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Places to see in Punjab
Punjab is yet to come on a tourist map. Popular for living style and eat-drink and merry style of Punjabi's.

GOLDEN TEMPLE IN AMRITSAR: A temple of Gold which is sikh shrine. You must see this temple in day as well as in night. According to SIKH RITUALS and PRACTICE, you should cover your head, do not smoke, laugh/talk laudly, should not come under effect of alcoholor drugs.

VAGHA BORDER - Ex AMRITSAR: A India-Pakistan border ceremoney has become famous after National Geogrpahic abd Discovery TV channels features it. This is where you will find emotions of people of both countries. This is 1 hrs. drive from Amritsar and gate entry starts 4.0 PM in winters and 5.0 PM in summers.

JALANDHAR Famous for making sports goods of international quality. Jalandhar is also a mirror of upcoming modern life styleof Punjabis. A good amount of people fromthis region has migrated and settles in USA,CANADA, UK, FRANCE, ITALY. Shopping area of RAINAK BAZAAR is must to see and buy things of punjabi' culture. Famous eating place is HAWELI which is treditional punjabi eating joint[ air conditioned ]

Ludhiana: This city boasts of most luxury cars in India...even more than Mumbai.Manchester of India - famous for wollen clothings. Heavy traffic.Should be visited if you are interested in shopping of woolen only. Also popular for medical colleges like CMC [ Christian Medical Collage ] which was setup by Missionaries in British Era.

Chandigarh A happening place.Clean, well built city. Do not miss if you are going to Himachal Pradesh destinations like SHIMLA or MANALI. Chandigarh has some wonderful experiences stored for you in shape of ROSE GARDEN, ROCK GARDEN, MUSEUM, SUKHNA LAKE, SECTOR -17 SHOPPING AREA, PUNJAB UNIVERSITY and MOVIE THEATERS.In Summers- have draught beer in A/Cpubs !

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Four Climbers of Indian Army Missing on Mountains
Four mountaineers of Indian army on a expedition to Mt. Nanda Devi are reported missing. Rescue had been stopped due to bad weather. Uttarakhand is going through weather disturbance which caused heavy rains in this region since a week. A seven thousander peak which is always a challenge for climbers since first climbed in Mid 40's.

SOURCE: http://www.himadventures.net/outdoor_forums/index.php/topic,26.msg496/topicseen.html#msg496

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Five dead trekkers bodies in Uttarakhand Himalayas

Search and rescue operation had been called-off due to bad weather after more than 50 member team of search and rescue from ITBP and police faced bad weather at altitude of 15,000 ft in Uttarakhand.

 

An army expidition reported 5 dead bodies of trekkers which are supposed to be Europeans. No identity had been fixed yet as it was possible to bring only ONE DEAD BODY down.

 

Body of a women which had been brought by ITBP and Uttarakhand police was frozen and forensic tests will be performed on it.

 

THIS IS TO NOTE THAT MANY TREKKERS AND CLIMBERS GOES MISSING IN HIMALAYAS AND IT IS ONLY AFTER MONTHS AND YEARS THAT PEOPLE COMES TO KNOW ABOUT THEIR FATE. A EYEWITNESS HAD CLAIMED THAT THESE BODIES COULD BE ANYWHERE FROM 5-8 YEARS OLD.

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Traveling in Punjab
Sometimes Indian railways is unbelievably efficient. The train from Delhi to Amritsar is one such example, and as I'd heard lots of good things about the place, I thought I'd visit. The bombings on the railway last month, which I imagine you heard more about outside India than I did inside, were on this route, and it seems that they're taking security pretty seriously: my whole rucksack was searched, and police dogs went throughout the train.

Amritsar is in the Punjab, right next to the Pakistan border, and is now one of my favourite places in India. Its most famous for the Golden Temple, which is the most holy site in the world for Sikhs. Yes, I'm doing quite well on the "most holy places" at the moment... Doubt I'll make it to Mecca, but you never know.

My uneducated and limited impressions lead me to consider Sikh culture to be closer to ours than most Indian cultures, in terms of mannerisms, gestures, niceties etc, and as a result it's easy to feel comfortable in Amritsar. There are still lots of people selling the same things, jostling for business, but somehow it feels friendlier. I don't know

The Golden Temple is wonderful. Its so serene, relaxed, & has a genuinely spiritual atmosphere. Its also free to enter, there's a free kitchen , & nobody demands a donation. This makes a huge difference. The temple is in active use: thousands of pilgrims visit daily, but it doesn't feel crowded - people give each other space, don't feel the need to shout or use mobile 'phones! Unlike most Hindu temples, non-believers are allowed into the inner sanctum (no photos though), which is a genuine privilege. I sat transfixed inside for hours while people shuffled past, prayed, sang with the constant music that's played by 3 priests: one tabla, 2 harmoniums, all with incredible voices playing hypnotic cyclical stuff in keys that I couldn't understand. It was beautiful

If you ever come to India, come here.

As I said already, Amritsar is very close to the Pakistan border. Every night at sunset is the border-closing ceremony, which is rather amusing... MC's on either side of the gates try to gee their crowds (seated in grandstands) into out-shouting/parting the other side. There's music, dancing, sudden silence, we hear "Pakistan" being chanted louder than "Hindustan," & raise our voices to match. It was close, but I'd have to give it to Pakistan (don't think he'd be happy about that though)...

Next, soldiers dressed like chickens perform elaborate mating rituals, stamping and scowling for their countries in synchrony with the other side. They stand still, then suddenly high-kick and start power-walking towards each other while the crowds roar them on. This goes on for a surprisingly long time.




I have no idea where this ritual came from, or why they choose to pursue it, but I don't think that really matters.
Fortunately, at the end of the dance, they decide to be friends and the flags are lowered for the night.


Everyone then tries to find their shared jeep back to Amritsar, and the festival is over. Driving back was like a computer game. Most of Amritsar is a grid without traffic lights, so motorbikes (lights off) just fly across our path, missing by a whisker. It didn't help that the most crucial part of any vehicle, the horn, was broken in our jeep. If I wasn't such a wishy-washy hippy, I'm sure I'd be able to use Indian traffic as a perfect example of the laws of entropy...

Amritsar, what else? Oh yes, the funniest place of worship in the world. Thanks Nye for recommending it...


This is Lal Devi. In her honour, this papier mache / marble fun house exists.


Apparently, its a temple, although I'd say its more a chamber-of-horrors-obstacle-course-glitter-ball-fairground-ride tacked precariously onto the side of a house.


You crawl through tunnels, splash through flithy water, check yourself in the mirrors, and worship!


So, that was Amritsar. I won't get any further north than it on this trip, although north-west India really appeals to me. I almost changed my mind while I was there, but I'd just sent all my cold weather clothing home with Mum, and didn't fancy freezing for my last month. I'll come back in the summer months one year and do it properly. It wasn't such a tough decision though, as I was on my way to Gujerat...

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Adventure And Outdoor Gear In India
India is not making any quality gear and perhaps reason behind this could be that not much people are into adventure sports or outdoor life.

I have yet to see MOVING HOUSES/ CARAVANS in Himalayas or anywhere in India. Adventure sports equipment which is being made in India is strictly restricted to sleepings bags and tents.

Still, some websites are there which are making good money by online business but material they supply by courier is little OLD / SALE STUFF.