Traveling to northern India we were looking forward to going to the India Pakistan border to watch the popular lowering of the flags ceremony at Wagah border crossing. It is a daily military practice that the security forces of India (Border Security Force) and Pakistan (Pakistan Rangers) have jointly done since 1959. The drill is characterized by elaborate and rapid dance-like maneuvers.

However, you know what they say about the best laid plans… after a six hour train ride we arrived in Amritsar and found that the ceremony had been cancelled for the last two days because of tensions between the two countries. In September there was a terroist attack on Indian soldiers at an eastern border that killed 18. It was later discovered that the terrorists were from Pakistan damaging the already fragile relationship between the two countries.

Since no one could tell us when the ceremony would resume, we took a car to the border hoping the ceremony would take place. We were turned away about a mile from the border by soldiers. There is no information on when this decade old event will begin again so no border ceremony for us (also, no pictures so these are from the internet).

Luckily Amritsar has a second not to miss site, the Sri Harmandir Sahib (The abode of God) informally called the “Golden Temple”. Cities in India are chaotic and with crazy traffic, constantly honking horns and crowds of people. The Golden Temple is a calm oasis in the city. The construction of the Golden Temple began in 1585 to build a place of worship for men and women from all walks of life and all religions to come and worship God equally. Over 100,000 people come to the temple to worship each day.

We enjoyed walking around the temple with the crowds of Indian worshippers. Some people bath in the waters of the pool. Everyone must wear a cover on their heads. Strangely, many people wanted to take their picture with me. Once one person was brave enough to ask, a crowd would gather around for photos. Mike teased me about being the most popular white lady in India.