henrydecock

on golden temple

Amritsar is known for it’s history especially for the impact of the partition (subject of a future blog), and as the home of the Golden Temple. It is the Vatican to the Sikhs, with all the splendour and ceremony and reverence. More than a visit, our time was a pilgrimage witnessing the devotion and passionContinue reading “on golden temple”

tuktuk

For the last couple days we have been moving about the city in a tuktuk; think of a motorcycle with encased in a metal, covered chariot. They vary in size from two to four to six person seating; and the operative word is seating, because we have witnessed them overflowing with bodies beyond the recognizableContinue reading “tuktuk”

last train to Amritsar

Early this morning, 6:30 am to be precise, we left our hotel with the same driver accompanied by an assistant from the travel agency who’s only responsibility was to get us on board the train to Amritsar. It is a 447 km, six hour “express” ride, which turned out to have numerous stops along theContinue reading “last train to Amritsar”

and so it begins

The plane left Toronto November 4 10:30 local time, an hour late, landing in Delhi the next day at 10:30 pm. Twenty four hours squeezed into 13, consisting of two and a half movies, an attempt at reading, spurts of shallow sleep, a somosa snack and two airplane meals. The lyrics from David Bowie’s SpaceContinue reading “and so it begins”

anticipation

We can never know about the days to comeBut we think about them anyway Carly Simon In less than 48 hours we board our flight to India. Preparations for the trip have been a long, drawn out process of ensuring every detail has been considered and/or a plan is in place. Permission for vacation timeContinue reading “anticipation”

my writing history

Several years ago I had the opportunity to join a work related visit to China. I had traveled before, mostly to Europe for personal vacation, but a trip to East Asia seemed to be a wholly different world. I wanted to share that experience with my family so each night I wrote an email homeContinue reading “my writing history”