INDIA 2025: AMRITSAR'S GOLDEN TEMPLE

November 22, 2025

On our first trip to India we visited the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib Sikh Temple in Delhi, which was fabulous, but supposedly it couldn't hold a candle to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. We were intrigued enough to add a detour to Amritsar on this trip specifically to visit the temple.  

Once we were in the historic part of the city, it was easy to spot the temple at the end of Heritage Street, and there was plenty of signage pointing the way for those who are very nearsighted.

It took a bit of walking to get to the Golden Temple, but it was nice of the Sikhs to give us a red carpet to walk on, especially since we had to remove our shoes. We were headed toward a golden dome that could almost be a Gothic Catholic cathedral but is actually the entrance to the Golden Temple complex.

On the other side of the doors is a huge, spotlessly clean plaza paved with marble. It was like walking into the Emerald City, except maybe it would be the Amber City.

INDIA 2025: WALKING TOUR OF AMRITSAR

 November 22, 2025

Our guide in Amritsar, Roop, was a devout Sikh, complete with a pale lilac turban and a long beard. He was great. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of his face, but here is a great picture of his turban.

Amritsar is the spiritual and cultural center for Sikhs, much as Varanasi is for Hindus, and is considered a holy city in Sikhism. It was established in 1574 by the fourth (of ten) Sikh guru, Guru Ram Das. Situated in the state of Punjab and only 17 miles from the border with Pakistan and with a population of about 1.5 million, it is also an important economic and political location. 

Roop picked us up from our hotel and took us to the historical area of town, which was, like other large cities in India, crowded, noisy, and jam-packed with fascinating things to see. I think I would enjoy walking up and down the main streets every day just to see what was going on.

Note the sign for international drink of choice: 
Coca-Cola

A sword-wielding man riding a horse perched atop an elaborately carved base dominates what is known as "Heritage Street," a pedestrian promenade that runs between Town Hall and the Golden Temple (see next post). This is Ranjit Singh, the founder and first maharaja (prince or king) of the Sikh Empire, who ruled from 1801 until 1839. He is revered for uniting the Punjab province and for leading a cultural and artistic renaissance. A few interesting facts about him are that he lost an eye to smallpox as an infant, was short and unattractive, and was basically illiterate.

Another interesting fact is that for the last 26 years of his life he owned (and often prominently displayed on the front of his turban or as an armlet) the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond, one of the largest cut diamonds in the world. 

INDIA 2025: FROM LOS ANGELES TO AMRITSAR

 November 20-22, 2025

In December 2024, Bob and I and my sister Chris and her husband Stan had a wonderful trip to India that included time spent in Guwahati, Kaziranga National Park, Delhi, Varanasi, Agra, and Jaipur. We checked many things off our bucket list, but one remained: to see a tiger in the wild. In spite of five or six safari drives in Kaziranga National Park, the big cat escaped us.

Foreseeing this as a possibility, Bob had purchased a five-year, multiple-entry visa instead of a 30-day, single-entry visa. I think his plan (unbenownst to me) was always to go back and try again. I think it may have been on the flight home that he suggested another trip.

We reached out to our reliable travel partners from the first trip and also included my brother Dave and his wife Bonnie and proposed traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday when I had a full week off from school and could add a few extra days. Both couples enthusiastically agreed, and Bob started planning.

Dave and Bonnie left three days before we did so that they could squeeze in some of the experiences, like the Taj Mahal, that we had on our first India trip. The plan was to meet up in the Delhi Airport on November 22 and fly from there to our first location: Amritsar.

With a time change of 12.5 hours, it takes two-and-a-half calendar days to get to Delhi from our home. We left the house on Thursday morning, drove the two hours to the Los Angeles Airport, left our car in the LA Hilton underground parking lot, and boarded a Virgin Atlantic flight to London at about 3:40 p.m.

A good omen?

The flight was 10 hours and 20 minutes long, and we arrived in London on a beautiful day with blue skies and a great view of the Thames curlicuing its way through the city.

We could even see the London Eye on the South Bank: