Amritsar - Getting there

This weekend was a fun trip to Amritsar. As of Friday morning, I wasn't sure if I was going because it seemed a little risky to go without making solid plans for accommodation etc. But I decided that this weekend would be much more comfortable than next weekend since work would pick up by then. So it was now or ... much later. I got on a share auto going to Chandigarh, without knowing how to get to the bus stop. Luckily the guy who on the auto with me was also going there, so I just followed him. At the bus shelter again, I was wondering where I would buy tickets and it turned out that you buy the tickets on the bus itself and there was a bus ready to leave. I even got a window seat because the erstwhile occupant decided to get on a different bus.

We were off. It was a five-hour ride. The big indications that we were leaving Chandigarh and entering Punjab were the green fields on both sides of the road, and a slow but steady increase in Gurumukhi signboards for shops. The bus driver started playing Punjabi songs and lots of folks dozed off after a while - it was a very unique experience to just be there.

At a bus stop on the way I wanted to grab a snack and found what looked like a veggie sandwich - white bread, no crust and some white filling. I thought it was cheese at worst. Oh, it was worse than that - it was some cold slaw type filling, something sweet and tasting like cabbage. And it stunk. I could barely eat a couple of bites.

We reached the city and I began asking the conductor if there were any places to stay. I had been getting a little anxious as we got close to the city, wondering if we'd make it in time to find a good room and some food. Turned out we arrived with plenty of time for both. I walked into the first hotel I saw and found a room for a reasonable rate. (As you might read later, the low price was still too high.)

I was desperate to try the famous Sarson Ka Saag, but I was disappointed to learn that it was only available during winter. So I settled for some regular chapati and curry and slept.

Only to be woken up in the morning by the blasting of the horns of various buses (I was right in front of the bus shelter after all).