After two weeks in Thailand, perhaps it's high time to write about
the last day we've had in India, which was quite hectic and left a
bitter taste that only now starts dissolving. This post is a bit of a
rant, so if you're not in the mood, just read the pictures :)
The
month spent in Dharamsala was great. A nice room with a big balcony and
mountain side view. Quiet and relaxing, unlike the main street 10
minutes walk up 234 steps that provided us with all the simple bear
necessities (read: feeding ground). Had it not been for the Indian 6
month visa running out, I'd have stayed there for a couple of months or
till the monsoon rains would chase me away. I managed to work well on
Colnect and introduce many important improvements at that time.
 |
| A denizen of Dharamsala contemplating the teachings on the Buddha |
 |
| View from our balcony |
 |
| The view from our room in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala |
A few days before leaving my SIM
card was blocked due to the infamous Indian bureaucracy countering
terrorism in some way I haven't yet deciphered. Yes, you can use your
SIM without verification for a month but then you're blocked if
verification fails. To me it seems any terrorist would find a month to
be enough time to buy a new SIM card that will work for an extra month.
But hey, I did learn not to challenge India with logic :)
 |
| Papaya-Banana - it's gonna catch on! :) |
The landlord where we stayed seemed like a very nice and relaxed
person but in the last days showed his ugly side very well when he got
pissed off at something. I could have said it was disappointing for me
to get such a lame and disgusting attitude from him but unfortunately it
appears that when it comes to money, the grand majority of Indians we
have come in contact with put money much above anything else. Courtesy,
honesty, kindness all come much lower when you potentially have lost a
few rupees. Oh well.
 |
| Amritsar's Golden Temple |
 |
| Amritsar's Golden Temple |
 |
Some people are not impressed with the normal sleeping floor outside the temple.
Probably more comfortable sleeping on marble in the hot midday. |
Leaving Dharamsala, we took nice
local buses to Amritsar and were there hosted for free (read:
donation-based) at the beautiful Golden Temple. The setup had 4 big
rooms connected by a corridor and beds all over the place. Windows were
non-existent and the ceiling fans were keeping the humidity in
circulation. It was cool relatively to the hot weather outside and
probably better than the free dorms offered to Indians which consisted
of a blanket on the courtyard's floor.
 |
The masses waiting to cheer for Hindustan
Notions of personal space known in the west should be forgotten in India |
There
was surely a good vibe in the dorms and we met some really nice people.
We eventually headed up with a few of them up to Waga border to watch
the infantile ceremony that India and Pakistan have been doing everyday
for a while now. It consists of funnily dressed guards doing ridiculous
supposedly-fearsome maneuvers at the other side. More amusing are the
crowds going wild cheering for their own country.
 |
| Ceremonial head gear of a Waga border guard |
 |
| Long hair, in whichever part of the body, means your country is the better one! Right? |
 |
India / Pakistan. As amusing as the whole charade is, don't forget they've
gone through some VERY BLOODY periods of hatred. |
More - in
Part 2... keep reading
No comments:
Post a Comment