Blogs from Bihar, India, Asia - page 6

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 (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erleuchtung_(Buddhismus) erlangt! BIHAR IST der aermste staat indiens, bietet die hoechste kriminalitaetsrate von ganz asien, leidet unter jaehrlichen flutkatastrophen, so auch im september dieses jahres. die obligaten stunden verspaetung kommen wir mit dem patna express (was fuer ein hohn!) in gaya an, wo uns auch gleich die rikhsahyaenen in beschlag nehmen! was zu einem handgemenge fuehrt, bis wir den erstbieter in schutz nehmen und den anderen zu verstehen geben, sich zu schleichen....sakkra nomoleini...hauts eich nit die fressn ein wegn a por rupie, ha!? die ersten kilometer richtung bodhgaya isch der uebliche dreck-staub-diesel-verkehrswahnsinn, dann, plo... read more

MUMBAI; Mumbai is an exhilarating city. High energy, India's economic powerhouse. It's an industrial hub, the centre for the Hindi film business. We booked a jeep for a guided tour. The driver started with the Indian Gate, eighty-five foot stone archway . Kamala Nehru park was next. Great views of the city from Chowpatty beach to Colaba. Across the street are the hanging gardens, decorated with lawns, flower bed arrangements and designer cut hedges. Pensioners exercised, others relaxed. We sat amongst them, one was given full attention to Maryam, an immensely attractive Iranian, a member of our group, and who could blame him wanting to sing a duet with her. Then a laundry stop, but not just any wash n' dry. Mounds of clothing stacked in abundance amongst troughs of water. No fancy detergent here, a ... read more

According to the two irritating lawyers I met on the train to Patna: Gaya is pronounced either "gay-ah" or "goy-ah" it is not pronounced "guy-ah". 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 its immediate proximity to my time in Patna. There was a reason for going there! I took a not-worth-mentioning bus ride from Patna to Gaya (10km from Bodhgaya). And after a pleasant auto-rickshaw ride from Gaya, pleasant being where I only have one head-on encounter with a bus, I reached the place of pilgrimage for Buddhists worldwide. (Incidentally between Gaya and Bodhgaya there's ... read more

See below for my previous troubles getting in and out of the pleasant holiday resort of Darjeeling, however I am pleased to report that I've left and am now in Patna which I would affectionately describe as either the Milton Keynes or Bradford of India. But this post is not about Patna but about my journey to Patna. If I've learnt anything about myself so far it's that I much prefer being places than travelling to them. I suspect this is not an especially ground breaking opinion and may be one held by lots of people, nevertheless I feel it's a slightly ironic view for someone who wishes to call himself a traveller to hold. My feelings may also be coloured by the fact that I find it a pain to get anywhere in India. So, ... read more

Hello Everybody! At present we are in Bodhgaya which is the small farm town where Buddha achieved enlightenment. For such a small area it has so many temples/monastarys donated by buddhist countries. But first i must finish Kalkota: On 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 at a small travel agents and were sceptical as to whether we were going to get them. We went there and they said the classic phrase of 'come back tomorro'....just before the train was departing.We found a pretty disgusting place to stay at that was run by the grumpiest 16 year old in the world who just agreed to everything we said. So on the last day we ... read more