http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , India , Bihar , Bodh Gaya en-us Fri, 01 Jan 2010 09:21:44 +0000 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 09:21:44 +0000 Huomenna lahdemme taalta taas junailemaan jonnekin pohjoiseen pain mutta tarkkaa paikkaa emme viela tieda. Kalle katselee juuri terailakko sivuilta olisivatko tiesulut Nepalissa auenneet ja nyt nayttaa jo lupaavalle. Huomiselle ei ole merkitty terai bandhia Sita vastoin ylihuomisele oli merkitty jokin muu lakko joten juhliin ei ole viela paljon syyta. Voi olla myos ettei sivustoa ole paivitett http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-395608.html 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 hyv http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-395348.html Here are photos from Delhi and Agra. We apologize for us taking so long to get you some pictures but here they are http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-385786.html Since we're now a few posts into this blog we're not going to bother with trying to think of an introduction for each one. We'll just get right to the good stuffWe left off waiting for a train in Agra. Which by the way was the absolute longest wait of our lives. We couldn't get out of that place fast enough It smelled terrible it was crawling with tour groups and the people there only tal http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-385780.html Bodhgaya February 15th22ndIn Bodhgaya I made a lastminute decision to take a Buddhism and meditation course. It turned out to be a wonderful decision and it certainly saved my impression of Bodhgaya which I was in danger of mildly disliking.Bodhgaya is located in Bihar one of the poorest states in India. Bodhgaya is one of the most important sites for Buddhists. It is the place where Prince http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-381138.html This is the first of 3 back posts time flies when your having funThe state of Bihar is stated to be the least literate and most lawless part of India.Welcome to the land of enlightenmentBodh Gaya is right in the middle of the state my first stop after leaving Kolkata. I wanted to like Kolkata I really didhellip. But I didnrsquot. After 1 hour in Bodh Gaya I knew that I didnrsquot http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-379830.html Being at the Bodhi tree was an experience in the people. Thousands of monks and nuns and devotees everywhere in prayer. Hope I will be able to download the video I took. The chanting and praying at every available spot. Overwhelming with activity.In the video you will see how we circledclockwise the outer parameter of the stupa. Below where the Bodhi tree is and the chanting monks there is http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-373558.html We started our journey early leaving at 6 am from Varanassi and heading to gaya by train and then taxi to Bodhgaya. WE had made arrangements for a cousin to meet us at gaya and take Taxi to the Root Institute in Bodhgaya. He did not meet us as planned train was late time difference in our planning and my cell phone not working. Kept cutting out while trying to find out where he was.Meanwhile we http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-372521.html Hello everyone well we caught the train from Agra to Varanasi it was packed to the brim. We had our own little section with bunk beds and a couple of strangers but was fine we just slept well i did helen didnt because she was paranoid about missing the stopVaranasi was wicked we went to the Ganges the holy river where all sorts occurs yoga public cremations washing meditation boat rid http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-372296.html Streik in Bihar Kein BodhgayaAls ich zum Bahnhof kam teilte mir eine Durchsage direkt mit dass mein Zug gestrichen ist.Ok Refund und alternetiv Bus war mein Plan. Kein Bus faehrt. Ich wusste noch nicht das es der Streik ist der meinen Plan durcheinander wirft. So dachte ich engagiere ich einen Taxifahrer und mach mir einen schoenen Tag im Auto. Kein guter Plan.... es gibt Strassensperren.Als http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-337021.html VON VARANASI sind wir mit dem zug in den bundesstaat bihar nach bodhgaya gefahren. dies ist der heiligste ort fuer buddhisten aus aller welt hier hat der prinz siddharta gautama die erleuchtung httpde.wikipedia.orgwikiErleuchtungBuddhismus erlangtBIHAR IST der aermste staat indiens bietet die hoechste kriminalitaetsrate von ganz asien leidet unter jaehrlichen flutkatastrophen so au http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-335679.html We travelled overnight by train from Kolkata to Gaya which was a fairly pleasant journey. We got chatting to an Indian couple sharing our compartment and it turns out his son was studying in Bristol small world.From Gaya we got an autorickshaw to the town of Bodghgaya the spot where Budda attained enlightenment under a Boddhi tree. It is a pilgrimage site for Buddhists and has lots of different http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-334627.html The Buddha lived and taught in India about 500 years BCE. He died there too.He recommended four special places to his disciples just before his death Lumbini in Nepal where he was born Bodh Gaya where he achieved enlightenment Sarnath where he first preached his message and Kushinagar where he died and passed into parinirvana. In December 2007 Graham Robert and myself flew into to Bodh Gaya http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-293034.html According to the two irritating lawyers I met on the train to Patna Gaya is pronounced either gayah or goyah it is not pronounced guyah. However whenever I try to pronounce it as instructed I just receive puzzled looks which is better than when I try to say it my way when people look visibly offended.Still I am in Bodhgaya now and it is amazing. It is probably more amazing because of i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-276183.html Sleeping in a moving train is not yet an easy matter for us not when you have a high fever. Here the merit goes to Ina who got this Indian cold virus that knocked her out for a few days while in Haridwar and we had no choice but to travel with her suffering this. After 24 long hours we arrived to Bodhgaya with the idea of participating in a highly recommended meditation training and of course http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-256266.html Hello EverybodyAt present we are in Bodhgaya which is the small farm town where Buddha achieved enlightenment. For such a small area it has so many templesmonastarys donated by buddhist countries. But first i must finish KalkotaOn the last couple of days we just chilled out around the city enjoying or not enjoying in my case the surroundings and atmosphere. We had purchased our train tickets http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-254570.html Hey allWe are now currently staying in Bodghaya in a very modest monastery with big rooms and simple furnishings. The train journey was quite an adventure as Calcutta train station was full of hundreds of commuters and it was all rather chaotic. After finding our train we had to find our section one of many the trains are a good 3 times longer then british trains at least. Once we found our se http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-254569.html After a calm'ish train and hellish rickshaws 2 friends and I arrived in Bodhgaya this is in the next state Bihar and the town where the Buddha hung out for a few weeks during his nirvana two and a half centuries ago and where the Buddhist philosophies where born. There are many Buddhist temples and Buddhist monasteries from all round the world and allot of Tibetan influence. The famous Buddha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-249205.html Il piu' importante centro di pellegrinaggio buddista al mondo sorge tra i campi di riso del Bihar uno tra i piu' poveri ed arretrati tra tutti gli stati indiani probabilmente non esiste posto mogliore al mondo per immergersi nella meditazione e nello studio di questa antica filosofia di vita. Qui a Bodhgaya 2500 anni fa il principe Siddharta Gautama raggiunse l' illuminazione diventando il bu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-248560.html I have now been in India since 24. Since then I have been sheisted at the Delhi train station overpaid for the Taj Mahal walked around at the old castle ground of Fatepur Sikr shikri watched the puja from a boat with a few beers twitched in bed from an opium cookie from the government bhang shop had a wholebody experience on Bhang and attacked by a baby monkey in Varansi. I've also met http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Bihar/Bodh-Gaya/blog-248156.html