The Temple that Never Sleeps

Amritsar is a hole but its center the Golden Temple is one of the most
amazing places on earth. The Golden Temple itself is a fairly small
three story building reachable only by a 75 m causeway in a square
lake flanked by a walkway and a  marble building. Inside the temple
priests recite the holy book which is broadcast 19 hrs a day over loud
speakers with accompanying instruments. Tens of thousands come a day
and at no time is the surrounding walkway quiet. The massive volunteer
run kitchen can serve 3000 people at a time in a marble hall. People
sit cross legged on  thin carpet runners  and are served tea chapatis
and curries slopped out by the volunteers. The  entire complex is
immaculately clean and efficient. A massive chapati machine turns out
enough chapatis to feed 40,000 to 50,000 people on a busy day.
http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Golden_Kitchen

The adjacent dorms where rooms can be rented for $2 a night (they hold
sometimes a dozen pilgrims each) are massive four story complexes. In
a weird twist tourists are housed for free in a large room. In fact
all the food, water, accommodation, baggage carts, luggage storage,
bus to the railway station is free as Sikhism believes everyone is
equal (donation appreciated).

The first night I opted to sleep on the marble walkway of the Golden
Temple. A 11pm I found a spot by the lake and lay down on the marble.
Thousands of people were walking, bathing and sleeping. Some how I
fell asleep.    Soon two Sikhs sat near me and it was clear they
wanted to talk. Our conversation ranged from Canada to religious
debates. We attracted a large crowd of people interested in
participating. One fellow was fluent and translated. Even one of the
tall skinny guards with his spear used to keep pilgrims in line came
to talk and he lay his spear down and sat cross legged with us.  After
a while the adults wandered away and the kids took over. The
conversation was limited to hobbies and favourite vegetables. I
managed to ask the kids to leave and went back to sleep. At 1am a wind
came up and the skies opened. Thousands tried to cram into the
undercover areas. Soon it was time for the Golden Temple to be cleaned
in a ceremony and the recitals came on again. The guards ensured at
that stage no one was allowed to sleep or lie with their feet towards
the temple. Sleepers were woken with a stern tap tap of the guard's
spear against marble. I slept 3hrs but it was worth it to see the
pilgrims go through their nightly cycle.

Also worth seeing is the Sikh museum at the temple. Portraits of
famous Sikhs and grizzly artists depictions of Sikhs being tortured or
worse being made to eat their own children showed that being  a Sikh
in the past wasn't always easy.