Mar 10, 2011 We were allowed to sleep in this morning, until 8 am. We had breakfast and then headed out for a city tour of Dehli. What this actually meant was a bus tour with a couple of stops at some temples, but still it was interesting. First we went to the Lotus Temple. It is a temple shaped like a huge lotus that is dedicated to the Bahia faith. Inside the temple there is nothing to distract you- everyone is completely silent and there are no decorations or sermons. It was really peaceful after the hustle and bustle of India. We sat in there for about 15 minutes then headed out to see the government buildings. The gate of India, a war memorial dedicated to the soldiers who died in WWI, reminded me a lot of images of the Arc de Triumph in Paris. Its amazing how much English influence you can see in India, but then I have to think that English rule didnt really end that long ago. After our bus tour we stopped at one more temple. We had to cover our heads here and go barefoot. It was a Sikh temple, and I loved it. The men look so dignified with their turbans on, and everyone looks so peaceful. The people there were so helpful in answering all the questions that we had and we were able to sit in their sanctuary and listen to music for a while. Outside, there is a sacred lake where people wash away their sins- similar to the Ganges River in Varanasi. We dipped in our feet and then we headed out to the bus. From there we went back to the hotel for lunch then left for the airport. The Dehli airport could be in Dallas or Atlanta- so modern. I was in heaven at the bookstore, and ended up buying about 5 books and some gossip magazines. Reese Witherspoon is engaged, what? Were so cut off from home! Then we spotted them. They were calling to us like home- the golden arches. It was a mad rush to the McDonalds. We all got huge meals and settled in to wait for our flight happily munching on the familiar nuggets of childhood. The flight got in about 10 pm and then we had an hour-long bus ride and finally I was home. Back on the ship I took the longest shower of my life and unpacked while I waited for Molly to get back. I seriously thought I was going to cry when she walked in, I was so excited. Blah blah blah about making all new friends in every port because I missed my girls while I was gone! We went to bed after hearing all about each others trips because we were both exhausted. One more day in India!
