I left my kite and jappa beads in Amritsar and went from saying Namaste to Sala u Alaikum-Pakistan bound!!

For a good laugh do a google search on Lahore kite arrest.

Amritsar is only about 30km from the Pakistani border and each afternoon they have a huge border closing ceremony. I left Amritsar pretty early to make sure I had enough time to get through customs (of course I was going to watch the ceremony from the Pakistani side). Yes, all chances of getting off the US government no fly list are shot. I am sure the US won’t look fondly upon such a short trip, by foot nonetheless! I had less trouble crossing the border than I do flying domestically in the US. The custom officers didn’t even search my stuff, I think I just look that innocent. I took an autorickshaw from Amritsar to the border since I didn’t feel like waiting for the bus and didn’t want to miss the closing. The ride out was sooo beautiful and peaceful. Being in Amritsar was a little of a shock coming from DH and Rishikesh. The road was flat and wound through lots of farm land, less cows, but lots of water buffalo.

You get dropped off just before the Indian border and have to walk about 200meters to the Pakistani side. It was really neat to walk from one country to another and even more moving to walk the same path that my father had traveled some 50 years ago at the time of partition, I had tears in my eyes. I arrived in Pakistan ecstatic, but had 2 hours to kill before the ceremony. There is a hotel right at the border and I met the guy running it. We had tea, chit chatted for a while and before I knew it he had me sitting front row of the ceremony in the VIP section. It was great. It took me a while to realize that men and women were on separate sides. I was sitting a few rows in front of what could have been the Pakistani National Cheerleading Squad. I almost went deaf from these girls screaming! The ceremony lasted about 45 minutes. They blast music (Fonz, they played Dil Dil Pakistan and I was going crazy because I knew the words), everyone screams and waves flags wave and this cute old guy sprints back and forth with the flag. Complete with bugles, crisp uniforms, goose steps and exaggerated strides, it was a combination between a military parade and Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks. It finished with the simultaneous lowering of the flags, a shake of the hands between the two combatants and a slamming of the gate. It was a really moving experience.