Amritsar - Punjab

It's just after 9 pm and the train is slowly entering Haridwar station. I quickly found my seat again. And after about 15 minutes, it started moving.

After being asked the usual questions by those around me. My name, where I come from, or what I do. I did the same, I set up my night camp and slowly, peace settled in and the lights in the wagon went out. When I woke up, it was just after 6 o'clock and it was getting dark outside. There was a buzz around me, everyone was packing their things. I freshened up and did the same, sat down by the window and wanted to enjoy the remaining travel time relaxed. Soon after, the train slowly entered a station, suddenly I read "Amritsar Junction" Oh, we're already there and 15 minutes earlier than planned.

So I took a rickshaw to the old town again, which had just awakened. Same at the hostel, the door was locked and the staff were sleeping on the floor behind the reception. Someone passing by noticed me standing there and waiting, he knocked on the door until they woke up inside.

Right next door, in sight, was the landmark of the city, the "Golden Temple", the center of the Sikhs. This is again an incredibly large complex with four entrances from all directions and a large rectangular embankment in the middle of which is the Golden Temple.

From here I strolled through the very narrow market streets. Suddenly nothing was moving at some intersection. Rickshaws, bicycle rickshaws, and mopeds squeezed themselves from all sides and literally got tangled up. I bought a sweet dish, a kind of rice pudding with a silver leaf on top that you could simply eat (delicious). While eating, I continued to watch the traffic jam spectacle. A wild shouting broke out from all sides. What a show, magnificent! After about 10 minutes, it dissolved and everything returned to its normal course. And I could continue my walk.

In the early afternoon, I got into a conversation with a very pleasant Sikh and his wife (who has studied in Germany at some point). And he suggested that I go to the border with Pakistan, which is 30 km away, in the afternoon. There, the same ceremony takes place every evening around 6 pm. Indian and Pakistani military face each other and demonstrate their strength. And at the end of each evening, the border is closed and the flags are lowered. The whole thing is a mixture of a football stadium, a concert, and Bollywood. Where the masses are heated up in the stadiums built specifically for this purpose, one on the Indian side and one on the Pakistani side.

It is worth mentioning the journey there (one hour each way). We were twelve people in the rickshaw!!! Unbelievable, but anything is possible.