After an overnight stop in Gorakhpur
(a dreadful city you want to leave a.s.a.p.) we made a tough journey through a
rural area of northern India
in an overloaded bus to reach the border of Nepal.
Once we got the VISA we went to Lumbini in a bus that was
even more overloaded (see pictures). Lumbini is the birthplace of Buddha and is
and important Buddhist pilgrimage site. This holy site is bordered by a large
monastic zone, in which only monasteries can be built; they are from many
different countries all over the world.
The second day we rented a bike to visit some small rural
villages in the surrounding area. It was all I had hoped for: beautiful fields,
no hassling with people trying to sell you stuff. Afterwards we visited
the exact place where Buddha was born. This holy site has ruins of
ancient monasteries, a sacred Bodhi tree, an ancient bathing pond, the Asokan
pillar and the Mayadevi temple, where the precise place of birth of Buddha is
located. From early morning to early evening, pilgrims from various countries
perform chanting and meditation at the site.
The next day there was a national bankholiday to celebrate
the beginning of Spring time: holi (by the way, they really call it like
that :-) it’s a very important festival in India
and also in some parts of Nepal.
A festival of colors, kids through bags with water mixed with colors at anyone
who’s passing by. Greet 'em all with blasting colors and loads of fun. Well,
not if you’re wearing white clothes!! Anyway, that day we got up at 5.00 AM so as to catch the bus at 6:30 but at 8:30
still no bus ... so in the end we had to take a taxi to the next village so as to
be able to catch the only bus going to Pokhara that day (we're talking about the second biggest city of Nepal).
As always the journey was bumpy and tiring, but when we finally arrived we
ended up in a charming little family guesthouse with a beautiful view over the
lake.
More about this later. Tomorrow we’re going on a five day trek in the
Ghorepani area which is supposed to be amazing. I’ll keep you posted!!!
