi to Amritsar.

Let me take you through our journey, not in words, but in a visual treat...

When we reached Amritsar in the afternoon, our drive was waiting for us for a quick lunch and some local sightseeing.

Amritsar is a nice city with a rich historical background and intense Wheat farms.

After lunch, our first stop was The Golden Temple. It's like a big beautiful scenery.  A shining golden temple gracefully stood behind holy Amrit sarovar.  It's a pleasant surprise to see so many fishes in this lovely Sarovar.


Hot tea being served at the langar. For those who don't know, Langar is a free food service being provided by the Sikh community at Gurudwaras, for everyone and anyone. This service is available 24 hours at The Golden Temple.

Family sipping in some hot tea.

I want to share a wonderful experience with you all. We were lucky enough to see an automatic Roti maker. I want to show you some pictures for better understanding of the process.




Isn't amazing.. ?????

Our next morning began with a hearty 'Punjabi Style' breakfast, of Amritsari naan and chilled yummy Lassi... with awesome cloudy sky. 

The sightseeing began with our next stop to be The Jallianwala Bagh. Standing in this compound we had a mixed feeling of Pride and Pain.  A big salute to our brave soldiers and citizens , for making us feel proud on me an Indian and a part of this country. This reminded me of a  famous song " Ay mere vatan ke logo zara aankh me bhar lo pani, Jo shaheed hue hain unki zara yaad karo kurbani......"

These bullet marks remind us of the tragic incident which killed hundreds of innocent people, including ladies and small children. :(


The only entrance to this lawn, which was blocked by General Dyer and his soldiers which left no escape option for the innocent people who lost their lives.


The Martyr's well, where hundreds of people jumped into, trying to save their lives.
We left Jallianwala bagh  with heavy heart and wet eyes and traveled towards our next destination,  Sheesh Mahal temple.


                               

 This  temple is indeed a Mirror paradise, and is decorated with Mahavirji paintings and a huge statue of  sleeping Gautam Budha.


Our next destination was  Wagah Border

             Wagah Border is an army outpost between the cities of Amritsar and  Lahore on Indo- Pak border.

 After  crossing so many security checks, we finally made it to the Swarna Jayanthi gate.



 Main attraction of Wagah Border is its "Beating the Retreat" ceremony.


This ceremony takes place everyday in the morning, after sunrise, and in the evening, before the sunset. As per the international rules of hoisting a flag, only when the sun is up, the army men of both India and Pakistan bring down their respective flags, shake hands and present an adrenaline event for their citizens.


  
 The moment made us proud on our soldiers and our HINDUSTAN. 
We were carried away by the stream of patriotism.
So guys this was our trip to Amritsar!
Hope you like
Until next post
"SAYONARA"