Dharamsala to Amritsar

A Surprisingly Arduous Journey

Our journey from Dharamsala to Amritsar was absolute madness. The traffic congestion, road closures, detours, and holiday celebrations in honor of Baba Buddha (1506-1631) made traveling quite arduous.


When we were finally within the Amritsar district, traffic was stop and go. At every interval we had to stop, a group of Sikh boys would practically jump on our jeep to clean it and aggressively offer us beverages. It seemed almost normal to me, but since most of the team members have never traveled in this manner, their reaction was funny. Many of them thought we were being accosted or attacked. I explained that because there is a holiday, everyone is celebrating, and local people offer beverages to passersby traveling along the main road.

We left Dharamsala in the early afternoon but did not reach Amritsar until about 8pm. Our new drivers were terrible and we truly missed our Punjabi-speaking Tibetan drivers. Once we arrived in Amritsar, Tom and his guide Hekani arranged for us to stay at a guest house which was rather creepy. Some team members refused to stay there. So we stayed at a so-called 5 star hotel, the Ritz Plaza which I did not care too much for...but it was the best we were going to get by that point.

Punjab's government needs to consider improving the conditions of their roads and highways, along with more practical design and infrastructure. Perhaps entertaining proposals from wide ranging experts in fields such as engineering and architecture, could serve as the beginning to much needed reform and restructuring.

The highlight of Amritsar is Harimandar Sahib (aka Sikh Golden Temple). It is truly beautiful and unique in architecture. Most impressive is the undeniable feeling of peace one feels sitting at the water's edge near the Temple. I only hope that the administrators of the Temple upkeep its' beauty and prevent tarnish.

Lisa and I went to the Golden Temple the night we arrived in Amritsar, October 26, 2006.