Solo trip to Amristar- Agra-Varanasi

Stay : Hostel Jugaadus

PS: Stay close to Golden temple.All the major attractions are close by.There is Ho Ho Buses covering major attractions including Wagah Border. Wagah border is around 30km from Amristar.

Reached Amristar around 6.30 am and it was chilling cold. The place were i stayed was around 14 km from the airport. I had booked a backpacker hostel Jugaadus in Amristar which was like 1km from the Golden Temple. The hostel was really good with many backpackers from U.K,Europe,U.S,South America etc. I was the only Indian in that hostel.

After having breakfast from hostel i visited Golden temple along with my hostel roommate.Sri Harmandir Sahib, also known as Golden Temple and the Darbar Sahib, is the the most important pilgrimage site of Sikhism.The 'Langar' in the temple feeds around 1lakh people daily .The food was delicious . The temple is managed mostly by the volunteers. The principle of the Sikh religion is to be fearless.Most Sikhs visit Amritsar and the Harmandir Sahib at least once during their lifetime, particularly and mostly during special occasions in their life such as birthdays, marriages, childbirth, etc.After visiting the temple we came back to hostel and planned for the Wagah trip.

Wagah ceremony starts around 4pm everyday. The dancing ceremony starts at 4pm with all the Bollywood patriotic songs. The actual ceremony starts at 4.30pm. It is a friendly event with people from both countries cheering for their country. It was all fun to be at Wagah. Watching Sunset from Wagah Border was amazing.

After that we all went back to the hostel and went for a self organized Food Tour in Amristar.'Makhan Fish' and 'Charming chicken'. We get the best Amristari fish in Makhan Fish. The Kulchas in charming chicken was awesome.We all came back to hostel around 10.30pm.

Next day morning i again went to the temple with the new group.

After that i went to the newly opened 'Partition museum' which curates the highlights from 1857 -1947.Partition museum mostly focuses on the happenings at the time of Partition.It have recorded interivews of the people who have migrated from Pakistan to India.It had records which was highly informative.

After that we went to explore ancestral home of a hostel mate.It was total fun. Atlast we found out the traditional home :)...All the neighbours came to visit us.

At night i went to see the night view of the temple with our hostel guide. The night view was amazing.The guide explained about the Sikh religion and the history of the temple.After having food from the temple we returned to hostel. Next day i freely roamed around the Plaza around the Golden temple.

Evening i boarded the bus to Delhi since my train got delayed by more than 6hrs. From Delhi i got a bus to Agra and i reached Agra by around 11.30am. The travel was a bit tiring and i took rest till 3pm.I decided to visit Agra fort in the evening.

Major Attractions in Agra: Agra Fort,Taj Mahal

Stay : Hostel Moustache

The Agra fort is on the banks of Yamuna. I saw the first glimpse of TajMahal from Agra Fort.

Next day early morning i woke up to see the TajMahal during Sunrise. The Taj Mahal opens at around 7am during winters and it was less crowded during that time. I walked around the Tajmahal and the morning view of Taj was really nice.

By evening i got into the UPRTC bus to Varanasi. The bus service was very poor.Better use train/flight to Varanasi.

Major Attractions in Varanasi: Its all beautiful Ghats

Stay: HosteLaVie

Checked into HosteLaVie near Shivala Ghat.It was a beautiful hostel close to Shivala Ghat.I met backpackers from Chile,Argentina,Germany etc. I met this girl from chile and roamed around the city with her for the next 5 days. She is a psychologist by profession and is been travelling for 8 months. The first day we went to Assi Ghat to see the Ganga Arti. We spent the whole evening in Assi Ghat.

Next day morning we went for a walking tour . We listened to the history of Varanasi ; the origin of the word Varanasi ; the place between Varuna and Assi River ; Both are different names for Ganga.We walked till Dashashwamedh Ghat and sat there discussing the stories of Banaras. I found the people of Banaras very warm.

Evening we visited Sarnath temple; one of the important Buddha temple.

Next day early morning 5.30am we went for the boat ride to see the Sunrise. It was a 2hr boat ride. After the boat ride we went back to hostel.

I bought a couple of Banarasi Sarees from Varanasi. Yoga sessions happens everyday at AssiGhat 6.30am. Watching sunrise and sunset from the Ghats were the most important activities during those 5 days. I just fell in love with Banaras. Banaras is a place where i want to go back again. The sunrise,early morning boat ride, busy streets of banaras,Godiwala market ..all were special.Big bulls were roaming around the streets freely.The story of Aghoris ...Kashi is the place where Shiva lives.