Pictures

Here are some pictures from recent travels.

This is the Golden Temple in Amritsar. It is one of the holiest pilgrimage sites for Sikhs. I slept in the pilgrim quarters for tourists, literally 500 feet from the entrance!

A close up of one of a Jain temple in Khajuraho.

One of the Hindu Temples at Khajuraho.

A close up of a Hindu Temple at Khajuraho.

The Orccha Palace.

Another view of the Orccha Palace.

Jama masjid, the largest Mosque in India.

The structure that is directly across from the one in the previous picture.

Part of the meal I got at the gurdwarma I went to on my second day in Delhi.

My life has been pretty uneventful until recently. A week ago was Republic Day which commemorates the day the Indian constitution was finalized. It'a pretty big deal. There is a parade in the capital and different celebrations happen across the country for a week. We were advised not to go to the parade because it's unsafe. To make sure we didn't go, we had to give presentation about our second day here, when we went into the city with Indian tour guides. Afterward we had a bar b que on the terrace of my residence.

Two days after Republic Day we went to the Beating Retreat, which is the rehearsal for this big performance for all the important Indian officials. Every branch of the Indian military has their band play. I knew it would interesting, but that instantly became an understatement the moment the band began the first piece which consisted of one of the bands playing bagpipes! Yes, the Indian, military band has bagpipe players! Unfortunately you aren't allowed to bring cameras, so you'll just have to take my word. Also, I'm pretty sure they played the theme to Indiana Jones.

This weekend I took a trip to Amristar. It's famous for the Golden Temple (as seen above) which is kind of like the Mecca for Sikhs. Except you can go there whenever, even if you're not Muslim. I went with 5 other girls from my program and we stayed at the Gurudwara. They have pilgrim quarters and among those quarters, there are rooms reserved for foreigners. The best part is that staying there is free! Obviously it's not a luxury hotel, but for poor college students, it was fine.

The Golden Temple was so peaceful and relaxing. Also, everyone was incredibly nice and helpful. Three of us went into the holy shrine and there is a section where you are supposed to drink the holy water. Even though the water is clear, you get it from a pool that surrounds the shrine. I've been adventurous while I've been here, but I wasn't sure about that. So I looked at the other girls and they were just as clueless as I was. I thought about it and was actually going to drink the water but I didn't get a chance to because, a guy saw us in our panic and told us to follow him. We did and he gave us a tour of the shrine! I'm so glad he showed up because without him, there is no way we would have seen so much of the temple. We were just following what other people were doing and that wasn't really going well. Not only did he show us the proper blessings, he also gave us some history and pointed our important parts of the temple.

In addition to going to the temple I also went to a couple of Hindu temples in the area. One was called the Mata Temple. Mata means mother in Hindi and the temple was erected in honor of a woman. I wish I could remember her name but apparently she was very spiritual and a great teacher and now there is a temple for her followers. Only, this isn't just any Hindu temple. Not that my visit to 3 Hindu temples qualifies me to know what an ordinary temple is like, but I'm guessing most aren't like this one. That's because this temple was like a small scale amusement part. When we walked in we were directed toward some steps. The stairs took us toward a landing that became a maze. For the next twenty minutes we crossed uphill and down hill bridges, and more stairs. We also had to crawl through a man-made cave and walk through a "stream" in another cave. All long our route there were various rooms with Gods and glass mosaics that were beautiful! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures because it didn't feel appropriate to take them in a place of worship but it was awesome!

The last major event of the weekend was visiting the Indian-Pakistan border to see the flag ceremony. Everyday there is a big ceremony to lower the flags at the border. Unfortunately we didn't get to cross but I can now say I've seen Pakistan.

I apologize that the pictures aren't more interesting. I don't really tend to take pictures except for when I go to touristy places and even then, I don't take that many. In a few weeks I'm going to Agra, so I'll work on taking more pictures.

Continuing to engage in adventures . . .