One Day in Amritsar – First Part Golden Temple

Good day! so after the long trip to go to Amritsar we had our rest and ready to start the day with Indian breakfast – pharata yums!:9 It was one bright morning perfect for city stroll. We divided the day whereby we will spend the first half to explore areas within Golden Temple, take a rest, then go to Wagah border. Once we finish our breakfast, we stay very near to golden temple so we could go by foot.

The city is very lovely. Well, you know India that i saw on tv or media weren’t shown during my stay over there though you could still hear all the honking. Haha i think that part of India authenticity that can’t be taken away. however, it might be due to the nature of the city it feels calming. Amritsar is one of the India holy city with Golden temple as its center of attention. We stay close so within just couple of minutes walk we could hear the chanting from the temple. Here have a look of it. 🙂

This temple is indeed such a beaut for the eyes. Before you enter you will need to take of your footware, wash your foot, and put a modest attire. It is a holy place so please be respectful. People go here for praying and there are places where you could dip into the pool. Separate place is provided for the woman. While i was there, there are quite number of people drawing the temple and it turned out they are actually students. If you see my picture there is a lane to get into the temple. It was so packed and i didn’t go in. being there at the edge of the pool is calming enough for me. I just like the serenity. lovely.

The temple is the center but we came here to experience something else too. So when we looked up about this place, they provide food for free to the visitors. So off we go. First you will be given plate and the eating utensils ( caution : if you don’t want to eat that much just take one plate and share with your friend.do not take separate plate ) then you go along with people movement to an open space where you will be instructed to sit on the floor within lane.

Once you seat, you could see that there are number of people gathered around to eat and there are alot of things happening at the same time. People eat, finish, go then the people ( from the temple i suppose ) do the cleaning. Good type of busy, efficient i would say.

Uh oh here comes our food.. First person come, i lift my plate but he asked me to put it on the floor then he gave me something yellowish like sweet potato. Second person come, i have no idea what is that but it looks like bean soup? Third person came, He gave me bread. You will get 2 bread by default but you could ask for more. Fourth person come, another bean soup? Fifth person will pour water for you to drink. So there we have a complete meal. It was good but taste foreign for us yet still eat up guys!

People eat very fast. When they finish, they take away their utensils and go out to the exit lane. Following the lane i found that first they will take your eating utensils, then plates. Again. very efficient. People then will pass your plates etc around ’till the end where they clean it. What an experience which i will recommend you to try on.

Having our stomach full, we decided to take another round and having a better look over the vicinity. btw, they provide drinking water in several spots so you don’t need to worry over your hydration. when we feel enough, we took our exit to come back to our hotel for a bit of rest before the second place – wagah border.

During our way back, you know what.. we found MCDONALDS. LOL. i suggested to go in so we got in for some AC. Oh dear it was blazing hot. We ordered some items to know the difference compare to the one in Indonesia. When i paid for it, i was so surprised because the price is quite low.

okay now, with an even more full stomach, we really need to get back to the hotel to get some rest. way between the hotel and the temple is quite vibrant with all people and the building. So here are some snaps so that you could get a gist of it.

as for the other half day in Amritsar, i will tell you on the next post. 🙂

Wish you were there enjoying all this with us.