Attari (Border Crossing)

The only legal overland crossing from India to Pakistan for tourists is at Attari, despite sharing a few thousand kilometres of land border. The border is open daily from 930am to 430pm but we only got to realise it at about 2pm on the same day we was dued to get stamped out of India. The journey to Attari from Amritsar took 45mins and costs 500 rupees inclusive of the 10 rupees highway tax.

The Indian immigration customs procedure was relatively fast (yes for once; its not a typo error) and thus managed to clear the Pakistani customs as well in 45 minutes, at about 4pm.

Entering Pakistan

It was funny how all the 'chai' stall owners at the border were trying to get us to change our Indian Rupees with them. I wonder do they really sell tea or do some kind of foreign exchange there. I mean, they really look genuinely upset when they realised we werent going to change any money with them.

It was also at the border that we ran into Mar and Angelos and we sort of travelled up to China together.

Anyway the border closes at sunset everyday, but it doesn’t just close. What really happens there twice a day is pretty interesting, considering it is actually done everyday, with all the same load of shouting, marching and psyched-up Indians and Pakistanis who behaves as if they are actually seeing it for the first time in their whole life ever (ok, to be fair maybe its really their first) Hahaha. Its pretty entertaining from a tourist point of view, seeing them hollering down their throat at the other party. It is a border-closing and opening ceremony, which was already taking place since 1948, not long after the partition of both countries.

The stands were fully filled with people and from the Pakistan side, the ceremony started with an (funny) old man walking out holding a Pakistan flag with his arms open like he is some superstar. oh well he thinks maybe. He got really hyped up and started pumping his chest and tries to psyche the audience up but i thought he was really going to suffer from a heart attack. No offence.

A few moments later he was joined by 2 more men who marched out (improperly) and all three of them started touting at the audience from the opposite side; well the Indian counterpart was shouting with their own cheerleaders (but mind you not the short-skirt sexy kind you see from Bring It On the movie) as well.



Now he looks like he's just gonna explode

It all went on for a good 15 minutes and then the soldiers came marching out, albeit too fast and furious. Their movements were all a tad too elaborated hence making it all quite hilarious. But it really managed to cause wild frenzy among the spectators with all the high tempo music and big actions. They march with their leg swinging out at 60 degrees and  actually raise their legs up to the forehead level before they bang it down really furiously. Haha

The soldiers forming up

And so the Pakistani old man continues touting at their Indian counterparts

Followed by more angry stomping

The soldiers from both ends trying to outdo the other with their leg raising

First sign of the conservative country: the women seperated from the men

And then the ceremony was over. The crowd starts to disperse and we met a Chinese named Chen. We then took his auto-rickshaw to Lahore, the nearest and biggest city from the India-Paki border. Although the whole auto should cost just 450 paki rupees according to the normal rate, the driver ask 300 from us, in addition to whatever he has already taken from Chen. Ah well, we were too tired with the border crossing and it was just too mentally and physically exhausting after India to start the whole bargaining thing again.