The Holiest of Holies - Sikh Style

After finally uprooting ourselves from three months of intensive self-study in Rishikesh, we arrived via overnight express in the city of Amritsar in the Punjab.

Amritsar lies less than thirty miles from the border of Pakistan and is the home of the holiest site in Sikhism, the Golden Temple.



The city's name is derived from the pool of nectar (water) surrounding the temple, the amrit samovar.

Given the close ties between Sikhism and the kundalini yoga style we often practice, a visit to the temple was high on our list and it did not disappoint.

Never before have we encountered any people like the Sikhs. For the most part, they were overly gracious, helpful and not-too-pushy to sell you something (a novel concept in India). The facilities around the temple were amazing while the temple itself was spectacular.

A prominent feature of Sikhism is the welcoming of all peoples, from all backgrounds and all religions. The kitchen in the temple complex is open twenty-four hours a day, everyday, and feeds between 50-80,000 people per day for FREE. Those numbers are not a joke.


It is a wild experience because you just follow the lines where you are handed an aluminum plate, bowl and silverware, funnelled into large halls with long runners to sit on with a thousand plus other people, and fed by men who dish out all-you-can-eat dal, beans, rice porridge and chapati from large stainless steel buckets and wicker baskets. Afterwards you can help clean up in long dish cleaning stations or even help in the massive kitchens. How they fund or man such enormous operations is mind-boggling, but profoundly beautiful.

As for the temple, if ever I could imagine a building housing the divine in my soul, the Golden Temple would be it. Maybe it's the supposed 750kg of gold glimmering on the top, but somehow I couldn't help but sit mesmerized by its visage. I'm positive that the countless amicable pilgrims walking around it and bathing in the sacred waters generated ample good vibes, but just sitting there gazing on the temple brought spontaneous smiles to our faces.
Being back in a bustling large city was both exciting and challenging. In addition to the copious amount of turbans available, both meat and alcohol were back on the menus. We found ourselves being very timid with the ordering of either but were pleased at finding some lovely coffee houses to take brief respites from hustle.

While the temple was the highlight, we were awfully cold and ended up cutting short our trip through Rajastan by catching a flight out of Delhi to the south into the former Portugese colony of Goa. That move made Amalia, my little California girl, very, very happy. :)

While in Goa we'll be meditating on the golden temples in our hearts as we warm up laying in the sun and soaking in the Arabian Sea. And since we have opted to rent a small apartment just off the beach for a month, we'll have ample time to do just that.

We know, it's a rough life but someone's got to live it. ;)

PS, click on the last picture to open in a bigger window & tell us what's happening in the shot.

Goan Beach Bums

So it has been quite a stretch since our last post. We have no real excuses except for being bums, beach bums that is.

We had planned to do a three week tour of the Indian state, Rajastan, back in January followed by a flight south to Kerala; but after freezing our toes off in Amritsar and having a little personal meltdown in the process, we cut short the desert and took an earlier flight to Goa.

Goa is a small state, probably not much over 100 miles long on the Arabian sea. It was a former Portuguese colony, so it not unusual to meet Indians with Spanish sounding names such as Armando, Rosario, or Valeriano. Additionally it is a predominantly Catholic state, so meat and alcohol are back on the menus.

We were looking for some beach time and Amalia was especially looking forward to lazing by the sea, so after a week hanging out in a beach hut, we found a small one room apartment just off the beach with a stove and refrigerator and decided to rent it for a month.

Most of Goa is overrun by tourists, predominantly of British, Russian and German origin, but we were lucky to find Agonda (thanks Amber & Kurt) in southern Goa, which was laid back and not overly commercialized.

For the first three weeks we simply hung out, practiced our yoga, drew, ate lots of yummy papaya, tried to brew the perfect cup of masala chai, read, played chess, and of course spent lots of time on the beach. It was a great time to be by ourselves and try to understand and integrate the lessons we had learned in Rishikesh. Long conversations, deep pondering and shared intimacy made for a wonderful and insightful time.

Nearing the end of our stay we reconnected with our friend, Mr. Cycle Strongman Chris Roach, who we had met earlier in Nepal on the Annapurna trek. He was taking a small break from the northern winter with his lovely Spanish girlfriend, Amanda. After a few days we were joined by a lovely German biking duo, Patrick and Peggy, who were/ are cycling around India for a month or two.

We had a blast doing yoga on the beach in the morning followed by scrumptious breakfasts on our back patio, beach volleyball in late afternoon, sundowners and g&t's over wonderful sunsets, and epic dinners back at our place. Again and again I am amazed and convinced at how the cycling crowd simply gels together and how many common interests and ideas we share. Everyone got along splendidly and it added a wonderful finish to to our Agonda beach bum days.

All said, we found that five weeks on the beach was our limit and amazingly Amalia was the first to get cabin fever, so after many days of debate we made plans to head south and do up Karnataka. As we headed out of Goa, we made a two night stopover at Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary for some birdwatching and peace and quiet. Enjoy the pictures!