There was no plan for an Amritsar Road trip.
Diwali 2024 lit up our Thursday (31-Oct-2024), but the next day brought unexpected news—our maids announced an extended leave until Sunday. Faced with the prospect of tackling household chores or seizing a spontaneous escape, the choice was obvious. The thrill of last-minute planning—picking a destination, hunting for bookings, and packing on the fly—turned the post-festive lull into an exhilarating challenge. What better way to extend the festive spirit than with a dash of wanderlust and a break from the everyday grind?
Jim Corbett was our first pick, but with safaris fully booked and every hotel there being occupied by the Delhi NCR crowd, we were out of luck.
Our Plan B was Amritsar, a choice made in a moment of spontaneity. On Friday evening, the plan was quickly formalized, the hotel was booked, and we were ready to pack our bags for Amritsar, all in the blink of an eye.
Amritsar itinerary
The Itinerary was simple:
Saturday: 02 Nov – Drive to Amritsar, explore Jallianwala Bagh, Golden Temple, and local restaurants;
Stay at Courtyard Marriott, Mall Road, Amritsar
Sunday: 03 Nov – Drive back to Gurgaon
02nd October 2024, Saturday
Opting for the classic Gurgaon-Sonipat-Ambala-Ludhiana-Amritsar route, we hit the road at 5:00 am. Along the way, Karnal’s Zhilmil Dhaba served up breakfast to remember, while Jalandhar’s Haveli added a touch of Punjabi hospitality. By 3:00 pm, we arrived in Amritsar and headed straight for Jallianwala Bagh after relishing Amritsari Kulche at Masala Darbar.
Amritsar: Jallianwala Bagh & Golden Temple
The adventure truly began as we navigated the old city’s narrowest, most chaotic bylanes—where the last 1 km felt longer than the entire trip! Here’s a travel hack: skip the headache by parking somewhere on the main road parking and hopping into an e-rickshaw, or better yet, take the flyover that lands you right at Golden Temple parking —a hassle-free hack to Amritsar’s vibrant old city charm!
After an emotional visit to Jallianwala Bagh, we made our way to the Golden Temple—and oh, what a sight it was at night! Surreal! The temple’s glow pierced the pond like spears of glittering gold. We couldn’t resist capturing it from every possible angle, snapping photos like seasoned shutterbugs. Finally, when sense prevailed, we thought of joining the serpentine queue for darshan. It was a long queue stretching way outside the central podium. Time was already 18.30 hrs, and joining the crawling queue now would mean at least 2 hrs, I thought.
Amritsar flavors!
Kesar Da Dhaba
A local’s tip to go back now, and visit the Golden Temple again at 4:00 am the next morning sounded like genius—peaceful darshan without the crowd? What an idea! That sounded like an excellent plan! With that plan in mind, we left the temple and hopped into an auto to Kesar Da Dhaba. The time? 8:00 pm. The scene? Pure chaos. Handed a token numbered 74, I optimistically checked the running number—32. Ouch. “Just a little wait,” said the manager. Turns out, “little” could translate to a two-hour wait. Even the promise of legendary Kesar Da Dhaba flavors could not keep us hooked!
Gian Di Lassi
Defeated by Kesar Da Dhaba’s token drama, we strolled over to the legendary Gian di Lassi, a 1927 gem. Their lassis? Pure magic— thick and rich, they’re practically a meal. One glass could feed two, but of course, we each had our own (we were in Punjab, right?). With just one day and a foodie bucket list to conquer, we moved on, skipping the return to Kesar. Instead, we headed to Crystal Restaurant for dinner, trading token woes for a hearty meal. After all, in Amritsar, food is always the hero!
Crystal Restaurant
Reaching Crystal restaurant, we hit a Bollywood twist—two identical restaurants side by side! It felt straight out of Andaz Apna Apna with the iconic line: “Teja main hoon, mark idhar hai.” Except here, there was no mark to find my Teja. Stumped, I turned to my trusty decision-making tool—a coin toss. Heads or tails, one Crystal it was! With a laugh and a shrug, we walked in, hoping we landed in the right one, which would lead us to the culinary magic we’d heard so much about.
The food was excellent, but the service was lousy. By the time we left, it was already 22.00 hrs. We took a cab and reached the hotel. The receptionist confirmed there was a hotel cab to the Golden Temple at 04.00 am. We hardly had 6 hrs to sleep, so we just crashed onto the bed.
03nd October 2024, Sunday
Golden Temple Darshan
At 3:15 am, our phone alarm shattered dreams of sleep. After a quick shower, we gathered at the reception by 3:55 am and headed to the Golden Temple. But at 4:15 am, we faced a longer queue than the night before! Nothing seemed to move now except the hands of the clock. Maybe last night’s darshan wasn’t such a bad idea after all!
The serpentine queue
The queue, which was till the porch last evening, extended outside along the pond for quite a distance. The mat on the floor was edgy, and it felt like itching grass. Slowly, grudgingly, we cursed our choice of coming at 04.00 hrs. By 6:30 am, we reached… the porch—yep, the starting point of last night’s line. Fantastic progress, right?
Elbowing, pushing, dragging, finally, we entered Darbar Sahib at 8:15 am—only to be ushered out by 8:16 am! One minute of divinity after 4 hrs hours of waiting. My feet were wailing, my back was screaming, and my head was spinning. All I needed was a scrumptious breakfast and hot masala chai.
The Breakfast
We stumbled back to the hotel and, with no time to spare, stormed the buffet breakfast lounge like hungry tourists. The spread was lavish, or so it seemed, in our sleep-deprived state. So much variety! I chuckled, thinking Marriott really knows how to impress. After stuffing ourselves to the brim, my body immediately screamed for a nap. It was 10:00 am, and with checkout at 11:00 am, I had just enough time to force myself into a 40-minute power nap. A quick recharge before a 10-hour drive home.
Amritsar – Moga – Rohtak: The New Highway
At checkout, I casually asked the receptionist about the Moga-Rohtak route. “Great highway,” they assured, though food stops were a bit scarce. Perfect, after gorging on that buffet, our stomachs needed a break anyway. So, at 11:30 am, we decided to take this new route, hoping the journey would be just as smooth as the breakfast was indulgent.
What a brilliant decision it was—the highway was smooth, traffic was practically nonexistent, and best of all, no tolls! By 2:30 pm, we reached Barnala and figured it was time for a proper meal.  To our surprise, we could not find any decent Indian Dhaba, but we spotted a Subway! With little choice, we had a quick bite there and resumed our journey to Gurgaon. In a jiffy, we crossed Jind and Rohtak. Next, instead of taking the route via Bahadurgarh, we hopped onto the Western Peripheral Expressway and took the exit to Panchgaon, for Gurgaon. By 20.00 hrs, we were home.
A whirlwind trip to Amritsar
It was indeed a whirlwind trip to Amritsar, fueled by my love for the road. We spent 18 hours driving both ways and, surprisingly, an equal amount of time in the city. Sometimes, you need a break from the grind of work and home life—and what better way to recharge than with a spontaneous road trip? Plus, we discovered a new highway, just as we almost found a route to Chitkul a couple of months ago.
