It is about a half hour walk from my hotel to the golden temple and it takes some searching in the narrow streets. But the closer I get, the more people head in the same direction. On arrival I have to hand in shoes, socks and cap and I am given an orange cloth to wear as head covering.
The Golden Temple is the most important place of the Sikhs. Sikhism is a religion that is mainly found in Punjab, the Indian province where I am now. A Sikh is not allowed to cut body hair, so the men wear a turban to keep hair together and have a beard.
The line to visit the inside of the temple is so long that I don't even join it. There is also plenty to see around the temple. It is said that 100,000 visitors come to the temple every day, but that seems a bit exaggerated. In any case, there are many thousands of them.
Every visitor can enjoy a free meal and make a voluntary contribution. The kitchen is run entirely by volunteers and next to the dining rooms hundreds of people are peeling and cutting everything. I want to experience this and join the queue for one of the dining rooms.
When the doors open I get a metal sign and everyone comes and sits on the floor in rows. A little later, the volunteers come by with Dahl (lentil soup), Kheer (sweet rice pudding), Naan (bread) and water. Very tasty! Just as quickly as the room filled up, it is empty again and the adjacent room is already open for the next class so that it can be cleaned. Up to 50,000 meals a day can be provided here! Impressive.
After walking around and lounging for a few hours (however, you are only allowed to sit cross-legged on the floor and I'm not very good at that) I pick up my shoes again, walk back to the hotel past the traffic and I can hear the call from a McDonalds that is on my route anyway.
