Bohdgaya

To get to Bohdgaya we catch the Rajdani Express train from Kolkata. The 2nd class carriages have upper and lower births, each the size of a single bed. Once the train gets going, blankets and pillows are handed out; we make ourselves comfortable.

Soon after this, the pantry chap shows up handing out snacks and chai. We end up eating more food in the space of five hours than we did the previous day! The novelty of travelling on Indian trains will never wear off.

We reach Gaya train station at 11PM. Gaya is located in Bihar, India's poorest state. We notice the poverty immediately and feel slightly self-conscious walking around the station after dark. We manage to quickly negotiate a tuktuk for a 15KM ride through deserted countryside, feeling relived when we finally make it to the hotel.

Bodhgaya is a very important place for Buddhists. It’s where Price Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment beneath a Bodhi tree and became Buddha. There’s a big template marking the spot where a descendant of the original Bodhi tree is located.

After a night spent battling mosquitoes in our room, we head out to explore the main temple.

We’re outnumbered by Tibetan pilgrims that come to Bodhgaya from Mcloeod Ganj.

Scuffles break out around the Bohdi tree whenever a leaf drops. I get chatting to a young monk who gave me a leaf he managed to grab earlier. Shejal put it in an envelope for safe keeping.

They have a ‘meditation garden’ in the temple complex. We paid the rps25 charge and escaped the Bihar chaos for an hour.

The afternoon is spent exploring other minor temples and the giant Buddha statue.

The temple is well worth visiting, but the town itself is rough. Perhaps two days here was one too many.