India - 4

Nov 14: Dharamsala - Amritsar

Boy, today was a really tough day and I felt my physical, emotional and mental abilities tested to their limits. The long story short is that I got sick early on during the 7 hour bus ride...I had so dreaded that happening and had been pretty good about eating very lightly the night before and during travel days.  But this is India, everyone gets sick and despite the precautions, I got that dreadful feeling in my stomach and pearls of sweat started forming on my forehead. I was feeling nauseous. What to do - get off the bus in the middle of nowhere? And then what - ask random villagers to go shit in their house in a language they don't understand (that's assuming they even have a toilet)? Hide in the bushes? Awful, awful, awful experience. Dreadful feeling. Fortunately, I had Immodium in my pocket, as I always do on this trip, so I popped it in my mouth and prayed. It is truly a magic pill - I couldn't have been more grateful for it. I was able to keep it together until the next bus terminal. But that was still hours away from my destination...

And then another bus ride, this one completely packed with pilgrims, more hours of agony, more nausea, one more pill. I was finally dropped off in the middle of nowhere in Amritsar (for some unknown reason the bus decided not to bother going to the terminal). As soon as the passengers got out, we were bombarded with folks selling stuff, and me being the only foreigner, I was a magnet for them all. Crowds, sellers, dust, trash, heat, traffic...these were the last things I was prepared to deal with at that time. Anyhow, I survived, I found an ok hotel and just crashed for a few hours. It was a challenge, for sure. 

I picked up a bit of energy in the evening and went to visit the Golden Temple, which was just a 5 minute walk from the hotel. It was truly amazing - so beautiful, and welcoming, and serene. I listened to one of their five daily prayers and also witnessed the ceremony for the holy book being put away for the night. It has to be one of the most special places I've ever visited. Despite journey, I was very glad to be at the destination.