Amritsar

Up early to get the train to Delhi, and then the connection to Amritsar. We booked a large taxi to get us to the station for a 6: am train, only to find out that the train left at 5:00 am. When the printer printed the booking there was an ink problem on, and near, the train departure time. I had misread the time. I went out to the area where the taxis and auto rickshaws were and asked about getting a large taxi to Delhi. After some discussions and phone calls, I managed to get a taxi, including road taxes, for 8000 Rps. which is about A$150. Weleft Jaipur at about 7:30 am, and we were worried about getting
the connection in Delhi. If we were on the early train there was 1 houur and 10 minutes between trains. We left Jaipur 2 hours and 30 minutes later. The taxi we were in belonged to one of the hotels and the driver only spoke Hindi. With bags on the roof and me sitting in the back with other bags we raced along the road to Delhi, sometimes even reaching 90 km/hour. There were lots of bumps and sidetracks as they are trying to improve and widen the road. With one quick stop for the driver to have a break, and us to get some water, something to eat, and use the toilet. As we approached Delhi there was lots more industry and traffic. When I showed the taxi guys in Jaipur the booking for the next train, they said we needed to head for New Delhi station. We arrived at about the same time as the train from Jaipur, so we had made very good time. It wasn't easy to find the information about train platforms, so I went to the Information Office, only to be told that "It goes from Old Delhi Station, and you had better get a fast rickshaw." We raced outside and found a large rickshaw, threw our bags in the back and on the roof, and said that we needed to get to the other station - "Quick". I was crammed in the front seat, in between Daniel and the driver. It was very uncomfortable as the driver tried to change gears, and I found myself half leaning into the back seat so he could grab the gear handle.

Large taxi to the area near the hotel, and then we had to get an auto rickshaw and Paula went on a pedal rickshaw to the hotel which is virtually across the road from the Golden Temple complex.

Rooms

Lunch
Christmas tree and decorations
Dinner in the hotel

Went to the Golden Temple, walked around the shops and market areas
Back to the hotel for a shower and then went to Crystal's for a late lunch

Christmas Day - went for breakfast and then back to the hotel for fun presents and then to Crystal for Christmas lunch. We had made arrangemants to meet a driver at our hotel to take us to the India/Pakistan border to watch the Retreat Ceremony which happens every day, just before sunset, and has occurred every day since 1959.
When we got back we watched Christmas movies on the TV and had a few drinks in our room.

Boxing Day we got up and made sure that our bags were packed because we were checking out of the hotel at midday. We wanted to find somewhere to leave our bags for the day, as our train didn't leave until 22:15. The people at the hotel said that we could store them there, so we decided to have something to eat at the Golden Tulip, a hotel on the other side of town. It was quite a nice hotel and we were the only people in the restaurant for quite a while. We were all full when we left and decided to walk to get some exercise and walk off some of the calories. We were walking past a school just as all the kids were being let out and the auto-rickshaws and minibuses were picking them up. We always get looked at and many of the kids said hello. We have made a habit of asking at restaurants