Of golden temples and snow covered summer peaks

and ... I must add, jingoism, rickety bus rides and eternal peace.

Amritsar: A dusty little town with an old world charm, its crowded streets lined with age old buildings, its colorful markets that seem to have stood still in a byegone era, the mouth-watering food; The Golden Temple - so peaceful, so quiet, so beautiful; Wagah border - a interesting display of well orchestrated jingoism, a spectacle of marches and crowd chants, from both sides.

Dharamsala: A rickety eight hour bus ride away from Amritsar, along broken meandering roads in a suspensionless bus; the first view of the snow-capped peaks blowing away all fatigue, the twisting roads of Mcleodganj; the Tibetan monks, their temples and protests; yet a place of all pervading peace; Triund - a worthy 2-3 hr trek up the hills, a hailstorm covering the land with white, a meadow out of the sound of music, all beneath the beautiful peaks.

Memoirs of my travel through two interesting towns, just the essence.