Amritsar Calling

So we have been planning a trip to the North for a very long time. My partner wanted to visit the Golden Temple from the past 2 years but our work and lifestyle made us postpone the trip again and again. Until recently i.e. last year when she said that she wants to go to Golden Temple. Well, that was all the push I could take and I finally decided that we will be visiting Amritsar in January 2018. I booked the tickets (the return tickets were courtesy of Jet Airways where I used my JP miles to get the free tickets). The hotel was booked nearby Golden Temple as that was the main agenda of this visit. After all the bookings being made, we waited patiently for January to arrive.

On 14th January, we finally got on a flight to Amritsar. This was also the day for Sankranti festival. Mumbai was either which ways getting out of its cold spell and the day was pleasant. Our flight was on time and we boarded the direct flight to Amritsar. Clicked some pictures in the air.

Finally, after 2.25 hours, we landed at Amritsar. The scene outside was sunny. The horror-struck when we deplaned and were out in the sun. Though it was sunny, the breeze was actually cold. It was 19 Deg Celsius and we were wearing a Tshirt and jeans as it was not that cold in Mumbai. Anyways, we claimed our baggage and booked a Megacab from the Airport. Note: It is always best to travel this way rather than booking a cab prior to reaching. I did check the rates with a very well-known cab provider in Mumbai which also operates in Amritsar and their rates were really high for a few kilometers drive. With Megacabs, I got a sweet deal @25/km which was as per Govt approval in the state.

Hardly a 20 min drive and we were at Golden Tulip our hotel for the stay at Amritsar (I will be reviewing Golden Tulip separately on my blogs). We reached the room and I checked for some good place for lunch near-by. Well, that search ended up some few kilometers away from our hotel. We didn't bother to open the bags and get our jackets out yet. So we took this Cycle-Rik from our hotel to Alpha One Mall. The person riding this was in his mid-50s. The ride was bumpy at certain places and with we both getting too much attention. Possibly because when most of them were fully over clothed due to the weather. We were the only 2 people who were wearing a T-shirt and jeans. Or the second possibility would have been there though on the poor guy who was having to ride 2 healthy couple sitting on his cycle-rik. Either way, we will never know... lol

We had a good lunch and then did some shopping and returned to the hotel. In the late evening, we visited the Golden Temple by taking a Rik. We made sure we were properly clothed as well as over clothed as we knew the temperature would fall further at night.

Reached Golden Temple and was really awe-struck by the way it was maintained. So many volunteers ensuring that the premises are kept clean 24x7. The temple looked so serene with the lights. It had a glow of its own. Devotees were in queueing up for darshan. There were people from all walks of life who were in the queue. The entire process of standing in the queue to getting the darshan was around 1.5 hours due to Sankranti. We had a peaceful darshan and after spending some time in the temple premises we returned back to our hotel.

Next day we went for darshan in the morning and spent a great deal of time in the temple listening to the kirtan. It really has a calming effect on the mind and actually takes you to a different dimension where you find peace. Even if you want to worry about something you cant because of the serene environment. It makes you forget everything. Spent nearly half a day in the temple and then we had lunch in the langar served in one of the buildings in the temple premises.

Post that we rushed back to the hotel to get dressed and be on our way to Wagah Border to watch the famous Flag Retreat Ceremony. Reached the Attari border around 3:20 PM and we had to go through certain rounds of flashing our ID cards to enter and reach our designated spot.

Now, this, if you are in Amritsar, is something you should not miss. It is an experience of a lifetime and worth watching. The swag and style in which the BSF Jawans and the Pak Army carry out this ceremony is astounding. Just loved every bit of being at this place and watching it. Note: If you ever plan on experiencing it my take is you reach the place by 3:15 or 3:30 PM max. Post that it will become too crowded and you won't get a place of your choice to sit. The entire ceremony lasts for 1 to 1.5 hours.

Returned back to the hotel in the evening and then went to Katra for some shopping. Post-shopping returned to the hotel and went for an early dinner as we had plans of visiting the Golden Temple again at night for clicking some pictures. Spent around an hour in the temple premises and then at around 11 PM, we returned back to the hotel to pack our stuff as we had an early morning flight to catch.

We got up in the morning got ready and had our breakfast and were ready to leave by 8:30 AM. It was heavily fogged and we doubted that the flight would be delayed due to the weather conditions. We finally took off from Amritsar at 11:30 AM to Delhi where our connecting flight was further delayed and finally reached Mumbai at 4:15 PM.