Day 11: 2 December – Amritsar

Photo of the day: the Golden Temple, Amritsar, with the Harmandir in the middle

Jack here again! Well the less said the better about the last 24 hours, but how many people can say that they spent time in Agra and never got to see the Taj Mahal?

We took the morning express train from New Delhi up into Punjab state, passing through fertile fields growing a variety of crops and emerging from the misty haze of Delhi. On the train the number of turbans people were wearing was a sign that we were heading towards the holiest city of the Sikh world. One thing that has surprised me on this trip has been how few women seem to be travelling or working in the places we have been to – in the countryside there were women engaged in manual work, carrying bales of grass or pots.

Our hotel in Amritsar was friendly, professional and well equipped – even with a kettle in the room – so another name check for the Ritz Plaza. The porter who took our bags up performed the feat of putting us in the lift and running upstairs before us, carrying almost all of our luggage with him. Very enthusiastic service in the restaurant, with the best Indian meal of our trip I think - and if you ever go there check out the head waiter who looks a bit like Matt Lucas.

The Golden Temple is the spiritual capital of Sikhism. We got there at about 4.30 and took a bit of time getting ready – taking our shoes and socks off and leaving them in the cloakroom and getting appropriate headgear. The Doctor was allowed in with his hat, but mine was not, so I was stopped and sent to get an orange headscarf, which I am pleased to say suited me perfectly.

The temple – in which we didn't see a single other tourist – was a huge cluster of buildings around an ornamental pool, with the spirtual centre, a golden pavilion called the Harmandir in the middle. It was relatively quiet apparently, compared to how it is in the mornings. Everyone was either friendly or in party mood, or something because we were chatted to by many other people there. It was a really lovely atmosphere – no hassle from anyone. A singing voice played constantly over a loudspeaker – this is a feature of Sikh temples – to which many of the pilgrims hummed along.

We walked over the causeway to the Harmandir. We were with pilgrims carrying food offerings and made slow progress over the causeway, being jostled gently by the pilgrims. Inside the pavilion we only had a few seconds and although it was a small space it was difficult to take everything in – a senior blessing us, an orchestra and singing, and women preparing cakes in wrapping which we presume were taken away by pilgrims. We liked it so much that we walked around the temple complex twice, even though the temperatures were falling and the marble floor was getting cold – waving to our new friends.

I liked Amritsar very much: it seemed less touristy than anywhere we had been before, and again it meant that there was no trouble from anyone. We also got a couple of rides in an auto-rickshaw - a three-wheeler with space for a couple of passengers on the back seat and the kind of engine that makes you rub your ears afterwards to get some feeling back into them – very exciting and atmospheric.