Amritsar, ville sacrée des Sikhs. Grâce à un ami de la Bnp (que je remercie vivement), nous pouvions rester dans un hôtel créé par un groupe de Sikhs de Birmingham pour les membres de ce clan lorsqu'ils viennent en pèlerinage à Amritsar. L’hôtel était propre et confortable, très bien situé et avec un bon Wifi! Parfait :)
Une fois les bagages déposés nous nous rendons au temple, les rues autours sont chaotiques et nous devons quitter les chaussures et se couvrir la tête pour y entrer.
Une fois à l'intérieur c'est vraiment calme, autour du temple il y a une grande "piscine" où les Sikhs prennent un "bain saint", nous passons presque 4 heures marchant autour et prenant plein de photos. Le fan club de Helen était venu en force, beaucoup de gens la regardent et, pour les plus braves, demandent de la (nous) prendre en photo ou lui serrent la main.
Nous allons manger a la cantine du temple, ils servent gratuitement près de 60000 repas par jour! C'est très efficace, ils laissent rentrer les gens dans un grande salle puis chaque volontaire distribue un plat (lentilles, riz au lait, pain, eau), une fois fini il faut rapporter son plateau et quitter la salle pour laisser place à un autre groupe de personnes.
Une fois de retour à l’hôtel nous partageons le repas avec les autres personnes qui sont très accueillantes (lentilles, riz au lait, pain, eau et c'était la même chose pour le petit déjeune).
Bref c'était un très bon séjour à Amritsar et nous sommes bien content d'avoir fini par ça.
Amritsar, the holy city of the Sikhs. Thanks to one of Guillaume's colleagues, we were able to stay at a hotel created by one of the Sikh 'clans' for members of the clan on pilgrimage to Amritsar. The hotel was clean and comfortable with good wifi. Heaven!
As soon as we arrived, another guest from Glasgow came over and helped to get us checked in as the staff don't speak English very well.
For the day we were in Amritsar, the helpfulness and friendliness of all the Sikhs we met was remarkable. Even though we were just tourists, basically crashing in their hotel and gawping at their temple, we felt really welcome.
Once we'd dropped our bags at the hotel we headed to the Golden Temple, which explains itself really. The Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, is kept there and recited throughout the day. Around the Golden Temple is a large pool where Sikhs take holy dips.
We spent about four hours in the complex, walking round the edge of the pool and taking photos of the magnificent temple.
My fan club were out in force - I must have had at least 20 photos taken of me and people were asking me to shake their hands, touch their children (seriously) and even hold their babies (which the babies were less keen on, see photo). Those who were less forthcoming contended themselves with just swivelling their heads to stare at me as they went past. A little unnerving, but that's the price for being ginger I suppose...
After doing one tour of the pool a Sikh man took us to the langar (communal dining room) to eat with the pilgrims. It is an amazing logistical feat.
Thousands of people must go through every day, and they all get a hot meal on clean plates. Firstly, we queued for our plates (like school dinner trays with different compartments), then another man put a bowl on it, while another added a spoon. Next we went upstairs to the dining room and sat down in rows on the floor. Then the food arrived, dal and rice pudding served in the trays, water in the bowls, chappati in the hands held out palms upstretched. Very efficient, and tasty.
At the hotel we had an evening meal with the other guests, who all talked to us and made us feel very welcome - just like they did at breakfast the following morning. We may have eaten dal and chappati for three meals straight, but it was tasty and we were made to feel like part of the community more than anywhere else we've been in India.
Une fois les bagages déposés nous nous rendons au temple, les rues autours sont chaotiques et nous devons quitter les chaussures et se couvrir la tête pour y entrer.
Une fois à l'intérieur c'est vraiment calme, autour du temple il y a une grande "piscine" où les Sikhs prennent un "bain saint", nous passons presque 4 heures marchant autour et prenant plein de photos. Le fan club de Helen était venu en force, beaucoup de gens la regardent et, pour les plus braves, demandent de la (nous) prendre en photo ou lui serrent la main.
Nous allons manger a la cantine du temple, ils servent gratuitement près de 60000 repas par jour! C'est très efficace, ils laissent rentrer les gens dans un grande salle puis chaque volontaire distribue un plat (lentilles, riz au lait, pain, eau), une fois fini il faut rapporter son plateau et quitter la salle pour laisser place à un autre groupe de personnes.
Une fois de retour à l’hôtel nous partageons le repas avec les autres personnes qui sont très accueillantes (lentilles, riz au lait, pain, eau et c'était la même chose pour le petit déjeune).
Bref c'était un très bon séjour à Amritsar et nous sommes bien content d'avoir fini par ça.
Amritsar, the holy city of the Sikhs. Thanks to one of Guillaume's colleagues, we were able to stay at a hotel created by one of the Sikh 'clans' for members of the clan on pilgrimage to Amritsar. The hotel was clean and comfortable with good wifi. Heaven!
As soon as we arrived, another guest from Glasgow came over and helped to get us checked in as the staff don't speak English very well.
For the day we were in Amritsar, the helpfulness and friendliness of all the Sikhs we met was remarkable. Even though we were just tourists, basically crashing in their hotel and gawping at their temple, we felt really welcome.
Once we'd dropped our bags at the hotel we headed to the Golden Temple, which explains itself really. The Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, is kept there and recited throughout the day. Around the Golden Temple is a large pool where Sikhs take holy dips.
We spent about four hours in the complex, walking round the edge of the pool and taking photos of the magnificent temple.
My fan club were out in force - I must have had at least 20 photos taken of me and people were asking me to shake their hands, touch their children (seriously) and even hold their babies (which the babies were less keen on, see photo). Those who were less forthcoming contended themselves with just swivelling their heads to stare at me as they went past. A little unnerving, but that's the price for being ginger I suppose...
After doing one tour of the pool a Sikh man took us to the langar (communal dining room) to eat with the pilgrims. It is an amazing logistical feat.
Thousands of people must go through every day, and they all get a hot meal on clean plates. Firstly, we queued for our plates (like school dinner trays with different compartments), then another man put a bowl on it, while another added a spoon. Next we went upstairs to the dining room and sat down in rows on the floor. Then the food arrived, dal and rice pudding served in the trays, water in the bowls, chappati in the hands held out palms upstretched. Very efficient, and tasty.
At the hotel we had an evening meal with the other guests, who all talked to us and made us feel very welcome - just like they did at breakfast the following morning. We may have eaten dal and chappati for three meals straight, but it was tasty and we were made to feel like part of the community more than anywhere else we've been in India.
Superbe!
RépondreSupprimerJoli site! (Je reprends ma course au commentaire!) Hélène, toujours classe, on dirait une célébrité sous ses lunettes de soleil! 😊
RépondreSupprimer