Blogs from Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, Asia - page 3

From Varanasi Charly and I decided to take a mini-break to Bodhgaya, 5 hours away by train. Bodhgaya (also known as Buddha Disneyland) is a town built around the spot where the Buddha achieved enlightenment while meditating under a Bodhi tree in, err 6 something BC I think. If the Buddha came back to visit today I'm not sure what he'd make of all the fuss and pomp at Bodhgaya. For a philosophy expounding simplicity and non-attachment, there seemed to be a disproportionate amount of gold leaf. Our train from Varanasi, which we had woken up at 4.30am to catch, was 3 hours late and by the time it came Charly had made solid friends with the monkeys, rats and beggars of Varanasi Junction while I sulked into a chai. By the time we arrived and ... read more

I am in Bodh Gaya, the most holy site for any Buddhists. Bodh Gaya is the town where Siddhartha attained enlightenment. I went up to the cave where he meditated for 6 years. It was small, stuffy and hot! Respect to him for being able to concentrate under those conditions. There are 22 different Buddhist temples all over the town including ones from Japan, Bhutan, Burma, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Korean, Taiwan, China and many other countries. It was truly a peaceful town where all different sects of Buddhism would have tremendous respect for each other. They were all brought together because they were drawn into the magnificent Mahabodhi Temple. This is the most beautiful Buddhist temple I have ever seen. It gave me the same feeling as when I saw the Taj Mahal. There many ... read more

Oikeastaan ei nyt pitaisi liikahtaa huoneestamme mihinkaan, silla maksamme ilmastoinnista huikean hinnan. On se kuitenkin ollut sen arvoista, hyvin nautinnollista. Parista lyhyesta sahkokatkosta huolimatta, jolloin ilmastointi tietenkin lakkasi, sain nukuttua tosi hyvin. Kun puhun huikeista hinnoista, tarkoitan sita tietenkin vain suhteutettuna meidan yleisiin asumiskuluihin. Saimme kylla tosi hyvan alennuksen! Oikeasti hinta olisi ollut 55 Usan dollaria, mutta meille sanottiin heti, etta voimme saada hyvan tarjouksen, silla nyt on offsesonki. Ensin omistaja sanoi huoneen irtoavan tonnilla Intian rubioita eli noin 18 eurolla. Emme olleet kuitenkaan tyytyvaisia, silla olimme juuri saaneet edellisessa paikassa 700 tarjouksen ja melkein jo hyvaksyneet sen, kunnes seta tiskin takana tokaisi verojen tulevan viela siihen paalle, jolloin lahdimme kavelemaan. Nama verot naissa hotelleissa ovat k... read more

Here are photos from Delhi and Agra. We apologize for us taking so long to get you some pictures, but here they are!... read more

**This is the first of 3 back posts (time flies when your having fun!) The state of Bihar is stated to be the least literate and most lawless part of India. Welcome to the land of enlightenment! Bodh Gaya is right in the middle of the state, my first stop after leaving Kolkata. I wanted to like Kolkata, I really did…. But I didn’t. After 1 hour in Bodh Gaya, I knew that I didn’t like Kolkata. The village, population of about 30,000 is small and quaint; though anything but quiet (I really do believe that Indians are afraid of silence). I checked into a nice, comfortable room and had breakfast on the roof-top restaurant (a very common location for a restaurant as nearly all roofs are flat). The story goes that Bodh Gaya is the ... read more