Golden Temple

Yep, it's made of gold. Real gold. Not solid, but it's plated at least. Some reports say 750kg of pure gold was used in its construction, others only 100kg. Not that it matters, it looks brilliant regardless.

Built by the Sikhs, this holy temple is the feature piece of Amritsar city and lies just to the north of the great Thar Desert. Amritsar was, disappointingly, my only stopover in Punjab.

The Golden Temple (or Harmandir Sahib) receives more visitors than the Taj, and I'm not at all surprised. Not only is it a magnificent sight, but the Sikhs (and Punjabis in general) are some of the most welcoming people on earth. Visiting the temple is free, staying in the dorms is free, and eating in the food hall is... yes, free.

I've seen a lot of temples so far, and I often wonder how the locals feel about the hoards of camera-wielding tourists infesting their most holy places of worship. But here at the Golden Temple, they seem more that perfectly happy about it, proud that you want to be a part of it too. Even if you don't share any of the same ideologies.