When in Amritsar – Must Visit Places
Divine, Positive Energy, Mouth Watering Food, Perfect Winter
Morning & Evening is my trip to Amritsar in a nutshell!
We (my husband & me) contemplating on many places to
celebrate our 1st Anniversary finally we decided to go to Amritsar
& believe me it was one of the best decisions of our life.
Let me tell you about my trip. We went for 2 nights; we flew
on 18th & came back on 20th evening!
Certain things you must know –
·
Best time to visit Amritsar – November to March
(Although always take a fair idea of the weather before booking your tickets.
·
Modes of Transport – Air, Train
·
Weather – Cold but bearable (When I traveled)
My 1st Day - 18th Jan –
We booked morning flight – 10:30 am. Special added Bonus for
people travelling from Mumbai (Since I don’t know about other cities), there is
a Priority lounge area at the airport. If you own a master card (certain banks)
this is the place to go! We actually went early for this. Basically you get
Buffet Breakfast @ Rs. 25 Only! This consists of sandwiches, salads, boiled
eggs, dosa, idli, omelettes, sausages, coffee & many more. #TravellerTip –
Keep note of your time as my husband & I almost missed our flight because
we were busy chatting over breakfast.
The journey is 3 – 4 hrs depending on the weather, airlines
etc.
Once we landed we checked into our hotels – Saragarhi Sarai.
Please note they strictly only give rooms to families. By this it was lunch
time. In our Hotel there is a famous restaurant called ‘Haveli’, we decided to
have lunch there. We ordered Dal Makhni, Roti & Chaas. Let me tell you
eating atleast 1 meal there is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
After our lunch we went to Wagah Border. Travelling can be
tricky in Amritsar. The modes of transport our all private – Private cars,
Battery Operated Autos & Cycle Rickshaws, Share Rickshaws. Amongst this we took the private car. We paid
him Rs.1300 to take us to Wagah Border, wait there & drop us back.
The feeling at Wagah border is surreal! There is definitely
a big que to get in & a first come & fist seat basis. The parade 4:45
the earlier you reach the better seats you get. Once the security checks are
over (You aren’t allowed to take cameras, big bags etc, phones are fine). I
won’t talk too much about the parade because it is something you need to feel,
but you just can’t miss this. It really gives you a patriotic feeling like I
have never experienced before.
After this once we were back in our car our driver suggested
us to go to the – Maharaja Ranjit Sigh Museum. The museum is actually Maharaja
Ranjit Sigh’s fort. Here you can visit the
Pagdi museum – the evolution of pagdis, read about Sikh gurus. Another
attraction here is in the evening they have Bhangra performances, Gatka, light
& sound show which is fun to watch. If you only want to watch this the
ticket cost is Rs.1885 if you want to watch this in addition to a 7D movie the
ticket cost is Rs.325. They also provide food but I am not aware of the cost.
After this we went to have dinner. We went to this place on
Lawrence Road called – Chawla Chicken. On our way we stopped to have some
steamed – Sweet potato. It is Mustr try, it was Rs.10-20. It is perfectly
steamed sand, with lemon & chat masala squeezed on it!
Back to Chawla Chicken - It is not very famous but the
chicken is very reasonable & TASTY! WE ordered Chicken Manchow Soup, Cream
Chicken (Something different), Roti & Masala Thums Up. Our dessert stop was
Jalebi gully – For some Jalebi & Gulab Jamun (Fried in Desi Ghee!0
After this we retired!
19th -
We left the room a little before 8 AM to visit Golden Temple,
considering it was a Sunday there was a lot of rush so we decided to do ‘Parikrama’
(Rounds of Golden Temple) & then sat their for a while.
Post this we were really hungry to stopped for some
breakfast at this place called ‘Bharawan Da Dhaba’. We
had Aloo & Paneer Kulcha with Lassi! Kulcha is served with onion &
chole. All of this was at walking distance from our hotel.
After this we visited another Gurudwara – Baba Deep
Singh Gurudwara. Here we took a cycle rickshaw & spend Rs.50. We had
religious reasons to visit – there was a ¾ hrs Paat that we wanted to attend.
Here we ate Langaar. Here I would like to point out no matter how short your
Amritsar trip have atleast Langaar once!
After the paat we went back to Golden Temple to ‘Snaan’
at the Sarovar. Taking bath (Basically Dip) at Amrit Sarovar is a ritual. We
need it early evening so that the water would not be extremely cold. The
Sarovar is different for men & women. Later we went to have some tea at the
Langaar Hall in Golden Temple.
Another thing Amritsar is known for is the
beautiful Punjabi suits. I wanted ‘Gotta Pati Dupatta’ from very long & now
was my chance :p I went to the Katra Market. #TravellerTip – Visit atleast 2-3
shops before you purchase. BARGAIN is the key.
It was time for some Pet Pooja, we had to try
some street food so we went to jalebi gully. We had Gol Gappe, Desi Ghee Tikki.
After this we decide to have dinner we decided to go to Makhan Fish &
Chicken Hut. Here we ate Fried Fish Sangara Fish (Recommended by our server), Tandoori
Chicken with Roti & thums Up. This restaurant allows you to buy/ get your
own alcohol. After this, it was time to walk back to our Hotel
20th –
We went to golden Temple at 4am, since we wanted
the morning Ardas (Prayer). It was a divine experience in itself. I actually
found my peace there. Kirtan/Bhajan going on all you have to do sit their &
feel the vibrations of this place. If it does fit your itinerary I would definitely
suggest this! We had our Breakfast right as you come out of Golden Temple at ‘Kulwant
Kulch’. It’s a small joint but it is quiet famous. Must Try – Paneer Kulcha.
It was time for us to go back to Mumbai with a
full stomach, heavy heart but peace in our minds!
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