01/15/2025 Ooops……..
Just saying an “Oops!”…..we forgot…got busy…or were just being slackers, but we didn’t post the last day of the trip until just now! Probably it was because we had a late flight on our last day, so we decided to see some more sights before we left. Then, we got home and the trip ended! With that, we enjoyed the last day In Delhi as one of the best days of the entire trip. We had to check out of the hotel early, so we decided, maybe one last little tour with our tour company, Aqua. That little tour packed a big bang! We started out on our last day before the long trip home by heading to the Lotus Temple, a beautiful temple that is part of Baha’i religion. The Baha’i religion is committed to service and peace, a nice thought before we had back to the chaos of home. We toured the beautiful gardens of the temple and then wandered around the outside marveling at the craftsmanship. The inside of the temple is a spiritual place where people go, not to hear homilies, sing, or talk. The inside is for prayer and meditation and is a quiet, solemn place to allow the person to become closer with God. Lotus Temple, Delhi | District Magistrate South East | India
We then wandered into the visitor center where we had an opportunity to learn about the building and religion. We had an opportunity to visit with a member of the religion who shared with us her joy and happiness about her life as part of the Baha’i religion. She was nice and enthusiastic without being preachy or trying to convert us, it was all about the joy of service and prayer. The Baha’I faith accepts all monotheistic religions.
Next stop was Delhi’s residence, the Birla House compound, now known as Gandhi Smriti, the place where Gandhi was assassinated in 1947. We toured his home, now converted into a museum that highlighted the history of his peaceful movement and his ultimate death. We actually got to see his bed that he slept in the night before he was shot. The visit to the site allowed us to understand the life and times of such a great and peaceful man. The peace was reinforced by the peacefulness of the site where people walked through viewing the sites and talking in hushed voices. Home | GANDHI SMRITI AND DARSHAN SAMITI | Government of India His tomb is located further away and we had already visited the site. Coming here was like learning the whole picture.
Last stop before heading to the airport was a special park that had a bonsai garden, a garden display of local plants used for eating (Dave took a few pictures of the garden to share with his friend, Louise), gardens of rosebushes, and a plethora of exotic and beautiful birds. Dave got to add quite a few more birds to his life list. His list just keeps on growing and growing. Home – Lodhi Garden This was an amazing way to end our day and time in India. Just walking around the gardens and learning about the birds and plants from our guide. He did a great job and we felt blessed to be with someone who was just as enthused about the birds and plants as we were. It was also a great way to decompress from all of the hustle and bustle, honking and jostling, and the utter chaos of the Delhi roads. It was a surprisingly peaceful slice of Delhi.
Soon it was time to head to the airport and begin the long journey home. As we write this post we are preparing for our next trip to Italy in two days.