Everything's pretty impressive in Amritsar

The Wagah Border is not the only reason to visit Amritsar.

The Golden Temple is the holiest shrine of the Sikh religion, and a truly magical place. Inside the square complex of mainly marble buildings is a large man-made lake filled with crystal clear water. And in the middle of this sacred pool sits a marble and gold temple, the dome gilded with 750 kg of pure gold. It’s hard not to be impressed.

Sikhism is an inclusive religion, and people of all faiths are encouraged to enter the temple to meditate or listen to the prayers for peace. It has doors on all four sides, as if to say travellers from all directions are welcome. Of course, so many people now come to the Golden Temple (more people visit it than the Taj Mahal), that there is only one way in these days. Unless of course you are a foreign tourist, whose guide has had a word with the guard at the out gate, and lets you in through the out queue. You could feel a tad guilty, but there’s no way I could have convinced Keir and Thalia (nor Rod, really) to queue for at least an hour to use the regular entrance, and we really wanted to see inside. And let’s face it, after 19 months in India, we’ve paid extra for being foreign on enough occasions to take benefits when they’re offered.

The most orderly queue we've seen in India. Maybe that's why it seemed the longest too!

Sikhs come to bathe in the holy water, which makes its sparkling cleanness even more surprising. Large fish swim in it, content in the knowledge that while inside a temple complex, Sikhs follow a vegetarian diet. And on the subject of diet, like Sikh temples around the world, there is a large dining hall on the grounds. Anyone can come and receive a meal - dhal, a vegetable dish which changes throughout the day, chapattis and a rice pudding. The food is vegetarian, so everyone can eat as equals, without dietary restrictions imposed by their own religion, and everyone sits on the floor in rows, underlining that equality. The food is free, although donations are appreciated. Once again, no one is too poor to eat, nor so wealthy that they receive better food. There can’t be anything wrong with what’s offered - 40,000 meals a day are served.

Just a few of the dishes used in the temple. That's a lot of washing up!

The religion encourages Sikhs to work hard, share their wealth and do good deeds in the community. All the food in the temple is served and prepared by volunteers. But just as you don’t have to be a Sikh to eat here, you don’t have to be a Sikh to help either.

The kitchens are extensive, and they need so many chapattis they’ve had to install a chapatti machine to turn out 2,000 chapattis an hour to supplement those made by the ladies (and gents).

That's a mighty big teapot!