Blogs from Bihar, India, Asia - page 9

namaste... impermanent, everything is... change, everything does... i have and will continue to... it is time for me to become the change i want to see... a long time coming... as i have been unsuccesful at this while living in your world, now i will live in mine... we create our own reality and here you may share in the reality that i am creating for myself... it is a world of morality, leading to serenity, which together will develop wisdom... you are all with me on this journey, in my heart-mind and my love and compassion for you all will not but increase... i hope you can say the same as time goes on... please join me here on my journey, experience with me my new world... be happy...... read more

The next stop on our journey in the sweltering heat was Bodghaya, a dusty little town in the middle of the fields about 8 hours or so North East of Calcutta. There isn't really much to Bodhgaya, but it's fame comes from being the home to the Bodhi tree under which Prince Siddhartha meditated, became enlightened, and became the buddha. Today the tree is a mere grandson of the original, but the complex that houses it, it's accompanying temple, and the surrounding gardens are equally as peaceful as they must have been all those years ago, despite the hoardes of tourists that visit today. The town is also home to a number of temples of monasteries from Buddhist countries around the world, each in their national style, which gives it a wee taste of international flavour ... read more

Based on a discussion that we had had yesterday about a book called "The Diceman", George tossed a coin this morning to determine where we would have breakfast. Fujya Green won out, and demonstrated that its slow service was not just confined to dinner. We had one final wander around the main temple complex. Through the stone fence bordering it on the west side, many beggars were sticking begging bowls or even just their cupped hands in order to receive alms from the pilgrims. Looking at these people through the fence was like seeing them behind bars. It was then time for us to catch an auto to Gaya, as both our trains were leaving at around lunchtime. I could be wrong, but it seemed as though our driver booted out his existing passenger when he ... read more

I said what about breakfast at Tenzin's, which George agreed to. It was another tent restaurant along the same strip as Mohamed's, and seemed to have an almost identical menu. I suspect that most of these places are offering the same food, but if they're not in the guidebooks then no-one goes to them. A summary of our round of temple spotting would say that the Tibetan and Thai temples were the most ornate, the Chinese one a little less so, and the Japanese one fairly austere. The Tibetan and Thai were amazingly colourful and vibrant, and your spirits couldn't help being lifted just by seeing the exteriors, never mind the detail of the interiors. Near the south of the town, there was a giant (hollow) stone Buddha that was also very impressive in its scale. ... read more

Y ahora en Espanyol, Donde estamos? Estamos en India. Hace cuanto tiempo? Llegamos hace casi 4 semanas. Que tal India? Diferente a cualquier otro pais en el mundo. Diferente? Si diferente. La India, pais sucio, lleno de flores y aromaticos jazmines, muriendose de hambre con deliciosos manjares y frutas en cada esquina. Desde Agosto hemos estado en el Reino Unido, Espanya, Alemania, Rusia, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Tailandia y por fin India. Mi opinion (personal y no objetiva) es que India es un pais fantastico, donde tienes que reflexionar y pensar, donde la vida del viajero no es facil, es un pais que te cambia. Te cambia cuando ves la pobreza extrema, los ninyos emppujados por sus madres para pedir dinero a los turistas. Y es que en India el trabajo para ninyos no esta prohibido, ... read more