Day 6 (1st February) Amritsar to Delhi
Today was a disaster from start to finish, although the hotel in Amritsar used their vehicle to get us to the station in good time. When you have travelled by train in China, Indian railway stations are a shock to the system, and Amritsar station was a complete shit-hole. The sign on a column saying “please do not spit here” summed it up; it shows a little man hocking a loogy and it seems that a Golden Temple guard has stuck his murderous pointed stick through him. A brief inspection “here” (ie the foot of the column) indicated that “here” was precisely where people DID spit. China has lots of rules and everyone obeys them. (See our 2025 blog for the story about the sweet little park near the Yu Garden with a sign listing 26 rules for visitors of which “No urinating or shitting in unauthorised places” was Number 14 in order of importance, and not a turd was to be seen). India, on the other hand, has very few rules and everyone breaks them. That is said to be part of the charm of India. The train to Delhi was delayed by 3 hours so I went for a walk round the station, and had a close look at a train which had just pulled in. I doubt if it been cleaned since it was built and I was loathe to go near it, let alone go inside. It was crammed with people with more struggling to get in. About a dozen dogs were fast asleep on the platform; I guess they were travelling to Delhi and got fed up waiting for the train. Meanwhile Jennifer was being accosted by assorted beggars. She didn’t give them anything because we had been warned not to. Give one something and 3 minutes later you will be surrounded by every beggar in India demanding his share.
We started talking to a very friendly Indian man, Rai from Khajuraho. He and his German friend had been to the Wagah spectacle and, among the 30,000 people on the Indian side of the gate, they were sitting next to us. The train was delayed by three hours. We had paid the highest price for the tickets and got a small compartment for 6 people and our companions were all very friendly. The carriage was clean and comfortable, although the ambience was disturbed every 30 seconds by people selling water, tea, biscuits, bowls of rice from a huge pot etc etc. I bought a cooked meal which was moderately tasty and 24 hours later I am still alive. On reaching Delhi we got a tuk-tuk whose driver reckoned he knew exactly where Hotel Namaste Hindustan was, except he didn’t and neither did the 1,001 people he asked until, after touring every street in Delhi, he found it at 01.30 after two hours driving around. The hotel was up a narrow little street knee-deep (literally) in rubbish, but inside it was a different world, very smart and the staff were friendly and helpful. The manager told us, trying not to laugh, that we were just one minute away from the railway station, and sure enough we could hear the trains blasting their horns at each other. We got a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich from the kitchen and went to bed.
My pics of the Golden Temple didnt come out so I got these from Jennifer
