JUNE 21
Wokay… so a hectic day we thought we should get a bit of respite..sadly no…bt cant complaint ; tourists shuld c the entire sing in a matter of 3 days… hence they took us to one of a kind jewel manufacturing company.. nw tht sounds very exciting :-/ I thought.. so we 4 guys decided we were goin to just wander about in the streets bcos quite frankly thr r much better things to b done than look at machine cut bangles , ear rings…. So we went out nd started walkin through a small cut road nd reached a main road to our DELIGHT it was the showroom hub of all high end car manufacturers.. there were showroom rite from KIA to Rolls Royce… we went into a Porsche , Ferrari and Lamborghini showroom.. we tld the that we wanted tot tak a look nd thy allowed to our surprise!!! The touch of a red 575.. the smell of a 911 and just the mere presence of a yellow Gallardo… made us feel lik millionaires…. Serious bit of machines these … sadly thy didn’t allow photography except for Porsche… nice receptionist tht chinky female :P!!! nyway .. after the entire lot we dared to go into the rolls Royce showroom.. nd the person hu was stationed to open the door very politely “ pleaded our indulgence to refrain from entering the showroom owing to our casual attire” … obviously floaters , jeans nd t-shirts aren’t the gen attire of serious customers… U NEED TO B FORMALLY DRESSED TO GET IN !!! so dispp .. we stood outside the showroom nd gaped at the beautiful phantom with the precisely machined flying lady …. So with a mixed bag of emotion.. we reached the bus nd to our next destination.. JURONG BIRD PARK.. the greatest thing of this apart from the usual bird sanctuary was the fact tht there was a PENGUIN exhibit!!!! The temp inside the glass was sub zero nd temp outside the galss enclosure was close to 4-5 dec…. I was seein live penguins without being to antartica.. which was pretty exciting!!! Plus there was this entire enclosure with a net above the entire thing nd a live habitat of small birds around.. so som would evn com nd sit near u unless u move fast nd scarethem away…. This was pretty nice we could feed som grains to colorful parrots.. cool!! Plus the bird show with parrots , geese, hornbills, flamingoes etc was quite a nice spectacle….
After the park the evening was off for us to go shopping nd just a gen roamin abt in singapore!!! Nd we jst went around in taxis nd after gaping a for a long tym cam bak to the hotel nd tucked in.. tom were scheduled to leav sing for Malaysia in a bus..
SO Malaysia here we com !!
Friday, December 11, 2009
DAY 7
JUNE 21
Wokay… so a hectic day we thought we should get a bit of respite..sadly no…bt cant complaint ; tourists shuld c the entire sing in a matter of 3 days… hence they took us to one of a kind jewel manufacturing company.. nw tht sounds very exciting :-/ I thought.. so we 4 guys decided we were goin to just wander about in the streets bcos quite frankly thr r much better things to b done than look at machine cut bangles , ear rings…. So we went out nd started walkin through a small cut road nd reached a main road to our DELIGHT it was the showroom hub of all high end car manufacturers.. there were showroom rite from KIA to Rolls Royce… we went into a Porsche , Ferrari and Lamborghini showroom.. we tld the that we wanted tot tak a look nd thy allowed to our surprise!!! The touch of a red 575.. the smell of a 911 and just the mere presence of a yellow Gallardo… made us feel lik millionaires…. Serious bit to machines these … sadly thy didn’t allow photography except for Porsche… nice receptionist tht chinky female :P!!! nyway .. after the entire lot we dared to go into the rolls Royce showroom.. nd the person hu was stationed to open the door very politely “ pleaded our indulgence to refrain from entering the showroom owing to our casual attire” … obviously floaters , jeans nd t-shirts aren’t the gen attire of serious customers… U NEED TO B FORMALLY DRESSED TO GET IN !!! so dispp .. we stood outside the showroom nd gaped at the beautiful phantom with the precisely machined flying lady …. So with a mixed bag of emotion.. we reached the bus nd to our next destination.. JURONG BIRD PARK.. the greatest thing of this apart from the usual bird sanctuary was the fact tht there was a PENGUIN exhibit!!!! The temp inside the glass was sub zero nd temp outside the galss enclosure was close to 4-5 dec…. I was seein live penguins without being to antartica.. which was pretty exciting!!! Plus there was this entire enclosure with a net above the entire thing nd a live habitat of small birds around.. so som would evn com nd sit near u unless u move fast nd scarethem away…. This was pretty nice we could feed som grains to colorful parrots.. cool!! Plus the bird show with parrots , geese, hornbills, flamingoes etc was quite a nice spectacle….
After the park the evening was off for us to go shopping nd just a gen roamin abt in singapore!!! Nd we jst went around in taxis nd after gaping a for a long tym cam bak to the hotel nd tucked in.. tom were scheduled to leav sing for Malaysia in a bus..
SO Malaysia here we com !!
Wokay… so a hectic day we thought we should get a bit of respite..sadly no…bt cant complaint ; tourists shuld c the entire sing in a matter of 3 days… hence they took us to one of a kind jewel manufacturing company.. nw tht sounds very exciting :-/ I thought.. so we 4 guys decided we were goin to just wander about in the streets bcos quite frankly thr r much better things to b done than look at machine cut bangles , ear rings…. So we went out nd started walkin through a small cut road nd reached a main road to our DELIGHT it was the showroom hub of all high end car manufacturers.. there were showroom rite from KIA to Rolls Royce… we went into a Porsche , Ferrari and Lamborghini showroom.. we tld the that we wanted tot tak a look nd thy allowed to our surprise!!! The touch of a red 575.. the smell of a 911 and just the mere presence of a yellow Gallardo… made us feel lik millionaires…. Serious bit to machines these … sadly thy didn’t allow photography except for Porsche… nice receptionist tht chinky female :P!!! nyway .. after the entire lot we dared to go into the rolls Royce showroom.. nd the person hu was stationed to open the door very politely “ pleaded our indulgence to refrain from entering the showroom owing to our casual attire” … obviously floaters , jeans nd t-shirts aren’t the gen attire of serious customers… U NEED TO B FORMALLY DRESSED TO GET IN !!! so dispp .. we stood outside the showroom nd gaped at the beautiful phantom with the precisely machined flying lady …. So with a mixed bag of emotion.. we reached the bus nd to our next destination.. JURONG BIRD PARK.. the greatest thing of this apart from the usual bird sanctuary was the fact tht there was a PENGUIN exhibit!!!! The temp inside the glass was sub zero nd temp outside the galss enclosure was close to 4-5 dec…. I was seein live penguins without being to antartica.. which was pretty exciting!!! Plus there was this entire enclosure with a net above the entire thing nd a live habitat of small birds around.. so som would evn com nd sit near u unless u move fast nd scarethem away…. This was pretty nice we could feed som grains to colorful parrots.. cool!! Plus the bird show with parrots , geese, hornbills, flamingoes etc was quite a nice spectacle….
After the park the evening was off for us to go shopping nd just a gen roamin abt in singapore!!! Nd we jst went around in taxis nd after gaping a for a long tym cam bak to the hotel nd tucked in.. tom were scheduled to leav sing for Malaysia in a bus..
SO Malaysia here we com !!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
DAY 6
Jun 20
So seemingly quite day lead to a very tiring one… we went on a city tour and saw quite a lot of things around Singapore.. the guide was goin on nd on about the wonder that is Singapore + the numerous banks , heritage hotels , the famous F1 bridge on the Singapore circuit , the mascot of the nation which FYI is a lion along with some wonderful structures like the equivalent of the London eye , a big giant wheel which gives an overall view of the city, and the convention center… we were then tld that there were specific areas for ppl of different ethinicity…. Nd we went to the china town where a very tranquil Buddhist monastery, think of the irony.. a monastery in the heart of china town … , nd a nice mall with nly Chinese stuff on sale… but the most exciting of all was the lovely yellow lambo parked on the side of the monastery… what a contrast!!! Tranquil monastery nd a Gallardo :D … so after enjoying the sights all around we went to have lunch to another wonderful Indian restaurant … another wonderful buffet… so.. a nice heavy lunch nd then the travel to sentosa!!!
Nw a little backgrnd info abt sentosa… it’s a island transformed into a amusement park/entertainment center/ blah blah… u culd spend an entire weekend there nd still thr would be places left out… We went there by rope way which was wonderlful because below us was the marina of the Singapore port.. we saw a star cruise ship nd it was quite som piece of work… a bean shaped pool , a basket ball half court, a miniature green area which I assumed was som place for golf , nd by the looks of it an awesome bar!!!! Somday i`ll board a cruise lik tht!!! Nyway bak to real life… we got out of the cable car nd stepped into the bus station in sentosa… nw. thr r 3 routes the red,blue nd yellow which take you to different places in he island… a gen overview of the shows in that place include things right from an awesome aquarium in which there are all kinds of fish rite from jelly to sharks nd ponds in which u can touch a few star fish :P to dolphin shows in which the cute , brilliant creatures jump through hoops , dives , dribbles nythin round thrown at them nd a perfect entertainment… to 3-D shows to wonderful BEN nd JERRIES ICE CREAM (seriously yummy!!! ) … plus they are also goin to build som awesome roller coaster and a grand casino.. nw thts FUN!!! ..
So what did we do .. we did a lot of walking, waiting nd weren’t disappointed a bit through the entire ordeal!!! Infact in reto I feel it was taxing.. bt whn the shows were on it was all claps nd laughs .. so no complaints I guess…. Quite frankly after sometime u sit and wonder how easily the manage such a big logistic challenge and most of all not make u feel the place is crowded even when it is overflowing or on the brink of its capacity… I think that is the real challenge in any public place and administration shuld be given a thumbs up jst for succeeding in the same…
A long day nd we were taken to a musical fountain at the end of it all… nd I was lik.. ok nw whts new!!! TRUST ME tht is probably my best experience of SINGAPORE.. in addition to the feast of colors, the way the concept was managed, the entire setup on the beach with no screens is quite a challenge… bt thy manage it easily by sprayin tons of water nd dry ice into the night sky nd the mix provides perfect substitute for a white screen if nt givin a spectacular feeling ... nd u cnt but help wonder at the engineering challenge the entire setup would have been… kudos for the design.. \m/
So night fall …all very happy even though tired … retired into the comfort of the A/C bus nd a nice night ride bak to a hotel where another huge banquet was awaiting…. Had our fill nd went bak to the room for the night… A hectic day at the least.. but worth the trouble… bt isn’t goin to be nythin lik wht tom had to offer!!! Trust me all auto fans… u hav to read this 1
So seemingly quite day lead to a very tiring one… we went on a city tour and saw quite a lot of things around Singapore.. the guide was goin on nd on about the wonder that is Singapore + the numerous banks , heritage hotels , the famous F1 bridge on the Singapore circuit , the mascot of the nation which FYI is a lion along with some wonderful structures like the equivalent of the London eye , a big giant wheel which gives an overall view of the city, and the convention center… we were then tld that there were specific areas for ppl of different ethinicity…. Nd we went to the china town where a very tranquil Buddhist monastery, think of the irony.. a monastery in the heart of china town … , nd a nice mall with nly Chinese stuff on sale… but the most exciting of all was the lovely yellow lambo parked on the side of the monastery… what a contrast!!! Tranquil monastery nd a Gallardo :D … so after enjoying the sights all around we went to have lunch to another wonderful Indian restaurant … another wonderful buffet… so.. a nice heavy lunch nd then the travel to sentosa!!!
Nw a little backgrnd info abt sentosa… it’s a island transformed into a amusement park/entertainment center/ blah blah… u culd spend an entire weekend there nd still thr would be places left out… We went there by rope way which was wonderlful because below us was the marina of the Singapore port.. we saw a star cruise ship nd it was quite som piece of work… a bean shaped pool , a basket ball half court, a miniature green area which I assumed was som place for golf , nd by the looks of it an awesome bar!!!! Somday i`ll board a cruise lik tht!!! Nyway bak to real life… we got out of the cable car nd stepped into the bus station in sentosa… nw. thr r 3 routes the red,blue nd yellow which take you to different places in he island… a gen overview of the shows in that place include things right from an awesome aquarium in which there are all kinds of fish rite from jelly to sharks nd ponds in which u can touch a few star fish :P to dolphin shows in which the cute , brilliant creatures jump through hoops , dives , dribbles nythin round thrown at them nd a perfect entertainment… to 3-D shows to wonderful BEN nd JERRIES ICE CREAM (seriously yummy!!! ) … plus they are also goin to build som awesome roller coaster and a grand casino.. nw thts FUN!!! ..
So what did we do .. we did a lot of walking, waiting nd weren’t disappointed a bit through the entire ordeal!!! Infact in reto I feel it was taxing.. bt whn the shows were on it was all claps nd laughs .. so no complaints I guess…. Quite frankly after sometime u sit and wonder how easily the manage such a big logistic challenge and most of all not make u feel the place is crowded even when it is overflowing or on the brink of its capacity… I think that is the real challenge in any public place and administration shuld be given a thumbs up jst for succeeding in the same…
A long day nd we were taken to a musical fountain at the end of it all… nd I was lik.. ok nw whts new!!! TRUST ME tht is probably my best experience of SINGAPORE.. in addition to the feast of colors, the way the concept was managed, the entire setup on the beach with no screens is quite a challenge… bt thy manage it easily by sprayin tons of water nd dry ice into the night sky nd the mix provides perfect substitute for a white screen if nt givin a spectacular feeling ... nd u cnt but help wonder at the engineering challenge the entire setup would have been… kudos for the design.. \m/
So night fall …all very happy even though tired … retired into the comfort of the A/C bus nd a nice night ride bak to a hotel where another huge banquet was awaiting…. Had our fill nd went bak to the room for the night… A hectic day at the least.. but worth the trouble… bt isn’t goin to be nythin lik wht tom had to offer!!! Trust me all auto fans… u hav to read this 1
DAY 5
Jun 19
Ahhh after the nice nap.. we went around the city … a bit of metro rides.. nd a gen evaluation of the public transport :P which I should say isn’t any different from our own Delhi metro… for a change it was nice to be the foreigner... so we were supposed to have the morn and afternoon sessions off but we went around a bit..nd cam bak by evening to go the night safari… the experience was gud plainly because teenagers run the entire show … including maintenance , ticket counters, help desk , driving, and the shows …. It was a fun experience… esp the safari at night around the open enclosures of tigers, lions seems very exciting but it isn’t such a adrenaline rushing experience… a refresh experience nevertheless… the funniest thing about the safari was the open air theatre where animals were brought out and a few cute training ground tricks portrayed … every1 had a nice laugh and a very laid back nd relaxing day had the perfect end.. a wonderful huge buffet \m/ … a very very heavy dinner followed… nd quietly went back to the bed at home…
Ahhh after the nice nap.. we went around the city … a bit of metro rides.. nd a gen evaluation of the public transport :P which I should say isn’t any different from our own Delhi metro… for a change it was nice to be the foreigner... so we were supposed to have the morn and afternoon sessions off but we went around a bit..nd cam bak by evening to go the night safari… the experience was gud plainly because teenagers run the entire show … including maintenance , ticket counters, help desk , driving, and the shows …. It was a fun experience… esp the safari at night around the open enclosures of tigers, lions seems very exciting but it isn’t such a adrenaline rushing experience… a refresh experience nevertheless… the funniest thing about the safari was the open air theatre where animals were brought out and a few cute training ground tricks portrayed … every1 had a nice laugh and a very laid back nd relaxing day had the perfect end.. a wonderful huge buffet \m/ … a very very heavy dinner followed… nd quietly went back to the bed at home…
DAY 4
JUNE 18
So enough of travel and fatigue… After we had a nice nap ( for a change till 9 ) at a place in karol bagh , in delhi, we went to a hotel nearby to hav breakfast ; nd after all the toil the prev day .. we weren’t ready for ny adrenalin. Bt guess different things were in store … after we cam bak frm breakfast… my dad looked for his mobile which was MISSING.. so in karol bagh we lost our phone… som guy shuld nw b happily goin arnd with a motoyuva… after futile attempts of retracing our steps to the hotel , and numerous calls we let it go… now the flight was in the evening.. . so we had a afternoon off… nd we took a ride in the “DELHI METRO” it is a ride every Indian should take…. Quite a marvel of engineering but the real challenge in India is to maintain the infrastructure… nd to everyone`s amazement DMRC have done it successfully…. so after enough awe at the cleanliness, logistics, maintenance of the entire setup we came bak to our room … then later in the afternoon we were to fly to Singapore via Mumbai…. So boarded the plane to Mumbai from delhi… btw delhi airport.. looks pretty gud I shuld say… after we landed at the Chatrapati shivaji airport we had to use a shuttle to get to the international terminal… nw tht was som ride… through the A320s , A360s ,A344s along with quite a few boeing 747-400s , 800s …. Ahh nice… so an otherwise 45 min ride from domestic to international in Mumbai , thanks to the traffic and security . was cut short to a 15 min ride nd we arrived at the international departure terminal… arnd 2000hrs IST … the obvious lull around the gates was quite somthin… relatives saying goodbyes as if thy won’t see their loved ones every again ; arey ppl SKYPE ; and we a group of ppl moving arnd makin jokes and quite at awe at the infrastructure surely nt a popular sentiment… so gt in signed the immigration forms.. tld thm DON’T HAV SWINE FLU BABA… nd gt the passport STAMPED \m/ …. Yeah finally its nt just a stupid book tht every1 has bt nvr uses…. Nd was waitin in the lounge…. NW the departure lounge at the airport…. A chivas regal scotch whisky which was 35 yrs old nd cost USD 350/ litre… scented cigs … nd the best of all was a cartier watch which had a 8000 price tag on it nd I thgt tht isn’t too bad… whn one of the guys pointed out it was USD 8000… O.o .. mouth wider than ever…. As I wanted to buy somthin … I thgt the cheapest thing would be to buy an orbit… so happily I went nd took an orbit nd tld “bhiya change nahi hai… 100 chalega???” he very promptly said yes nd gave me 20 rs back…. :-/… so much for cheap … with a sense of getting looted I wanted to preserve the costliest pieces of gum I have ever bought... so took 1 didn’t offer it to any1.. nd promptly put it back into my pocket... little did I kn tht was goin to be a very big mistake… nyway.. after a lot of very expensive window shopping we attended to our boarding calls for flight 9wxxx ,frgt the number, to Singapore… so a lot of excitement .. maiden international flight .. yipeee…. Went in got a seat.. were we found a LCD screen with movies, music, tv series, games, flight info , route.. blah blah.. so very excited browsing thru stuff… nd I think I watched valkyrie … they also had menu on the flight \m/ .. sadly nly 1 choice for the veg entrée… nyway.. had a nice dinner.. nd was happily cin the movie…. Bt then the flight wasn’t without incident… everytim it fell in an air pocket every1 would c the flight vitals ,incl speed, nd whr we were , as if it made a difference.. land or sea if we fall bye bye world!!! :P , so after a little drama we reached Singapore \m/ !!! the landing was awesome.. the runway with water on both sides….. ahh nice so .. gt down through the aero brige.. to the check out to get the baggage nd of course.. time was 6.30 Sing time … Next stop the hotel .. we reached there nd tucked in for a nice nap till afternoon to make up for the lost sleep owing to valkyrie… ohhh CRAP .. I frgt tht this was the next day!! :P .. nxt post ppl!!!!
So enough of travel and fatigue… After we had a nice nap ( for a change till 9 ) at a place in karol bagh , in delhi, we went to a hotel nearby to hav breakfast ; nd after all the toil the prev day .. we weren’t ready for ny adrenalin. Bt guess different things were in store … after we cam bak frm breakfast… my dad looked for his mobile which was MISSING.. so in karol bagh we lost our phone… som guy shuld nw b happily goin arnd with a motoyuva… after futile attempts of retracing our steps to the hotel , and numerous calls we let it go… now the flight was in the evening.. . so we had a afternoon off… nd we took a ride in the “DELHI METRO” it is a ride every Indian should take…. Quite a marvel of engineering but the real challenge in India is to maintain the infrastructure… nd to everyone`s amazement DMRC have done it successfully…. so after enough awe at the cleanliness, logistics, maintenance of the entire setup we came bak to our room … then later in the afternoon we were to fly to Singapore via Mumbai…. So boarded the plane to Mumbai from delhi… btw delhi airport.. looks pretty gud I shuld say… after we landed at the Chatrapati shivaji airport we had to use a shuttle to get to the international terminal… nw tht was som ride… through the A320s , A360s ,A344s along with quite a few boeing 747-400s , 800s …. Ahh nice… so an otherwise 45 min ride from domestic to international in Mumbai , thanks to the traffic and security . was cut short to a 15 min ride nd we arrived at the international departure terminal… arnd 2000hrs IST … the obvious lull around the gates was quite somthin… relatives saying goodbyes as if thy won’t see their loved ones every again ; arey ppl SKYPE ; and we a group of ppl moving arnd makin jokes and quite at awe at the infrastructure surely nt a popular sentiment… so gt in signed the immigration forms.. tld thm DON’T HAV SWINE FLU BABA… nd gt the passport STAMPED \m/ …. Yeah finally its nt just a stupid book tht every1 has bt nvr uses…. Nd was waitin in the lounge…. NW the departure lounge at the airport…. A chivas regal scotch whisky which was 35 yrs old nd cost USD 350/ litre… scented cigs … nd the best of all was a cartier watch which had a 8000 price tag on it nd I thgt tht isn’t too bad… whn one of the guys pointed out it was USD 8000… O.o .. mouth wider than ever…. As I wanted to buy somthin … I thgt the cheapest thing would be to buy an orbit… so happily I went nd took an orbit nd tld “bhiya change nahi hai… 100 chalega???” he very promptly said yes nd gave me 20 rs back…. :-/… so much for cheap … with a sense of getting looted I wanted to preserve the costliest pieces of gum I have ever bought... so took 1 didn’t offer it to any1.. nd promptly put it back into my pocket... little did I kn tht was goin to be a very big mistake… nyway.. after a lot of very expensive window shopping we attended to our boarding calls for flight 9wxxx ,frgt the number, to Singapore… so a lot of excitement .. maiden international flight .. yipeee…. Went in got a seat.. were we found a LCD screen with movies, music, tv series, games, flight info , route.. blah blah.. so very excited browsing thru stuff… nd I think I watched valkyrie … they also had menu on the flight \m/ .. sadly nly 1 choice for the veg entrée… nyway.. had a nice dinner.. nd was happily cin the movie…. Bt then the flight wasn’t without incident… everytim it fell in an air pocket every1 would c the flight vitals ,incl speed, nd whr we were , as if it made a difference.. land or sea if we fall bye bye world!!! :P , so after a little drama we reached Singapore \m/ !!! the landing was awesome.. the runway with water on both sides….. ahh nice so .. gt down through the aero brige.. to the check out to get the baggage nd of course.. time was 6.30 Sing time … Next stop the hotel .. we reached there nd tucked in for a nice nap till afternoon to make up for the lost sleep owing to valkyrie… ohhh CRAP .. I frgt tht this was the next day!! :P .. nxt post ppl!!!!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Day 3
JUNE, 17
So the next day… if u thought yesterday was hardwork , today wasn’t gonna get any easier… our tour operator made a statement... “ after we leav
So arnd 500 kms frm amritsar… thn to agra another 203 kms by road… by about 2.00PM we went to a road side dhaba nd had veg biriyani…so much for a scent of true north India cuisine… so we reached agra by about 4.30 … ( en route we saw mathura refinery :P … srry excitement of an enginner !!! ) nd we went to the TAJ MAHAL… let me nt waste words on describing the taj, I am sure many u`ll b able to find much better write ups!!! So by around 6 – 6.30 we left the taj and went for shopping for leather goods… shoes , bags , wallets … nd by around 8 PM we left for delhi!!! So another 4.5 hr journey!!! We had lunch at about 11 PM at a place near palwal nd crashed into the bed when we went bak to the hotel in karol bagh…. Obviously, a total of close to 1000kms a day had taken its toll on us… thank goodness the next day morning was off …. Our flight to Bombay en route to Singapore was around 4 P.M….
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Day 2
JUNE 16, Monday
So after a decent nap we had to leave for Amritsar today. So woke up by 5.30 AM and got ready by 6 and left for the train , New Delhi – Amritsar Shatabdhi, was scheduled to leave New Delhi at 7.20 AM. Now the journey from Delhi to Amritsar is about 450KM and the scheduled arrival time was 13.25 implying the train would cover around 450 km in 6 hours which roughly comes to an average speed of 75Kmph and trust me it is fast. To give u a better idea the first stop after delhi was AMBALA cannt which is around 200kms away. With just 5 stops till Amritsar the train was really a wonderful experience esp because of the wonderful breakfast, coffee, juice thy served on the coach. It was a great feeling seeing all the lesser trains bow out of the way when we passed them like a blitzkrieg and the route was also great. The bridge over beas river and the adjacent station is something to behold.
So alls good nd we reached Amritsar by 13.30. Then we fit into a few scorpios and went off to the hotel. This was the first time I got a glimpse of Amritsar nd it wasn’t cool …. Esp the area arnd the golden temple ,where our hotel was , was a labyrinth with roads nt wider than 10 ft !!! the best part was the driver lowered the glass nd gave a few coins to the traffic police standin thr nd whn I asked him he said somthin in the typical punjabi accent (which is something lik Coimbatore tamil or thrissur malayalam ) which I understood as “ yeh one way hain …. Isliye dena padhtahain” …. So its lik a toll for breakin the rule…. Gr8!!! So reached the hotel… washed up nd went dwn for lunch… then our guide gav us 30 mins to get all set and we had to proceed to Wagha border in attari. But before that jst adjacent to the golden temple is a monument which all Indians at some point should visit. The story of the jallianwala bagh massacre will giv the chills to any Indian. The only entrance which was about half the width of our hostel corridors and the place whr gen.Dyer stationed his troops; the well where all the people jumped into to tak cover from bullets and like the ghost of the past the bullet marks on the walls…
So after rediscovering the spirit of the freedom struggle we went to wagha border and it was nothing like I imagined. I could literally c wht “ all roads lead to rome meant” cos in the highway both lanes were full with vehicles goin up. The retreat ceremony at the border starts at 6 PM and we were tld that ppl would gather from about 2 or 3 pm to get early seats. Whn we reached the place the atmosphere was great!!!! Nd for a routine exercise it was a hell a lot of people. All the galleries were full with young children and Punjabi girls dancing to the tunes of vande mataram ( rahman version) , phir bhi dil hain Hindustani and many other bollywood numbers which was interspersed with the jawans shouting slogans of “ vande mataram “ , “ Hindustan zindabad “ with all passion and vigor that would make any indian fill up with pride.
Then at 6 the perfectly choreographed and synchronized retreat ceremony started. Swift steps in between some very authoritative stamps made the ceremony a wonderful sight to behold. The hand gestures including the thumbs down to the Pakistani soldiers which was designed to convey contempt was accompanied by cheers and slogans from both side. It was like a comic relief among the tensions between the borders.So after the ceremony we started to make a move bak in spite of the bright lit sky , at arnd 7.30 PM , tryin to fool us.
En route we took a slight deviation form the main road to visit the ATTARI RAILWAY STATION. The border station or the last station in INDIA was very thrilling experience. This is where the samjhautha express to Lahore get the customs check done when it was in service. The schedule was put up. But now the station looked lifeless and sad…. Hmmmm…..
Then we returned to Amritsar and had our dinner. Nice rotis , palak paneer som Punjabi dish and a lovely dessert meant I didn’t have it in me to get up and go to the golden temple which I could c from my hotel room. So after a lot of persuasion we left at around 9.30 or 10 to the temple which would close at around 11.30. It was wonderful at night … the lights around giving the structure at the center of the pool a distinctive glitter. So after standing in the Q for abt 45 mins we went into the sanctorum and cam bak thinking wht was the fuss all about … its just a book!!!!
The day had been one of the hardest considering all the emotions that I had been through. Right from a sense of speed and comfort ( ironically courtesy INDIAN RAILWAYS) followed by appall in the congested Amritsar then to a sense of INDAIN spirit from jallianwala bagh and the attari/ wagha border to the tranquility of mind at the golden temple. A long day and I retired by around 12 to the comfort of the hotel room just to find out the itinerary next day is goin to give me little respite and I better cherish the few hours of sleep I am given….
So after a decent nap we had to leave for Amritsar today. So woke up by 5.30 AM and got ready by 6 and left for the train , New Delhi – Amritsar Shatabdhi, was scheduled to leave New Delhi at 7.20 AM. Now the journey from Delhi to Amritsar is about 450KM and the scheduled arrival time was 13.25 implying the train would cover around 450 km in 6 hours which roughly comes to an average speed of 75Kmph and trust me it is fast. To give u a better idea the first stop after delhi was AMBALA cannt which is around 200kms away. With just 5 stops till Amritsar the train was really a wonderful experience esp because of the wonderful breakfast, coffee, juice thy served on the coach. It was a great feeling seeing all the lesser trains bow out of the way when we passed them like a blitzkrieg and the route was also great. The bridge over beas river and the adjacent station is something to behold.
So alls good nd we reached Amritsar by 13.30. Then we fit into a few scorpios and went off to the hotel. This was the first time I got a glimpse of Amritsar nd it wasn’t cool …. Esp the area arnd the golden temple ,where our hotel was , was a labyrinth with roads nt wider than 10 ft !!! the best part was the driver lowered the glass nd gave a few coins to the traffic police standin thr nd whn I asked him he said somthin in the typical punjabi accent (which is something lik Coimbatore tamil or thrissur malayalam ) which I understood as “ yeh one way hain …. Isliye dena padhtahain” …. So its lik a toll for breakin the rule…. Gr8!!! So reached the hotel… washed up nd went dwn for lunch… then our guide gav us 30 mins to get all set and we had to proceed to Wagha border in attari. But before that jst adjacent to the golden temple is a monument which all Indians at some point should visit. The story of the jallianwala bagh massacre will giv the chills to any Indian. The only entrance which was about half the width of our hostel corridors and the place whr gen.Dyer stationed his troops; the well where all the people jumped into to tak cover from bullets and like the ghost of the past the bullet marks on the walls…
So after rediscovering the spirit of the freedom struggle we went to wagha border and it was nothing like I imagined. I could literally c wht “ all roads lead to rome meant” cos in the highway both lanes were full with vehicles goin up. The retreat ceremony at the border starts at 6 PM and we were tld that ppl would gather from about 2 or 3 pm to get early seats. Whn we reached the place the atmosphere was great!!!! Nd for a routine exercise it was a hell a lot of people. All the galleries were full with young children and Punjabi girls dancing to the tunes of vande mataram ( rahman version) , phir bhi dil hain Hindustani and many other bollywood numbers which was interspersed with the jawans shouting slogans of “ vande mataram “ , “ Hindustan zindabad “ with all passion and vigor that would make any indian fill up with pride.
Then at 6 the perfectly choreographed and synchronized retreat ceremony started. Swift steps in between some very authoritative stamps made the ceremony a wonderful sight to behold. The hand gestures including the thumbs down to the Pakistani soldiers which was designed to convey contempt was accompanied by cheers and slogans from both side. It was like a comic relief among the tensions between the borders.So after the ceremony we started to make a move bak in spite of the bright lit sky , at arnd 7.30 PM , tryin to fool us.
En route we took a slight deviation form the main road to visit the ATTARI RAILWAY STATION. The border station or the last station in INDIA was very thrilling experience. This is where the samjhautha express to Lahore get the customs check done when it was in service. The schedule was put up. But now the station looked lifeless and sad…. Hmmmm…..
Then we returned to Amritsar and had our dinner. Nice rotis , palak paneer som Punjabi dish and a lovely dessert meant I didn’t have it in me to get up and go to the golden temple which I could c from my hotel room. So after a lot of persuasion we left at around 9.30 or 10 to the temple which would close at around 11.30. It was wonderful at night … the lights around giving the structure at the center of the pool a distinctive glitter. So after standing in the Q for abt 45 mins we went into the sanctorum and cam bak thinking wht was the fuss all about … its just a book!!!!
The day had been one of the hardest considering all the emotions that I had been through. Right from a sense of speed and comfort ( ironically courtesy INDIAN RAILWAYS) followed by appall in the congested Amritsar then to a sense of INDAIN spirit from jallianwala bagh and the attari/ wagha border to the tranquility of mind at the golden temple. A long day and I retired by around 12 to the comfort of the hotel room just to find out the itinerary next day is goin to give me little respite and I better cherish the few hours of sleep I am given….
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