Today, it's a fond goodbye to Pakistan after 12 days in the country, and Namaste India! Again, we are the first people to reach the border office at Wagha and the Pakistani officials seemed slightly overwhelmed at having to deal with multiple nationalities at 9 in the morning, though still trying to maintain a stern exterior. After passing through multiple checkpoints on the Pakistan side (incorporating four separate passport checks) and random luggage inspections, we walk across the Wagha border down the same road where the high-kicking Pakistani border guards marched to raucous cheering and drumbeats, and through the same green and gold metal gates that I saw a couple of days ago. We carry our own daypacks and 4 wizened and chatty Pakistani porters carry all of our luggage from the Pakistan office to the border gate where the luggage is then handed over to 4 equally wizened Sikh Indian porters.
I find there's something incredibly romantic about road border crossings and especially walking by foot across country borders from one nation into a "no-man's land" where one is in neither one country or the other, and then finally one walks into another nation. (One doesn't get the same "I'm a world traveller" experience crossing the border from HK into China perhaps because that border system is so damned efficient and mechanized)
Once we've entered the gates of India, we see a sign proclaiming "Welcome to India, the largest democracy in the world". Just making a "subtle" point to their Pakistani neighbours, I guess... Then, it's hopping onto a government bus for a short ride to the Indian customs and immigration building where we get a chance to meet up close the Indian border guards with their red and gold plumed hats. (One tries to stifle an open laugh). There is a short tussle with the Sikh porters over their fee but thankfully the Indian border inspections are relatively fast, at least for me, perhaps because they can see that I've had three Indian multiple entry visas in my passport... but it's still past 12 noon when we're done with all formalities and speeding on our way to Amritsar, the nearest significant Indian city to Lahore and the location of the most important Sikh place of workship in the world, the beautiful Sikh Golden Temple.
Now that I am in India - wind the watch forward by 30 minutes and the exchange rate is roughly half of that of the Pakistan rupee. Also, there's alcohol again!
After Amritsar, next stop Kashmir and Jammu which isn't even covered by my travel insurance (which strangely covers Pakistan in full - don't get that at all).
