Amritsar

A city in Punjab in north-west India, close to the Pakistan border, and the spiritual centre of Sikhism. Harry arrives after a year away from the country and rates it highly by the end of a single day — partly for the temple, partly because the Sikhs he meets are, in his words, some of the friendliest people on his travels.

The city carries partition in it. The Partition Museum is here, and his own one-line summary is the one worth keeping: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were one country until the British divided them.

He is also direct about the downside, which he attributes to population rather than neglect: it is dirty, the rubbish and pollution are real, and you look past them.

The Golden Temple

The most important site in Sikhism, founded where the religion began, and what Harry finds most striking is not the gold but the operation:

• Around 100,000 free meals a day, to anyone.
• Somewhere to sleep, also free, and also to anyone — not just Sikhs.
• Volunteers cleaning constantly, in numbers, which is why the floors are spotless.

Sikhism dates from the 15th century and was founded by Guru Nanak in the Punjab region: one God, everyone treated equally, and other religions respected.

Entering: shoes and socks are handed in at a counter, which Harry compares to a train station for organisation, and you wash your hands and feet before going in. Your head must be covered. The temple sits surrounded by water, with music playing and thousands of people — overwhelmingly Indian pilgrims and domestic tourists rather than foreigners — waiting to enter.

On filming and bathing: Harry swam in the holy water while filming and was moved on by the Sikh police. He doesn’t dispute it and says he should have been far more discreet. He also declined to film the women bathing nearby — see don’t point the camera at private moments.

Free food and a free bed

The part of the temple’s operation Harry only discovers on a second visit, and the most useful practical fact on this page: you can eat and sleep here for nothing, and you do not have to be Sikh.

Food is handed out in the evening — Harry is given a portion, has half taken back in a ritual nobody present could explain to him in English, and ends up with a sweet he thinks is halwa. And the information desk hands out a booklet listing more than twelve guest houses offering free stays to visitors. Filming inside them is not permitted.

He is careful about how he reports it. There are people sleeping rough outside the temple, which he says makes a 24-hour game of having no money look like what it is. And having found the free bed, he and Will went back to their hotel and he says so on camera rather than implying otherwise.

Getting a turban tied

400 rupees at a shop near the temple, and the shopkeepers will tie one for visitors. Sikh men do not cut or uncover their hair, and there are many styles; Harry’s is called the freestyle. Wearing it changed how people treated him for the rest of the day, and got him renamed Harry Singh by everyone he met.

Practical facts

• The airport prepaid taxi desk quoted 750 into the centre; a ride app came in at 400–500.
• Chai is around 10 rupees, roughly ten cents.
• A perfume seller near the temple mixes scents to order from a case of bottles, 200 rupees.
• Plainclothes police stopped Harry filming at the airport and asked to see his footage — the first time that has happened to him anywhere.
• The souvenir area near the temple has persistent touts. They are forceful rather than rude.
• Tourism here is overwhelmingly domestic. Foreign visitor numbers have fallen since Covid, per a local Harry spoke to.
• Trips to the Attari border crossing with Pakistan are touted at around 1,000 rupees a head.
• Shoes on the street market run 250–400 rupees; a bottle of water is 20.
• Diwali brings enormous crowds and a run on electronics.

Harry’s tips

• Learn a few words. The airport police stop resolved once he spoke Hindi and used the right form of address — see learn the local language.
• Learn how to say no. His phrase for Will was that the one thing you need in India is “I don’t want it” — see be assertive with touts.
• Get the turban tied. It costs 400 rupees and it visibly changes the day.
• Don’t film in the temple the way he did. He was moved on and thinks that was fair.
• You can eat and sleep at the Golden Temple for free, whoever you are. Ask at the information desk for the guest house list.

Source

• I got Kicked out of the Golden Temple for this 🇮🇳 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpZUcxh4q7g
• I Survived 24 Hours in India with No Money 🇮🇳 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ILuNE53OOY