Ministry of silly walks

3 appointments later and I have a blissfully pain free tooth. Root canal treatment isn't much fun. But it's certainly good to be able to turn up at a dentist and have it started on the spot, not have to bother with appointments and only pay 20 pounds at the end of it all! It has meant being in Delhi a little longer than planned, but we took a couple of days in between appointments to visit Amritsar, a mere 12 hours each way on the train.

Amritsar is the home of the magnificent Sikh Golden Temple (photos of which will appear eventually. I'm catching up!), an impressive building where no one tried to take any money from us.. which made a refreshing change! Once we had the right head gear on (Kev initially got in trouble for having a hat instead of material on his) it was an amazingly friendly place. Unbelievably, the temple feeds over 35000 pilgrims, regardless of religion, every day without charge, relying solely on donations.

After the Golden Temple, we visited Jallianwala Bagh, which I'm ashamed to say I had never heard of. Look it up if you've not either:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jallianwala_Bagh_massacre

I found this a profoundly moving experience as we wandered around the gardens, where the walls still bear bullet holes and a flame burns 24 hours a day to commemorate those who lost their lives. I don't think I've felt quite so conscious of my nationality since we started this trip.

That evening, we went to the Indian Pakistan border for what turned out to be, well, really really funny. Once we had piled into our shared vehicle (designed for 10 people at most, filled with 16) we drove 28 km to the border. Every single night they hold this border closing ceremony. Kev was whisked off the the male section of the grandstands set up for viewing the show. I made my way to the female stands and was firmly redirected to the VIP area. Clearly I am far more important than him.. (he finally joined me there about an hour later once he realised it existed). The show itself (and it really is a show. They even sell popcorn.) kicked off with a long line of women and children running to and from the border gate waving India flags whilst the crowds roared their support. This was followed by singing and dancing and chanting - all encouraged by an energetic compere. The Pakistan side of the border was noticeably quieter.

Eventually, the Indian guards came out and performed a bizarre marching routine, which was very similar to Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks. Finally there was a brief handshake between the Pakistani and Indian guards, the flag were lowered and the gate closed for the night.

They do this EVERY night.