Happy Diwali! ... but again, no gifts!

So on Saturday, a bunch of us went to the Diwali celebrations at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir temple in Neasden.

First of all, it took forever to get there since it seemed as though half of the metro lines were closed. And of course, it wouldn't be a ride on the metro without seeing some questionable fashion ... like the girl who dressed up as a cracked-out Sailor Moon character and the guy who tried desperately to rock a full-length pleated skirt - with running shoes!

Frankly, it was just all kinds of wrong!

So after transferring a few times, we finally got there and Neasden has a definite suburban feel - it's just missing a huge Wal-Mart/Ikea/restaurant/movie theatre complex!

Well that, a few SUVs and some soccer moms, but we won't get into that now ...

Anyways, going to the temple was definitely an experience - there were no cameras allowed, the interior was quite ornate, we had to take off our shoes, and they even separated the men and the women.

As an outsider, it was really interesting to see - although sadly, I didn't get any gifts!

I did however get to walk across the length of the prayer room with lots of people staring - you know in my head I was thinking it's a runway!

*cue Bollywood music, lights, and a fog machine!*

And since we weren't allowed to take cameras, I could only take photos of the temple from the outside (where it changed colours every few minutes) and the expensive fireworks display that happened after the prayer service.

So enjoy!