Last stop Amritsar

Hi guys,

we spent our last week in Amritsar, which is located in the state of Punjab. The city actually has only one major highlight, the Golden Temple in the holy Amrit Sarovar. It was built in 1577 by the fourth Sikh Guru, Ram Das. To symbolize the openness of the Sikh religion, Guru Ram Das built four entrances in each direction, welcoming all religions to his temple. In Sikhism, there are 11 Gurus, with the 11th being the holy scripture called Guru Granth Sahib, which is located in this golden temple. Every morning, the scripture is carried into the temple and returned to the Akal Takht (Throne of the Timeless One) in the evening. One evening, we were privileged to witness the ceremony live. Another special feature of the temple is the huge kitchen. Every day, 50,000 visitors come to the temple to see it and to eat. The food is prepared by volunteer helpers. It is simple, but very delicious.

So we decided to lend a helping hand to the volunteers for a day. We started by spreading butter on the chapatis, then we cut chili peppers and garlic. After cutting, we washed the dirty plates, spoons, and cups. We met really nice people while doing all these tasks, who also wanted to help a bit. After 5 hours of hard work, we got hungry and had our meal in the temple, where else?

Since Amritsar is very close to the border with Pakistan, we decided to visit there and witness a border ceremony. We didn't know exactly what to expect, as we couldn't imagine much. In the end, the Indian and Pakistani soldiers put on a show with music, dance, and crazy movements as they lowered the flags of their respective countries in the evening. The whole atmosphere was quite crazy, as we were sitting in a stadium and the Indians wanted to cheer louder than the Pakistanis, but it was all in a peaceful spirit.

After a few hectic days in the big city, on our last day, we visited a small farming village near Amritsar. We went to a farm owned by a friend of the hostel and milked cows, rode bulls, and played Indian street games, which were a lot of fun. Not to mention, we all wore turbans.

Almost forgot about the Holi Festival on March 13, 2017. Some of you might know the festival where colorful powder is thrown into the air. The festival originates from India, where the Indians celebrate the beginning of spring according to the lunar calendar and to drive away the demon Holika. Sanjay (the hostel owner) organized some Holi spots where we could celebrate undisturbed, as there was no public place or event for it. We went to friends' or acquaintances' places to celebrate together, and it was a lot of fun. In the end, we all looked like a mess, covered in color, water, or rotten eggs (which was pretty disgusting). If you want to know exactly how it went, here's a little video about it: https://youtu.be/IgyEEzAEI6w

As already mentioned, our last week in India was definitely a great ending, with great people, good food, and a lot of fun.

By the way, we're flying to Myanmar on March 16, 2017, and I'm already looking forward to it.

Love, your Egger girls

Hi guys,

we spent our last week in Amritsar, which is located in the state of Punjab. The city actually has only one major highlight, the Golden Temple. It was built in 1577 by the fourth Sikh Guru, Ram Das. To symbolize the openness of the Sikh religion, Guru Ram Das built four entrances in each direction, welcoming all religions and people. The Sikhs have 11 Gurus, but the 11th is not a human being. It is the holy scripture known as Guru Granth Sahib. Every morning, the scripture is carried into the golden temple, and every evening, it is brought back to the Akal Takht. The temple also has a huge kitchen. Every day, 50,000 visitors come to the temple to see it and eat. The food is prepared by volunteer helpers. It is simple, but very delicious.

One day, we decided to lend a helping hand there. We started by spreading butter on the chapatis, then we cut chili peppers and garlic. After cutting, we washed the dirty plates, spoons, and cups. We met really nice people while doing all these tasks, who also wanted to help a bit. After 5 hours of hard work, we got hungry and (where else) had our meal at the temple.

Since Amritsar is very close to the border with Pakistan, we went there to watch a border ceremony. We didn't know exactly what to expect, as we couldn't imagine much. In the end, the Indian and Pakistani soldiers put on a show with music, dance, and crazy movements as they lowered the flags of their respective countries in the evening. The whole atmosphere was quite crazy, as we were sitting in a stadium and the Indians wanted to cheer louder than the Pakistanis, but it was all very peaceful.

I almost forgot about the Holi Festival on March 13, 2017. Some of you might be familiar with the festival where colorful powder is thrown into the air. The festival originated in India, where it is celebrated as the beginning of spring according to the lunar calendar and as a way to drive away the demon Holika. Sanjay (the hostel owner) organized a few Holi spots where we could celebrate without any disturbance, as there was no public place or event for it. We went to friends' or acquaintances' places to celebrate together, and it was a lot of fun. In the end, everyone looked like a mess, covered in color, water, or rotten eggs (which was quite disgusting). If you want to know exactly how it went, here's a short video: https://youtu.be/IgyEEzAEI6w

As I said, our last week in India was definitely a great ending, with great people, delicious food, and a lot of fun. We are actually flying to Myanmar on March 16, 2017, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Love, Luci & Klara