Woke up at our hotel in Delhi to a delicious breakfast at the hotel, make your own omelet and a variety of other tasty treats. The first stop of the day was to the Lotus temple. After waiting in line and entering the gateway there was a large beautiful garden surrounding the temple. Bright blue water fills surrounding pools almost like a moat. Before entering you must remove your shoes, we rushed in because our feet are not used to the hot ground. When entering the temple it was like nothing I had ever seen before, light shone through the petals in a symmetrical manner surrounding the ceiling. The sound of silence and birds chirping filled the space and two large vases of flowers filled the space with a lovely aroma.

Let me tell you, the next stop of the day was pretty much the opposite of the calm and peaceful experience we had. It was around a 30-minute drive to Old Delhi where we got into a tuktuk for the rest of our journey for lunch. How many OCADU students can you fit in a tuktuk? The answer is 6; we swooshed into two banging into one another as we weaved through traffic. At any moment you could put out your arm in any direction and touch another car, tuktuk, person or cow. Driving in India everything feels like a close call. One thing I have noticed about the culture here is everyone seems to be fearless.

Our last stop of the day was to a market where we shopped until we dropped. Did I mention that at all times you feel like you are in a sauna?! That didn’t stop us from bargaining for good deals and running around from tent to tent. The bus ride to the airport was like a show and tell – everyone excited about the souvenirs picked up for friends and family (friends and family reading, get excited.) By the time we got to the airport and rushed onto the flight everyone’s rosy faces looked ready for a nap. After admiring the bright blue lapis coloured sky with bursts of orange we landed back in Mumbai safe and sound. During the three-hour bus ride back to Malavli we sat in our groups and discussed plans for the upcoming week. After going over details I am pretty sure everyone on the bus fell asleep (it’s hard to say for sure because I was fast asleep as well.) All in all the day was a bit of a roller-coaster from calm to hectic, but an amazing day.