Our bus slowed down when the driver applied brakes. This was enough to wake me up. Wife roads with surrounding buildings were enough to indicate we were in a big city. We were in Amritsar. Our bus was heading towards "Fawara Chowk". Many Indian cities have a fountain on an intersection of roads. Such squares are called as Fawara Chowk or Karanja Chowks. Even in Maharashtra, I have observed this. Our bus stopped there. We were in the middle of rickshaw drivers when we alighted from the bus. I selected a middle aged gentleman to drive us to the hotel. I fixed rate for the journey, it was rupees fifty. Once inside just opened a conversation with him. His name was Ramesh, a Punjabi Hindu. He enquired about our itinerary. We told him about Attari Border and other places we wanted to visit. He offered his services at a cost of Rs. 700/-. We reached here without any booking for this local journey. Our idea was to hire a car from the hotel. One day eight-hour car rentals are about Rs. 2500/-, considering it, our deal was very good for 80-90 kilometers drive.
In about 15 minutes we were at Hotel City Park. In every city visited, I have come across a hotel with this name. This hotel is located with all advantages. It is in a lane about 100 meters from Jalianwalah Baug. It is a small walkable distance. Golden Temple is about 200 meters from Jalianwalah. The building at the corner of that lane hosts one very well known vegetarian joint " Brother's Dhaba ". Coming out of the lane take a right turn and just ahead on the left is renowned market Katra Ahluwalia. Many have seen this market in a movie " Rab ne bana di jodi". One sees there a jalebiwala (a sweet shop specialized in Jalebi - an Indian delicacy), who is very famous for fresh Jalebis fried in ghee (clarified butter) always crowded. Another side of lane houses another famous market, Shastri Market. At the corner of that road on right is another famous eating house "Bharwan da Dhaba". I found this hotel ideally located for tourists. This area has narrow, clogged roads. Barring e-rickshaws other vehicles are not allowed on most of them. As I am grown up in central Mumbai, this place was like my hometown.
Hotel City Park was to our liking. There was two tall well-built doormen with big moustaches holding red coloured scepter at the entry. But they were very jovial and not fearsome. I felt they were retired soldiers. This hotel was decorated in pure white. Hotel lobby and design of the hotel was impressive. This place was very clean and with pure white decoration, housekeeping must be taking lots of efforts. Our room had a very good natural light with central air-conditioning. I can't comment on taste and quality of food in this hotel. A good place of stay makes a trip memorable. We had tea twice in this hotel, once when we entered the room and next day morning. There was no need to try the food here as Amritsar has wonderful outlets to tickle the taste buds.
After tea, we came out of the hotel and turned to Brother's Dhaba for breakfast. We ordered for a local delicacy called "Amritsari Kulcha". We enjoyed it other pickles, curd, and slices of onion. One dish was more than enough for two of us. Without "Lassi" no meal is complete in Punjab. We both had a glass full of Lassi. I had Lassi without sugar but real Lassi has to be sweet. By the time we finished our breakfast Ramesh has arrived with his rickshaw.
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