Bikaner-Amritsar
Tuesday, October 11th, 2005
Good morning from Amritsar, Punjab!
We did a nice long rode from Bikaner yesterday, covering about 520 km. Left at 7am from Bikaner (see photo). The hotel looks more grand and regal on the outside than it does in side. Trust me!
We rode out for about 2 hours covering 160 km before we stopped for breakfast at a road side cafe, Hans Hotel (see photo). Ordered the traditional Rajasthani breakfast (see photo) consisting of aalu paratha (roti bread stuffed with ptato, onion and chilli) and plain yogurt accompanied by fresh cut onions and chillis. The parathas were made from scratch right there and then and were the best I have ever had! Very fulfilling breakfast and had a chai before we hit the road again.
The roads in Rajasthan were fabulous and we could notice the change in the landscape as we were leaving the state. More trees and the traffic was increasing. Lots of lorries (trucks) and tractors filled with hay ( see photo) resembling the afro ken toys. They look very comical like they have this wild wind blown wig on.
By early afternoon we reached Punjab state. Quite a luscious state. The roads were more beaten but the eucalyptus trees lining the roads and the cotton, sugar cane and paddy fields were on both sides of the road was a beautiful sight from the bikes. (see photo). All the canals and river were brimming with water and the trees would canopy the road, giving some cool breeze as we rode. When we stopped for a quick lunch around 3 pm we realized it was still quite warm outside. Had a quick lunch and were out on the road in an hour. Our fastest lunch break! We wanted to arrive in Amritsar before it got quite dark. We reached the city limits by 7 pm and hired an auto to lead the way to our hotel, Royal Castle (again, only for namesake!)
The harvesting season (for the rice and wheat ) must have just finished. The remaining stacks still in the ground are set on fire, which helps the next seeding. It’s just that, everyone does it at the same time. Obviously! Needless to say, the white smoke was everywhere and particularly as we were entering the city limits and the sun was setting, the visibility is very smoggy like. The sunset however looked spectacular.
We checked in to our hotel and chilled for the night. Felt too tired to post a blog last night.
This morning we all did our laundry (ourselves). Navroze and Joe went to the golden temple in the morning and then went to the airport to pick up a new member of our crew, Sanjeeev Shah. He wasn’t able to join us any earlier due to prior engagements. He is an established film maker from India and we are all excited about him joining us from here.
We are planning on going to the golden temple later this afternoon and then to the India-Pakistan border, which is less than 30 km.
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