Had a bit of a lie in this morning and a late breakfast, but what a breakfast buffet it was! So much to chose from. At 1030 we met with our Tour Guide, Dev, and our two new traveling companions, John and Marion. Dev gave us a thorough review of basic OAT philosophy of travel, which I totally buy into – cultural immersion. Plus he discussed all the places we’ll visit on the journey.

After a short break where Cyndi and I went to an ATM, the group reconvened. We mosied along walking to our destination hearing about some of the things we saw along the way. We came upon this tree and Dev asked if we could identify it. Nope. None of us. It’s a neem tree, which has numerous health benefits.

Next we came upon a local entrepreneur selling handmade cigarettes called bidis -tobacco and other herbs rolled in tendu leaves.

We then reached our main destination for today – the Bangla Sahib Sikh temple. Sikhism originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of India. This religious group strongly believes in giving back to the community. This was demonstrated in a huge way at this temple.

We first entered a room for us to remove our shoes and socks and to don head scarves. A member of the Sikh community came in to explain some of the main beliefs of the religion.

We next had the opportunity to walk inside the temple after we walked through a shallow water pool.

Once through we went on to experience the community outreach program. It’s difficult to comprehend the scope of what they do – which is called Langar – that everyone who comes, regardless of religion, social caste, gender, or other factors, is welcomed and provided a meal. This is done completely by volunteer donations and volunteers. And they feed 20,000-25,000 people a day! Every day! On the weekends and some holidays the number could double!

We were given the opportunity to walk into the kitchen and help with preparations. Jane helped with rolling the dough for the flat bread which was then fried.

Paul helped cutting up cauliflower and Cyndi, Marion and I pared potatoes. Cyndi thought it was amusing that the Admiral was finally on KP duty!

We were then able to join in on the meal. We were given a tray and a spoon and sat on long mats arranged in rows in a huge room. Once in place multiple people came past with buckets of food which they ladled onto the tray. They came past several times offering more food if desired. Incredible! And it was delicious.

We had the opportunity to talk with a number of the volunteers throughout the time. They all said they worked there often and felt fulfilled by it.

To top things off on the way to the bus we came upon this amazing young woman who was walking and balancing on a tightrope! And then proceeded to sway extremely fast while in the middle of the rope. And then added balancing a stack of cups on her head.

After a bus ride back to the hotel where we passed the India Gate, formerly known as the All Indian War Memorial, which commemorates the death of 74,187 Indian soldiers WW1.

For our afternoon free time Cyndi, Jessica and I opted to take a tuk tuk to the Lodhi Gardens. It is a beautiful green oasis in the middle of the city with many birds and several very old tombs and mosques.

Once back at the hotel we prepared to go out for a group welcome dinner at a local restaurant. A delicious dinner was had in a convivial atmosphere. On the drive back we got to see the arch lit up.