Day 51: Team XPD Beyond Asia revel in the history of Moscow; Indian Ambassador hosts team

Team XPD Asia left at 7 am to Red Square hoping to get some good photos without a crowd. Red Square is all pedestrian and therefore one cannot park the car there even for a quick picture. 

Meenakshi cited that from her last trip she had learnt that vehicles could be parked at the back of the St. Basils Cathedral just for a few minutes before the police arrive, since parking is not allowed there. 

"We did exactly that. We were all ready to jump out and assemble very quickly. We were there for less than three minutes and trying to get some pics, before the police showed up and asked us to leave immediately. Another minute and we would probably have been arrested," laughs Meenakshi.

The team then drove to the outskirts of the city to see Moscow State University which is one of the 'Seven Sisters' and a spectacular building. The foundations for seven large skyscrapers were laid in 1947 to mark Moscow's 800th anniversary. 

Stalin had decided that Moscow suffered from a 'skyscraper gap' when compared to the USA and ordered the construction of these seven behemoths to jump-start the city's skyline.

The team headed back to the hotel before 9 am since the traffic gets worse thereon. 

After some rest, some retail therapy at the GUM, the team just wandered around. Having an appointment with D B Venkatesh Varma, the Ambassador of India at the Embassy which was only about 200 m from the hotel, the team met the Ambassador and had a friendly chat with him. He seemed genuinely interested about the route and the team's drive from Coimbatore to St. Petersburg. Apart from that, the Indian Ambassador also handed over a very generous donation to the team captain, Meenakshi, in support of Cervical Cancer Vaccination Program. 

"It was a very proud moment for Team XPD Beyond Asia to be at the Indian Embassy in Moscow and to have met the Ambassador and all the staff," exulted Meenakshi. The day just got better for the team since Meenakshi and Anjana wanted to see Anna Karenina at the Moscow Operetta Theatre and luckily got the tickets. 

They were spellbound by the show, and then followed it up with dinner at a nice Russian restaurant close to the Bolshoi. The team decided to leave early the next day for the final leg of XPD Beyond Asia.