restaurant – Our travels through Asia

30th December – 3rd January

Our first excursion would take us to the home of the Sikhs and the Golden Temple: Amritsar. Located about 200km north west of our little village, it wasn’t a huge trip, but a good introduction for our travels. We took 2 trains, both of which by general class. The train system in India is…complicated. Frustrating most of the time. Confusing and occasionally rewarding. Trains don’t appear to have much rhyme or reason, numbers are wrong, platform information incorrect and as for booking them, I could probability write a post dedicated to the mammoth task of that in itself!

There are many different classes on each train. Much like we have first class on ours in England, here there is first class, second class, 3rd, sleeper class, A/C and non-A/C classes and then general seating (GS). For all the classes other than GS you need to book in advance, well in advance. but i shall go into more detail of the system later. With GS, you simply buy the ticket on the day and hope, pray even that you can squeeze yourself and your 20kg bag on. It is always rammed full, with people sat in luggage compartments, on people’s shoulders, under the chairs, everywhere. But it’s fun, the people are kind and eager to talk with us and of course want the obligatory photo – we will start charging for these photos! This is how we got to Amritsar.

We stayed at Hotel Grand which was a pure delight. The room we booked wasn’t available and so they ‘bumped’ us up to a better one. With a huge bed, tv and the best shower we have had in nearly 4 months, this was turning out to be a fantastic start to our trip. The food in the restaurant was brilliant, just like its name: Bottoms Up Restaurant.

New Year’s Eve approached us quickly. We spent the day wondering though the busy streets and admiring the Indian way of life. We visited the ‘Attari-Wagah’ boarder in which 25/30,000 people came to see the elaborate and passionate standoff display between the Indian and Pakistan boarder patrols. With some sharp suits, funky headwear and high kicks, we all felt that India won the battle this time.

Upon returning to the city, we visited a strange little temple called Mata. This temple is visited by people who want good luck especially with having children. With dark walkways, sometimes on our hands and knees and after wading through ankle deep warm water, we were given offerings and prayed for. It was quite a surreal place, but beautiful all the same.

By the evening, we reached the much talked about Golden Temple. After a long, bare-footed walk down the cold street, we reached the main entrance and slowly entered. We were greeted by the most beautiful spectacle: a glowing gold temple, floating in the middle of a dark lake. It was pitch-black by this time, and the aura of the shinning temple struck us deep within. Many people prayed in silence and some even braved the icy cold waters as they cleansed themselves. We felt so privileged and honored that they should invite us into such a sacred part of their lives. As we took photos from all around the temple, it’s beauty was clear, here lay a magnificent spectacle in the middle of a very busy, dirty and raw city. Like the struggle and the reward or the fight and the peace.

The evening was topped off at the extravagant Crystal restaurant, a way of us to say ‘well done’ to each other for our hard work, and a good way to kick-off this next chapter of our story. As we feasted on lemon fish and sizzling hot chocolate brownies, we took time to reflect on this crazy year of ours. Living in England, Denmark and India, all the time very much in love, thankful for our opportunities and eager to explore more. More in this case will be the blue city of Jodhpur, a mere 16 hours away by sleeper train.

Making friends in a foreign country always feels good. It’s essentially the acceptance into a new culture and a goal that I have always had, albeit subconsciously. However, meeting really special, loving people and getting to know them over a period of time takes this idea to a new level. Malene and I feel so lucky to be meeting great people almost on a daily basis. But ‘lucky’ doesn’t sum up our greatest fortune in meeting Poonam: our greatest Indian friend.

The orphanage/school/church in which we are working in has some very wonderful and caring people. The teachers are warm-hearted, dedicated givers and we have enjoyed sharing with them the differences between our culture and theirs. The children, of course, are the hi-light of every day, their energy is contagious and their love is endless. However, one person has truly made us feel at home and treated us with such kindness. She has always been there to talk to and never stops thinking about us, which is so valuable to us when we sometimes feel a long way from home. We both wanted to say, from the bottom of our hearts, a huge thank you to Poonam. We hope we can repay the amazing generosity and love you have given to us.

We came to India to help. In reality it is India and specifically you, that is helping us.

I suppose this leads me quite nicely to one of the loveliest afternoons we have had here so far…Poonam’s Birthday celebration. Malene and I planned on taking Poonam out for dinner one evening as a way to celebrate her Birthday, but it was difficult to find a good day. She is the backbone to the orphanage; from waking the children up in the morning, to teaching, to administering medication, Poonam is always needed and always there to give. Luckily, we eventually found one afternoon/evening in which we could whisk her off to the local town of Nurmahal. Enjoying the sights of an old red-stoned palace, the three of us took the time to talk and laugh with each other. With our two cultures being so different, its often amusing and enlightening to compare them.

We visited a lovely Hindu temple, full of water, statues and stories. With a wonderful friend as our tour guide, we felt like VIP guests of honor in a strange and beautiful land. We continued our afternoon by strolling through the narrow, meandering streets and gazing into shops. Often dodging motorbikes who dashed passed us, we took the time to really appreciate our surroundings; ‘Deep India’.

With fresh food being cooked at every corner and the vibrant colours of fruit and vegetable lining the street, we soon starting salivating and thinking about a place to eat. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the three of us walked along the dusty roads in search of a restaurant. Eventually, we found what appeared to be a large, dark house. With no lights on outside, I wondered how they attracted customers, still, we went inside. With a warm greeting, we were shown to our table. For the next 10 minutes we looked through the menu as Poonam was kept busy translating the various dishes. For Malene, butter chicken, for Poonam and myself, only one option…pizza!

As we sat back after our ice-cream dessert, we agreed that we had had a beautiful evening. I even had my first beer since Delhi which felt oh so refreshing. But it was our new friendship that really got my head spinning and spinning in the most wonderful way. As we slowly get more acclimatised to this new way of life, we now understand the importance of taking this journey with the company of good friends. So to you Poonam, we raise our glasses:

“Thank you for being a wonderful friend and may we share many more special moments together.”