The ninth day of the trip was spent in Varanasi. Today the itinerary included attending mass and visiting the Jesu Ashram fraternity of the Little Sisters of Jesus, founded by Little Sister Magdelene 56 years ago.rnrnUnfortunately due to it being a hectic day the team were unable to post an entry on the website.rnrnThis evening they will be boarding the overnight train to Kolkata, their final destination where they will be visiting Udayan amongst other charities related to a City of Joy Aid.rnrnA full entry from the team relating to today will be posted tomorrow upon arrival in Kolkata.rnrnThanks for your continued interest in the group’s progress.rnrn

Last night we spent the evening on the rooftop of our gorgeous hotel which overlooked Agra and the Taj Mahal. We ate a wonderful dinner, with lots of courses, which everyone loved and made our night even more special. There was a sitar player who entertained us with his beautiful music all night long. Eventually, we went to bed as we had to get up this morning at 5.15am to start our 10 hour journey to our next destination of Varanasi. rnrnrnFirstly, we were driven in a coach to Delhi airport where we caught a plane to Varanasi. Even though the journey was quite tiring, we are very excited about being in this Sacred place, and another lovely hotel (with a pool!!!) rnOn this lovely warm evening, we are going to have dinner in the hotel, and then to bed early as we are going to The Ganges for sunrise tomorrow morning. rnrnrn

Today has been an incredibly busy day, we can’t believe how much we’ve seen in such a short space of time! Our day started with a visit to Mother Teresa’s children’s home, Shishu Bhavan. We were lucky enough to see the new building (this was opened last year) which provides enough space for the much needed facilities. Seeing the children was exceptionally moving, it was heartbreaking to see such beautiful, loving children who don’t have a family, but what made it better was how well looked after they are, the sisters do a truly amazing job. rnAfterwards we visited the Jama Masjid, the second largest Mosque in the sub-continent, with the capacity to hold up to twenty thousand people at one time. It was a brief yet enjoyable visit as they were about to start their afternoon prayer. On leaving the Mosque we were greeted by seven smiling rickshaw drivers who were ready to take us on a manic trip round the market streets of Old Delhi. We saw everything from wedding dress stalls to vegetable carts on roads no wider than England’s pavements!!! We were terrified climbing aboard, but this was soon overtaken by excitement! rnrnrnrnAfter our chaotic ride on the rickshaws we drove to Raj Ghat, the memorial site where Gandhi was cremated. The gardens were beautiful and it was easy to forget the madness of Delhi in the peaceful settings and unusual silence. A short walk away we stopped for lunch at a small café where we ate beside a local children’s cricket team. rnrnrnrnAfter lunch we moved to New Delhi to Birlah House, the site of his assassination and the interactive museum, which has been created for him within the house he was staying in when he was assassinated. rnrnrnrnWhilst driving, we drove past the impressive Government buildings of New Delhi and even more impressive, elephants and monkeys! Our final stop of the day was to visit the Humayun’s Tomb which is known as a predecessor to the Taj Mahal (which we’re really excited to be seeing tomorrow!) rnrnrnrnrnrn

Last night we dined at one of Amritsar’s finest restaurants and enjoyed a traditional Indian feast, which everyone enjoyed. Afterwards we visited the Golden Temple to watch the ceremony, which takes place twice a day and is when the Holy Book is taken from the Hari Madhir Sahir (Golden Temple) to Akal Takhat (a smaller temple opposite) it was an incredible experience, the temple looked beautiful above the Sacred Pool and we found the respect and devotion to the Sikh religion was awe inspiring. rnrn rn rnToday we had breakfast at the hotel buffet and then went to Jallianwala Bagh which is a memorial to the thousands of peaceful demonstrators who were killed or injured when the British, under the command of General Dyer, opened fire on them in 1919. Additionally, whilst trying to escape the unexpeccted open fire, people jumped into the well; later 120 bodies were recovered. The memorial site was extremely moving and shocking even so many years later. rnrnrnrnAfterwards we walked to the Golden Temple to see it in the daylight. We visited the kitchen which feeds 100,000 people everyday for free. We also got a chance to make some of the food ourselves! rnrnrnrnAfterwards, we travelled to the Pakistan and Indian border, Wagah Border, to see the ceremony where soldiers of each country put up a change of guard ceremony, in which the National flags of their respective countries are lowered. It was an incredibly lively ceremony with lots of shouting and dancing (especially from the Indian side.) rnrnrnrnGood news! We arrived back at the hotel to find six lost cases had found their owners, and one new one had been bought. Early to bed tonight as we are up at 3.15am tomorrow morning!

Hello from the 2009 team!! We leave tomorrow and we’re all very excited! We can’t wait to fill you in on all the amazing stories, we’re hoping to update the diary each night from Sunday. rnrnrn