I guess it has been a while since I updated this so here is some update action for whoever desires it.
I traveled to Lumbini Nepal on the 28th because it is the historical birthplace of the Buddha. Lumbini itself is literally a village but right next to it is an enormous work in progress where governments and organizations from all over the world are building temples and monasteries. I spent the 29th walking in and out of one temple/monastery after the other. I ended up arriving in the middle of a 10 day pilgrimage of thousands of monks from all over the world but primarily India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Throughout the two days there I was able to talk with several and spent a lot of time with one particular monk named Tenzin Choepol. I gave him this address so hopefully he is reading. Tenzin and I got to converse quite a bit over the two days and I got to have dinner with him at one of the monastery restaurants on the night of the 29th. Overall Lumbini was a very interesting place to visit and I am still in awe when I think about how much time/effort/money is being invested to build the temples and monasteries there.
After Lumbini was Agra and the Taj Mahal. My plan had been to skip Agra and get up to Dharamsala earlier but I ended up jumping off my train early and stopping in Agra. I arrived in the afternoon, got a hotel near the Taj Mahal and was offered a multitude of “cheap and best agra tours,” “real marble replica taj mahal” and of course the ever present hash. Anyway, I went in the next morning before the sun came up and it was downright impressive. It is certainly toward the top of my “most incredible buildings I have ever seen” list. I spent about 4 hours walking around and taking pictures (which are on facebook if you wish to indulge). Throughout this trip I have had something of a strategy for avoiding touristy places. Overall it has pretty much worked in an excellent manner but I am very happy I ended up going to the Taj Mahal. I had heard so many people talk about how amazing it was and I think they were right. There are also several hilarious stories a bit long to put on here but I will tell them to anyone who asks me in any verbal manner.
Sidenote: I am pretty sure the keyboard I am using is vintage 1974 so any misspelled words/uncapitalized letters are hopefully because of that.
After Agra came Amritsar where the Sikh Golden Temple is. In keeping with the name, the temple is actually gold. In fact it is very very gold. It is also in the middle of an enormous building complex and a massive lake-swimming pool. It was very impressive to look at but the most interesting part for me was the walk across the bridge that leads to the temple itself. It was only about 100m but took 20 minutes to cross because there were so many people. The experience of walking across the bridge was pretty powerful because it was the type of place where a person could just feel the energy from the people around. As far as I could tell, I was the only non-sikh anywhere near me and it was very apparent I was surrounded by people absolutely full of anticipation. I remember standing there in total awe at how much one place could mean to a person and realizing there is nothing in my life that even comes close to helping me relate to that. The lady behind me (and many others) was physically shaking and pushing me forward to get to the temple as soon as possible. It was very apparent that the people around me were about to enter wha they considered one of, if not the, holiest places in the entire world. I have been to a lot of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples along with Muslim Mosques and the experience of walking across that bridge was significantly more interesting and powerful than any event or ritual I have seen before or since in India. Well that is that for now.
