Month: November 2018

Thursday Throwback: 2012 86th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

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In 2012 I went to New York City for the 86th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

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I stayed at Hotel Pennsylvania on 7th Ave, which is right opposite Penn Station. It was great location wise, but the floor I was staying did feel a little bit like I was in The Shining.

On the Wednesday afternoon I went and saw the balloons being inflated outside the Museum of Natural History. I went in the afternoon as I had read the balloons start to take shape between 1pm and 3pm.

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Sailor Mickey being inflated

On Thanksgiving Day I woke in the early hours of the morning to a marching band practicing. This didn’t worry me as I planned to get up early anyway and it added to the experience.

I staked out my spot early (a little after 6am) beneath Radio City Music Hall. Below are some of my photos.

To my American friends have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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Hello Kitty

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Mr. Pilgrim

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Woodland Family Gathering float, Ocean Spray

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Tom Turkey float with Chef Geoffrey Zakarian, Food Network

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Kermit the Frog

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Charlie Brown

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Kung-Fu Panda

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NYPD Mounted Unit

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Jimmy Fallon and the Roots 

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True Spirit of Thanksgiving float, Oneida Indian Nation

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Uncle Sam with Miss USA 2012 Olivia Culpo

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Mount Rushmore’s American Pride with Don McLean

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Jolly Polly Pirate Ship with Pirate Queen Whoopi Goldberg

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Gift of Freedom float

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Spiderman

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Pikachu

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SpongeBob SquarePants

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Papa Smurf

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The Smurfs

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Saratoga High School Marching Band, California

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New York City Police Department

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Macy’s Great American Marching Band

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Diary of a Whimpy Kid 

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Sailor Mickey, Disney Cruises 

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Sonic the Hedgehog

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Pillsbury Doughboy 

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Elf on a shelf

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Buzz Lightyear

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Stirrin’ Up Sweet Sensations float, Domino Sugar

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The King Charles Unicycle Troupe

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Santa’s sleigh

Agra Fort

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Agra Fort is a historical fort in Agra, India.

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Construction begun in 1565 under Emperor Akbar and was completed in 1573. It was the central residence for four generations of Mughal emperors until 1638 when the capital moved from Agra to Delhi.

It covers an area of 94 hectares. The fort’s double red walls are more than 20 metres in height and 2.5 kilometres in circumference.

Agra Fort is approximately 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) from the Taj Mahal, so most tourists visit both sites in the same day. It is open from sunrise to sunset.

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Taj Mahal

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The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in Agra.

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The famous ivory-white marble mausoleum was commissioned by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in 1632 as the tomb for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child.

Construction was completed on the mausoleum in 1643. But the construction and landscaping continued on the surrounding buildings and gardens for another 10 years.

The central dome reaches a height of 73 metres (240 feet) and is surrounded by four domes and four minarets at the mausoleum’s corners.

Vehicle traffic is banned 500 metres from the Taj Mahal to minimise pollution and protect the building from deterioration.

The grounds are open from 6am to 7pm everyday, except for Friday when the complex is closed for prayers.

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Wagah border ceremony

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The lowering of the flags at Wagah border is a daily military practice between India and Pakistan.

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The ceremony takes place at sunset at the Wagah border (its Indian name is Attari), a border town between India and Pakistan. Wagah is 27km from Amritsar on the Indian side and 29km from Lahore on the Pakistani side.

Both sides have visitor galleries. I viewed the ceremony from the Indian side.

The ceremony is very theatrical with the marching involving the soldiers raising their legs as high as possible.

The soldiers march towards the gate at the border, which is opened. The soldiers will then salute each other and the both countries will start lowering their flags at the same time. The flags are then folded and the gates slams shut.

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The Golden Temple – Evening Visit

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The Golden Temple is a Sikh place of worship in Amritsar, India.

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This post is about my evening visit to the Golden Temple. Click here to read about my visit during the day.

In the evening the closing ceremony to observe is the sukhasan. Sukh means comfort or rest, and asan means position.

At night the Guru Granth Sahib scripture book is placed on pillow bed decorated with flowers and carried into the Akal Takht amongst chanting to symbolically be put to bed.

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The Golden Temple – Day Visit

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The Golden Temple is a Sikh place of worship in Amritsar, India.

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The Golden Temple, also known as Sri Harmandir Sahib, which means ‘abode of god’ is the holiest Gurdwara and the most important pilgrimage site of Sikhism.

Gurdwara, which is a place of worship, means ‘door to the guru’. Sikhs welcome people from all faiths, including those who do not have a faith to their gurdwaras.

There are four entrances to the shrine from four directions signifying this point that all are are equally welcome.

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Construction on the temple begun in 1581. The temple has had to be rebuilt several times after being destroyed by Muslim armies from Afghanistan and the Mughal Empire.

The name Golden Temple came after the temple’s marble exterior was overlaid with gold foil in 1830.

The temple is surrounded by a manmade pool named Amrit Sarova, which translates as ‘pool of holy nectar’. There are many exotic fish in the pool. Devotees who visit the temple may bathe in the holy waters.

My small group visited the Langar, which is a community kitchen that serves free vegetarian food to everyone regardless of faith, gender or economic background. Everyone sits on the floor in rows and food is served by volunteers.

After lunch we visited the food preparation and cooking areas and participated in making the dough for roti.

Later in the afternoon we sat and watched a trio of Sikh musicians perform hymns with traditional instruments.

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