I was particularly keen to get to Amritsar. I really wanted to see one of India's most famous sights, the golden temple. This Gurudwada is the center of Sikh religion. And it looks fantastic.
In the Gurudwada free food is given out 24 hours a day. Further, free tea, water and a certain kind of sweet were available. It was also possible to sleep in the temple's outhouses. Of course, I had to try that out as well.
I spent a lot of time in and around the Gurudwada. However, I also went to see the other attraction Amritsar is famous for. That is the Wagah border patrol. Located less than 20 km from Amritsar in a place called Wagah is the border to Pakistan. The cab ride felt crazy knowing that we were going right up to Pakistan. Early evening the ceremony started. Indian and Pakistani soldiers each marched on their side of the border. It was fun to hear the crowd cheer so loudly. At some point the gates of the border were opened. Then soldiers of both sides did their weird walks and finished in a powerful pose towards the other side. I was amazed at how perfectly synchronously the Indian and Pakistani soldiers walked. It seemed as if it was one well practiced choreography, which it might well have been. The ceremony was great fun to watch and the atmosphere was fantastic, too.
Amritsar itself was a very nice city. But having done all I wanted to do there, I went on to Rishikesh. This town is the center of yoga. I simply went because it was supposed to be a nice place. And like in Bodhgaya, I once again managed to come at just the right time. While I was there one of the most famous and most popular spiritual leaders, Mooji, was there as well. I went to the Satsang with Mooji twice, where people could ask questions about their journey to self realisation. Though I couldn't take away much from the Satsang, I still found it very interesting and it did give me a few good ideas to think about.
Apart from that, I just relaxed at the ghats or in one of the nice restaurants. I managed to spend four days in Rishikesh without doing a single yoga class. But I was very lucky to be able to attend the Satsang with Mooji.
