Doing the Dishes

So we've spent the last week in India and all we have to write about is dishes?? Surely this can't be right? But yep, its true.  You may not believe it, but we're having a ball over here, everyday is an experience, and we never know what to expect next... like washing the dishes.

I probably need to go back a bit and give you a little more information so you get the full picture.  We've left Delhi behind (feels like ages ago) and have spent the last few days in Amritsar (Punjab region).  Amritsar is the main city for the Sikh religion and home to their Golden Temple (one of the two main attrations here).  We've spent a bit of time in and around the temple soaking up some serinity and having a break from the chaotic world outside.  The people here have been amazing, they have a genuine curiosity about foreigners and take every opportunity they can to ask every question they can think of (sport, jobs for welders, if there are cures to wheat allergies in Australia, how to speak to girls etc etc).  So it comes at no surprise that the police were helpful or so we thought. 



The Golden Temple



A Temple Guard checking things out



One particular officer seemed to have a bit of an eye on us, it started out as being very helpful, giving directions to a good hotel etc, and ended up days later with us being pulled over at whistle point by a very stern face "Come, you come here!" from across the street.  Not knowing what we had done, we naturally obeyed.  Once at the police barracade our officer gathered his chums around us and then thrust his mobile phone in our ear with blaring Hindi music screaming out "You like Hindi music?".  He then began to bombard us with a collection of his favourite music, we couldn't escape!!  Arrested by the police and forced to listen to music, it was hard not to burst out laughing!



The Great Dining Hall (not its real name)

We eventually got out of our ear bashing, none the wiser for Hindi music, and found ourselves at the Golden Temple where our lunch was waiting for us, and the dishes!  The Sikh religion is very open and they are very welcoming of all people and religions, so muh so that all their temples also house communal dining rooms.  The Golden Temple is their biggest temple, so of course it has the largest dining hall.  It feeds 60,000 to 80,000 per day! Thats big, and its all run by volunteers!  So we lined up, grabbed our plates, headed in to one of the huge halls, got our deliscious meal dropped on our plates (literally) and ate with hundreds other Indian people (all willing to help us out with directions on what to do if we got lost). 

Preparing the vegies

The food was great, but its afterwards when the acton happens, if you want you are invited to help out with the jobs of the kitchen.  There's mountains of vegies to chop, and thousands of dishes to wash.  It sounds impressive, but all the dishes are metal.... and thrown around, which makes A LOT of noise.  So much noise that you can actually hear them being washes hundreds of metres away, and that's saying something when you add in the rest of the Indian noise it has to compete with.  Everything goes through 6 washing stations before it is collected and taken back in for another round of eating, the whole operation is amazing, exceptionally clean and on a huge scale! And really really loud!  But the great thing about it all is that everyone wants to get involved and do their bit.

Cooking on the stove, biggest pots in the world!

Stacking the plates

Our next little adventure was a bit grander, the Wagah Border closing ceremony.  I'm sure that everyone knows that India and Pakistan aren't the closest of friends, and that they share borders.  One of these is known as the Wagah Border, and its become an icon of Indian pride.  Each day the border gates are slammed shut and flags lowered in a way that I'm sure happens no where else in the world!! 

Showing some Indian pride!

Both sides of the border have huge grandstands for 1000's of their citizens to sit and cheer as the guards parade around in a ridiculus manner (head high kicks of their heel when they march and plenty of foot stomping and saluting).  All the while music is pumping, the crowd is yelling and cheering and proving they are better than the other side.  We've never seen a bigger show of bravado, pomp, enthusiasm, and national pride anywhere!  Words really can't explain it, and photo's only show part of it, but you're sure to find something on youtube, check it out, you'll have a great laugh!

Launching into a march

Border Guard and Fancy Hat

The Indian side of the border... Pumping!