Pakistani border crossing ceremony

We had a three day weekend so we went to Amritsar - I wrote about the rest of our experiences in another post - this one is dedicated solely to the border crossing.

After lunch on the first day, we rested for a little bit then met the Turkish woman in the lobby at 2:30.  The hotel arranged a car for us.  It cost 750 rupees (about 15$) for him to drive us to the border, wait for us, then drive us back.  It took 4 hours. Good wage for him, cheap for us. 

The drive was nice- there is lot of wide open space here and we were on the best road we've ever been on in India. There was a huge line of trucks trying to get through the trade border.  They had makeshift tents set up so I think they were going to be there awhile.

trade line- it stretched for over a km

this is a school bus full of boys - they kept waving and one blew a kiss at me

I never thought i'd be here

boar feeding on garbage on the side of the road

we got Indian flags for 20 cents.

Pakistani side

The border crossing was unreal.  We laughed so hard.  There were tons of people there.  They have a separate line for foreigners and they let us and women in first.  Even though we were foreigners we had to get in the women’s line – they had guards on horses keeping us in a very tight line – hundreds of women being forced to walk in a very tiny area.  Jordan and the other foreign men were wandering in wide open road doing whatever they please!  We stood by a separate gate and watched the women come in, the watched the men run in from behind and pass them.  So polite.  We sat in stadium chairs and had Indian flags to cheer with.  The Pakistani side had far less participants but they were very enthusiastic. 

Indian side- crazy outfits

men's line waiting to get in

Before it started they had indian women run the flag back and forth, the women were dancing down front.  It was a lot of fun.  When the ceremony started the men kicked their legs up really high and looked ridiculous. 
Information on the ceremony
border closing video - upclose you can see how aggressive it is

I have some of my own videos, but blogspot and I are having a disagreement.  Hopefully I can get them up soon.