too old for dreads

It’s been quite a day. Eight hours in a Tata car with plastic seats in sweltering temperatures; 500km from New Delhi to Amritsar with a driver struggling to control his diabetes and suffering from a bad back and all the while feeling very angry about falling for the classic Indian scam. 

When we finally arrived in Amritsar we heard the news that tensions between India and Pakistan have got significantly worse and today India has launched ‘surgical’ attacks along the Kashmir border. 

Wrong place, wrong time – on both counts. 

While we keep our heads buried in the sand about the serious tensions throughout India and the Punjab, let me tell you about the great New Delhi Station scam that saw us in the Tata today rather than on the 7.20am Express to Amritsar. 

I talked in a previous post about not knowing who to trust and who to listen to. It’s every travellers daily challenge I guess and as novice travellers, we’re definitely still learning!

The thing about the scam this morning was the degree of corroboration. 

It involved five different people in five different places. Bottom line is, if someone tells you a train is cancelled and you need to hurry to the other station in Delhi – ‘and you’ll be just in time to catch it’ – don’t believe them (well you wouldn’t, would you?) Of course it’s all a con to get you in a car (and we fell for it). And we still feel cross, stupid, embarrassed and very angry. 

After finally getting to our rather nice – Exotic Old Marigold style – hotel (Ranjeets Svassa) I was then told that the big ceremony on the India – Pakistan border at Wagah was closed. I obviously didn’t believe the guy; I know a scam when I see one etc. etc. But this is no scam. Turns out it’s a proper Mexican standoff between two nuclear powered neighbours that’s just got a whole lot worse today. And the fact that the big show they put on every evening to close the border is cancelled for now, is a darn good thing I’d say. 

Hard to know who to believe sometimes isn’t it? 

Next up is the Golden Temple. What could I possibly fall for there?

Answer, I’m pleased to say is nothing (so far). We’ve enjoyed learning about Sikhism and we’re blown away by the size and scale of the temple complex. The golden temple itself is beautiful and the fact that people queue for hours in the searing heat is testament to their devotion. Every one of the ‘000s of devotees who come to the temple each day is offered free food. The washing-up area was an incredible sight as were the kitchens. We turned our hand to chapatti making as well – and proved the guide right that a novice’s chapatti looks more like a map of India than the real, circular thing!