We had our first horror train experience coming from Old Delhi train station to the Amritsar junction, but got here safely in the end! We accidentally booked a ticket on the notoriously bad train that is routinely delayed, so we ended up sitting in the Old Delhi (worst in Delhi) train station for seven hours (9pm - 4am) on a bench in the freezing cold, watching people relieve themselves onto the railway tracks. All announcements were in Hindi, so we had no idea which trains were at our station, and when ours would finally come. When we did get on the train, we were in the sleeping berths, which were disgusting, but really fun. It's a good thing we've come from Tanzania and are used to less than sanitary conditions so it didn't bother us much. Our beds were suspended from chains from the ceiling and we felt like we had been put in a jail cell. We shared the cabin with many people who helped us and bought us questionable food from the vendors walking up and down the train. We slept well until a drunk guy burst into tears at the policemen who had come to escort him off the train, and lurched into a long-winded account of his life story. Anyway,. we are now in Amritsar, at the border of Pakistan, and have been wandering around the street bazaars and having delicious mango lassis. The city is much nicer and more manageable than Delhi - less traffic and we're less rushed. This afternoon we will go to the border closing ceremony and last night we went to the Golden Temple and walked around the square with many Sikh devotees. It was an amazing sight to see it all lit up and surrounded by people praying, and we are looking forward to returning tomorrow to see it during the daytime.
No comments:
Post a Comment