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Published: December 21st 2006
We're in Bodhgaya, the land of the Buddha- but after Rajasthan we also went to Agra and Varanasi. Annoyingly we got stuck for days in Agra as we couldnt get a train out and besides the Taj Mahal there's not much to see, just a big industrial town- spent a lot of time watching TV in our ridiculously cheap room- at least we saved some money. But we did have one interesting day when two random guys took us to watermelon farmland on their scooter- was extremely dodgy riding through Indian traffic, I felt very close to the floor! Next went to Varanasi- a very holy city, as it's on the bank of the Ganges- went on a boat ride and saw the burning Ghats (where they burn dead bodies) felt very intrusive, was a bit creepy seeing them washing a body, though thankfully it was wrapped up.
Great to reach Bodghgaya, loads of other travellers had recommended it to us as it's the biggest international Buddhist center- it has the tree where buddah reached enlightenment! As there are so many buddhists (from the East and the West) it's really laid back and the people here are really friendly. We
are staying in a Tibetan monastry, which is really impressive (we'll try and get photos, tho loading is painfully slow). We've rented bikes, which are vaguely falling apart but it's really fun cycling- a lot less crowded on the roads then the main cities- tho still a bit dodgy at times, cars and rickshaws drive very close!
We are doing a meditation course each morning- slowly getting closer to enlightenment! A lot of the buddhist teachings seem to make a lot of sense, but some seem vaguely bizarre. The other people in our course are very nice but some do seem a tad crazy- lots of people have done these 10-day intense meditation courses where you can't talk, can't eat in the afternoon and constantly meditate. We thought about doing a 5day one, but I (Chloe) didn't think I'd cope!
Getting excited about staying in the Oberoi, a super fancy hotel, for Christmas in Kolkata, though we do feel a bit guilty, doesn't fit in with our anti-materialistic Buddhism teachings!
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John
non-member comment
Onwards and upwards towards enlightenment
Well, seems as though Adam's exhortation for all comrades to search for internet high-life has scared away the message writers! Well, this is to start it off again! Great to see some photos again and the camera being a worthy investment. Very wise not to go for the 5 day karma - you may have ended up climbing the wall. Stunning photos of the desert.