India/Pakistan border closing ceremony

Indian Border soldier - influenced by MJ
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Other than the Golden Temple, the holy bible of the traveller, The Lonely Planet suggests venturing out of Amritsar some 30kms to the Pakistan border to see the closing of the border ceremony. This wasn't high on our priority list as how exciting can gate closing be I asked?

We had travelled quite a distance to get to Punjab and it seemed the thing to be done. When you exit the Golden Temple you are approached by touts to drive you to the Attari (India)/Wagah (Pakistan) border. The mode of transport can range from a chitty chitty bang bang rickshaw, to a small hatchback, bongo van, 4 wheel drive or public bus. Although we vowed never to go any distance in a bus again, I trusted a young Man named Manu to get us a mere 30kms without a scrape. We were also accompanied by 4 other Indian men from Uttar Pradesh. Unlike the majority of north Indians, these men were a bit on the burly side so it was quite a squeeze. As close as we were, we didn't exchange numbers however as they didn't speak any English and we are limited in what is your name types of conversation.

Marching soldier
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We arrive unscathed, albeit a little sweaty and dusty - we budgetted with non A/C. You then need to walk a kilometre to the security station where you are patted down - women are respectfully searched by a woman guard, and rightfully so as there's a lot you can hide under a sari or burka. Security is very tight at the moment, except at some airports (maybe it's like this all the time), a lot of hotels have scanning devices and pat checks, along with all metro stations, some rural train stations and places of worship.

Full House
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I was amazed when we entered the India gate as there were grandstands on either side and it was filling up fast. The real spectacle is the Indian guards uniforms. As you can see it has been inspired by Michael Jackson and a peacock. I hope they get paid well to dress up like that. It must be quite an honour as they looked very proud. We were then split up as there is a side for men and a side for women. I found this very strange and queried this but not everything in India is explainable. I was starting to get worried how I would find Stu in the mellee afterwards as I hadn't expected this kind of turnout. Was there a special guest appearance scheduled? We were then reunited by a guard to the foreigners zone which is non-segregated.

Yes it's a shitty job but someone has to do it
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There was an MC who started working the crowd, the majority being very patriotic Indians. The Indian anthem was blaring and people lined up to carry the flag to the Pakistan gate, and then back again. All the while people are cheering and women are dancing in the middle of the road. On the other side of the gate we watched the Pakistan seats slowly fill up. There were not as many grandstands there but they still tried to keep up with vigour.

The border closes at 5pm, the gates only open once the vehicles have obtained clearances from both sides. The last truck rolled through amidst great cheering and the ceremony was to begin. The gates then remained open for the ceremony.

Beat it dance off India vs Pakistan
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The soldiers had been warming up around the side, doing some stretches and then marched to the front and stood in line for the national anthem. Each one of the eight soldiers got their moment of glory to march with great gusto to the Pakistan gate and then, the best piece of choreography I have ever seen in the military, a leg kick and spin, reminiscent of a Michael Jackson maneouvre from Beat It. All the while they remain as stoic as ever whilst us foreigners are pissing ourselves laughing.

Indian patriots
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Not to be outdone the Pakistani's in turn were egged on and tried to outdo their border counterparts. Each side cheering them on for their star studded performance. All of these antics take about half an hour and then the gates are closed for the evening and the flags taken down. This takes place every evening and must be the highlight of their otherwise tiresome day.

We were then faced with returning to Amritsar on the road with thousands of other vehicles. The first obstacle was to find our bongo van and driver. When we first arrived there were not that many cars but upon exiting the road was lined with many of the same vans and buses. I'm afraid to say I didn't really take much notice of what our driver was wearing so I could distinguish him. After searching for approx. 20 minutes and backtracking he finally found us. Sometimes it's hard to trust the drivers, touts and business men as they can be dishonest and scam you. This was one of those moments that I hoped we had chosen an honourable driver and he hadn't returned to Amritsar without us.

Harry Highpants
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30kms in Australia would normally take half an hour but on Indian roads this generally takes an hour. On this occasion however we were looking at the possibility of 2. The usual chaos and honking was x 10. I hung on for dear life as we hurtled towards oncoming traffic and then adeptly swinging back in. Bongo vans are not built for this I imagine, as it felt like we were going to roll at any moment. Rather than close my eyes and pray I tend to give Stu a running commentary of how close we have come to an accident each time whilst he is trying to calmly meditate his way through it. I think he might gag me next time. Our fellow passengers found this amusing as they are conditioned to this and were quite relaxed.

Opening of the gate
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So, this ended our exciting journey of the Punjab region. Our next destination is Delhi. We will stay only a couple of nights and head to the town of Agra where the Taj Mahal and other historical monuments live.

xo