If you were to ask me which part of the bus tour stood out to me most, I would be pushed to pinpoint just one event. Perhaps it would be the night time harinam on the Strip in Las Vegas. It felt very surreal to be one of fifty brightly dressed youth dancing and chanting amongst the bright lights and casinos in a city which symbolises everything contrary to our beliefs. My sense of confusion was added to when I spotted Las Vegas’ miniature Eiffel Tower. I gave up as we walked past Madame Tussaud’s. I was simply too tired to remind myself that we were in fact in Las Vegas, and not Paris or London.

Following the harinam we returned to the car park to discover that the boys’ bus had broken down. Dravinkasha Prabhu (one of our dedicated drivers) drove around until 2am when he found the required part. Meanwhile we killed the time by sitting in a circle on the concrete in our saris and dhotis and played Chinese Whispers. We drove through the Mojave desert in the early hours of the morning, arriving in Los Angeles in time for Deity Greeting.

Picture: Street-chanting in Quebec.