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Category: photographs

Triple K “expedition” (#13 in teaser series: bigger than London)

Published June 12, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition” (#13 in teaser series: bigger than London)

Almost any “educated” Australian could easily locate the United Kingdom’s largest metropolis on a globe or a map of the world, sans-index.

Many, however, would struggle to “find” Pakistan’s second-biggest city.

Lahore houses many more humans than does London

Both cities are fascinating, sophisticated, culturally rich.

I took the photo from a UNESCO World Heritage listed “Paradise Garden” which is at least 375 years older than the commuter trains which now zip past it, every few minutes.

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Triple K “expedition” (#12 in teaser series: roll over, John Cleese)

Published June 11, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition” (#12 in teaser series: roll over, John Cleese)

 

Monty Python’s Flying Circus premiered John Cleese’s “The Ministry of Silly Walks” in 1970.

The sketch satirically skewered British bureaucracy’s upper echelons.

More than a decade earlier, India and Pakistan had already perfected the art of highly choreographed “silly walks”…but in real life, with neither satirical nor comedic intent.

Various “silly” walks are a key element in a bizarre military ritual, still conducted late each afternoon on the Indo-Pakistani border, less than one hour’s drive from both the Indian city of Amritsar and the megacity of Lahore.

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Triple K “expedition” (#11 in teaser series: massive inflation in Amritsar + musical bonus)

Published June 10, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition” (#11 in teaser series: massive inflation in Amritsar + musical bonus)

 

 

Amritsar’s Golden Temple complex is refreshingly non-commercial; even its suitably-huge toilets are free. (and meticulously maintained)

All nearby streets are another matter, entirely; shops abound.

Rents for commercial premises are reportedly among India’s highest,

However, a lot of commercial activity does not benefit landlords – it is “informal”, “al fresco”, conducted on the actual streets.

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Triple K “expedition” (#10 in teaser series: there is such a thing as a free lunch…)

Published June 10, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition” (#10 in teaser series: there is such a thing as a free lunch…)

 

..or breakfast, or dinner.

Every day, the world’s largest community kitchen operates, around the clock.

In any given 24 hours the Golden Temple serves 50,000 to 100,000 hot meals; all, freshly prepared by volunteers.

As future, multi-image posts will eventually illustrate, the achievement of this feat beggars even an eyewitness’s belief.

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Triple K “expedition (#9 in teaser series: the Golden Temple)

Published June 9, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition (#9 in teaser series: the Golden Temple)

 

 

 

In my experience, not a few of the world’s renowned, allegedly “holy” places have proved underwhelming, tawdry, unfriendly, and highly commercialised – oft-grandiose, but lacking in both actual grandeur and actual humanity.

Sikhism’s most significant shrine is, however, truly grand…and this is one temple site where all comers are welcomed, warmly, and where no visitor is in any way “taken advantage of”.

Amritsar is home to circa two million people; each year, fifteen times that number visit the Golden Temple.

Many of them – whether pilgrims, tourists or simply hungry people – there enjoy what is (handsomely) the world’s most massive meal service, served gratis, no questions asked, every day.

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Triple K “expedition” (#8 in teaser series: “vernacular” Kashmiri architecture)

Published June 7, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition” (#8 in teaser series: “vernacular” Kashmiri architecture)

 

 

They are in varying states of repair, but many striking examples of distinctive “traditional”/“vernacular” architecture still stand in Kashmir’s capital.

Such buildings typically employ both timber and bricks in their construction, and they have proved remarkably capable of withstanding earthquakes.

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Triple K “expedition” (#7 in teaser series: Black Kites)

Published June 6, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition” (#7 in teaser series: Black Kites)

 

On the Indian subcontinent –  especially in urban areas –  one particular raptor usually “rules the skies”.

Black kites are especially abundant in Delhi and Srinagar.

Not coincidentally, black kites are generally rather more “opportunistic scavengers” than “majestic predators”.

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Triple K “expedition” (#6 in teaser series: looking up, in Kashmir)

Published June 5, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition” (#6 in teaser series: looking up, in Kashmir)

 

On this trip – whether the relevant terrain was contested, or unambiguously within India, Pakistan, or China – there was a lot of still-solid “up” to look at.

All of the world’s “7000+ metres ASL” peaks are less than 2,000 kilometres distant from Srinagar, and most of them are very much closer than that.

The pictured peaks are less than 7,000 metres above sea level, but all of them are enormously higher than is Australia’s highest peak.

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