Srinagar - Amritsar (25rd June 2006)
25rd June 2006Start Trip Meter: 2565.4 km
End Trip Meter: 3048.0 km
Route: Srinagar-Jammu-Pathankot-Amritsar
Stay & Cost: Free Langar Food, And open air bedroom in Guru Arjun Singh guest house Golden Temple
So I wake up at 5 AM and board my bike and check air pressure.. for a change it was unbelievably lot at 30 psi.
I have no option to ride to the nearest Air shop. Being this early in the morning, I pass some time at dal lake.
Dal lake is amazingly beautiful in the morning.
Sringar is so peaceful in the morning with all the tired terrorists of Kashmir sleeping after unleashing havoc the previous day..LOL!
So ditch breakfast and buy some of the best Acrots for 100 bucks a kilo. That’s my breakfast and lunch for the whole day.
One major attraction was the Banihal Tunnel, commonly called the Jawar Tunnel. This tunnel is just above 2.5 kilometers. I was trying to photograph the tunnel, and two security men stopped me from doing it.
I reach Jammu in the afternoon Jammu is very hot and without taking much of a break, I rush to pathankot and do a night ride into amritsar.
At amritsar I locate the golden temple, deposit my saddle bag and shoes into the golden temple cloak room. And go to the Guru Arjun Singh guest house. There are no rooms.. Specially for a single guy. So they ask me where am I from, I say Bangalore. Considering me safe, they allow me to sleep inside in the open sky.
The hostel complex is flooded with pictures of thieves. A thief on the prowl is attempting to rob someone. And the alert guards with spears catch hold him. The thief is escorted into a special room and all I hear is sound of lashes and shrieks of the thief. I wonder why some one would come over to a holy place like this to rob men and women of unshakable faith.
In the Golden Temple, you need to cover your head with a cloth.. Even the cloth is given by the authorities for free. So I cover my head with a cloth and go to the Langar. According to custom, you have to receive the bread (Rotis) with both your hands. And he throws it into the receiving hands with force.
So I have the holy food in the Langar (Langar means free kitchen). And go to sleep in my sleeping bag. I remember that I was so happy to sleep there and I have a sound sleep.
posted by Adarsh @ 7/07/2006 11:34:00 PM
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