Bodhgaya tour Feb 2010

Bodhgaya tour Feb 2010
18 monks from Wangdi, Bhutan, 1 guide from Thimpu, Bhutan and 2 Volunteers from Ritinjali, Naveen and Pema went on a holy journey to Bodhgaya and other places of Buddhist importance from 27 th Jan 2010. All the monks and the Ritinjali volunteers were supposed to meet at Phuentsholing on the 27 th .While all the monks reached Phuentsholing in evening by bus the volunteers from Ritinjali left from Delhi on the 26 th and reached Phuentsholing on the 27 th . All the monk were very happy to meet the volunteers and were very excited for the upcoming trip. The guide Mr. Nawang Khinley from Bhutan and Pema Dorji from Delhi were the only ones who could speak Bhutanese and English and a little bit of Hindi. The monks could speak only Bhutanese language. So these two were the only people through which we were able to communicate with each other. The trip started on 28 th Jan 2010 from Phuentsholing Bhutan and our first destination was Sarnath, which is near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. A bus was booked in advance from Phuentsholing to New Jalpaiguri, West Bengal (about 3.5 to 4 Hrs journey) which had some beautiful eye catching tea gardens. After reaching Jalpaiguri we boarded the train (Brahamputra Mail) at 10.30 Pm from New Jalpaiguri railway station for Mughal Sarai (Uttar Pradesh). For all the monks except the big lama guru ji it was the first time that they were boarding the train. They were very much excited as well as slightly apprehensive to be part of the first train journeys of their lives. 29 th January We reached Mughal Sarai Junction in the evening of 29 th Jan. Mughal Sarai is a big rail station near Varanasi. We had already booked our accommodation at the Thai Temple in Sarnath, with the help of Thai High commission, New Delhi. The Thai monks welcomed the monks from Bhutan and we immediately went off to rest after having a light dinner, excited for the next day to start. 30 th January The next day was a good sunny morning at Sarnath. We all went to see the main Stupa, deer park and some other temples. All the monks prayed at Sarnath. The big lama guruji explained the other monks about this holy place and the other monks also recalled the place since they had already studied and seen some pictures of these in their books. After this we went to Varanasi about 12 Kms from Sarnath by auto rickshaws in the afternoon since everyone wanted to see the holy river Ganga at Banaras. We went to the famous Ghats of Ganga near Gadoliya market and Kashi Vishvanath temple. All the monks in red attires were the center of attraction for the locals. Boating on river ganga is a unique experience and we all enjoyed the boat ride and saw all the ghats of Varanasi and attended the arti on the ghats from the boat. Arti is conducted every evening at Ganga with chanting and ringing of the holy bells. All the monks were very impressed with this ceremony and liked it a lot. They also set some fishes free into the water, which were being sold by some fishermen. After this we went for some shopping and after the shopping spree returned to Sarnath. 31 st January On the 31 st we went to see Karmapa temple in the morning, and visited the museum in the afternoon. According to the plan we were to go to Kushinagar the next day so we booked the cabs for the next day to visit Kushinagar. 01 st February We Left for Kushinagar from Sarnath early in the morning on the cabs that we had booked .We reached Kushinagar in the afternoon and seen the stupa there and returned to Sarnath by midnight. The taxi's dropped us directly to the Mughal Sarai Railway station and we caught the train for Gaya in early hours. 02 nd February On the 2 nd of February we reached Gaya and took an auto rickshaw for Bodhgaya. From there we went to the Bhutan Temple at Bodhgaya where we were to stay for the next few days. They offered us traditional tea made of butter and with some salt in it. After the early morning bath everyone went to the main temple for pooja. Bodhgaya was full with people around the world as there were some special prayers being performed at that time by one of their main gurus. Most of the followers were from eastern part of Bhutan. We came to know from the locals that for three months (November, December & January) every year people from all around India and the world visit these holy places and special pujas are preformed by different groups at different time. 03 rd February All the monks were very happy at Bodhgaya. They did their prayers, and also did rounds of the temple. There were also very happy to see some Bhutanese and Tibetans restaurants nearby since they were having Indian food for past couple of days and wanted to have some native food. They all enjoyed their stay at Bodhgaya and next on our plan was to visit Vaishali and some other nearby places. So we hired a big Bus for the next day to visit Vaishali. 04 th February We left from Bodhgaya early in the morning at about 5 am by bus. We also took with us packed lunch. We reached Vaishali in the afternoon after a long tiring journey, as the road was not at all good. Despite that everyone was very cheerful and excited to see Vaishali. They went around the sacred place and we all had our lunch in the lovely gardens there. Some of the monks went to see the other temples there and some of them enjoyed the boat ride in the lake at Vaishali. We returned to Bodhgaya in evening. 05 th February On the 5 th of February we had the opportunity to meet a senior Guruji from Thailand .We did meditation with him in the garden near the main temple and met the guruji from Thailand. He was teaching about meditation there. He welcomed us all and asked us to join in the prayers. We all sat and listened to their prayers. This was a very good experience for all of us and it really felt good to be there at that time and to be part of such an enriching experience. The Thai Guruji then asked the Guruji from Bhutan to pray for all the Thai people and all the monks from Bhutan stood up and prayed in the Bhutanese language. After that the Thai monks also prayed for all the Bhutan monks. It was a wonderful experience in all to see all the monks come together in prayer despite the barrier of the language. We all left after taking some photos with the Thai guruji. The day was an unforgettable experience for all of us. Next day we planned to visit Nalanda and Rajgir. 06 th February Next day we left early in the morning for Rajgir and Nalanda, and returned to Bodhgaya in the evening. Everyone liked these two places. In the evening we all went to the main temple of Bodhgaya. The temple was decorated with flowers and looked beautiful in the evening with lights. 07 th February On the 7 th we visited the Mahakala Caves and the Sujata village. We hired auto rickshaws and left for these places after the breakfast. On the way to the Mahakala caves we saw a number of villages and fields. The houses there had a Countryside look and people were lovely. Little kids could be seen waving hands as we passed from their villages. The Mahakala caves was on some height so we left our autos and climbed up to the caves. This was a very quite and peaceful place. We also lit some diyas there and sat there for a while. The view of green fields from that height was very beautiful. After having a peaceful time we left for Sujata village and saw the old temple there. All the monk's prayed there and we came back to Bodhgaya. 08 th and 09 th Feb We spent both 8 th and 9 th in Bodhgaya. Rickshaws are a regular feature, which are seen outside the Bhutanese temple as people from Bhutan love to ride these rickshaws. Our monks also enjoyed the rickshaw rides that they took almost everyday within Bodhgaya. Everyone did some shopping from the fair. The three-month long fair was coming to the end and most of the shopkeepers who came from Tibet were winding off and going back to Tibet one after another. Buses full of people were leaving from Bodhgaya. It seemed that everyone was leaving Bodhgaya. But next day we saw about three buses full of people from Sri Lanka arrive there. And there's a saying that whoever comes to Bodhgaya once will again return to that place. We left for Patna on 10 th of Feb in the afternoon by bus to take a train to New Jalpaiguri. The train was two hours late and reached Patna in the midnight. So we reached New Jalpaiguri quite late on 11 th of Feb afternoon. We had already booked our tickets to Phuentsholing by Bus at 2 Pm from New Jalpaiguri and reached Phuentsholing in the evening. 12 th February We had booked a Bus in advance for Thimpu from Phuentsholing and a Taxi to Wangdi from Thimpu. All the Monks from Wangdi with the guide left Phuentsholing after breakfast. And with this came to an end a wonderful and unforgettable trip with everlasting memories. Monks liked the train journey, houses in the Indian villages, boat riding, rivers and huge bridges, rickshaws and the Indian people and found them to be full of great hospitality and love.

18 monks from Wangdi, Bhutan, 1 guide from Thimpu, Bhutan and 2 Volunteers from Ritinjali, Naveen and Pema went on a holy journey to Bodhgaya and other places of Buddhist importance from 27 th Jan 2010.

All the monks and the Ritinjali volunteers were supposed to meet at Phuentsholing on the 27 th .While all the monks reached Phuentsholing in evening by bus the volunteers from Ritinjali left from Delhi on the 26 th and reached Phuentsholing on the 27 th . All the monk were very happy to meet the volunteers and were very excited for the upcoming trip.

The guide Mr. Nawang Khinley from Bhutan and Pema Dorji from Delhi were the only ones who could speak Bhutanese and English and a little bit of Hindi. The monks could speak only Bhutanese language. So these two were the only people through which we were able to communicate with each other.

The trip started on 28 th Jan 2010 from Phuentsholing Bhutan and our first destination was Sarnath, which is near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. A bus was booked in advance from Phuentsholing to New Jalpaiguri, West Bengal (about 3.5 to 4 Hrs journey) which had some beautiful eye catching tea gardens. After reaching Jalpaiguri we boarded the train (Brahamputra Mail) at 10.30 Pm from New Jalpaiguri railway station for Mughal Sarai (Uttar Pradesh). For all the monks except the big lama guru ji it was the first time that they were boarding the train. They were very much excited as well as slightly apprehensive to be part of the first train journeys of their lives.

29 th January

We reached Mughal Sarai Junction in the evening of 29 th Jan. Mughal Sarai is a big rail station near Varanasi. We had already booked our accommodation at the Thai Temple in Sarnath, with the help of Thai High commission, New Delhi. The Thai monks welcomed the monks from Bhutan and we immediately went off to rest after having a light dinner, excited for the next day to start.

30 th January

The next day was a good sunny morning at Sarnath. We all went to see the main Stupa, deer park and some other temples. All the monks prayed at Sarnath. The big lama guruji explained the other monks about this holy place and the other monks also recalled the place since they had already studied and seen some pictures of these in their books.

After this we went to Varanasi about 12 Kms from Sarnath by auto rickshaws in the afternoon since everyone wanted to see the holy river Ganga at Banaras. We went to the famous Ghats of Ganga near Gadoliya market and Kashi Vishvanath temple. All the monks in red attires were the center of attraction for the locals.

Boating on river ganga is a unique experience and we all enjoyed the boat ride and saw all the ghats of Varanasi and attended the arti on the ghats from the boat. Arti is conducted every evening at Ganga with chanting and ringing of the holy bells. All the monks were very impressed with this ceremony and liked it a lot. They also set some fishes free into the water, which were being sold by some fishermen. After this we went for some shopping and after the shopping spree returned to Sarnath.

31 st January

On the 31 st we went to see Karmapa temple in the morning, and visited the museum in the afternoon. According to the plan we were to go to Kushinagar the next day so we booked the cabs for the next day to visit Kushinagar.

01 st February

We Left for Kushinagar from Sarnath early in the morning on the cabs that we had booked .We reached Kushinagar in the afternoon and seen the stupa there and returned to Sarnath by midnight. The taxi's dropped us directly to the Mughal Sarai Railway station and we caught the train for Gaya in early hours.

02 nd February

On the 2 nd of February we reached Gaya and took an auto rickshaw for Bodhgaya. From there we went to the Bhutan Temple at Bodhgaya where we were to stay for the next few days. They offered us traditional tea made of butter and with some salt in it.

After the early morning bath everyone went to the main temple for pooja. Bodhgaya was full with people around the world as there were some special prayers being performed at that time by one of their main gurus. Most of the followers were from eastern part of Bhutan. We came to know from the locals that for three months (November, December & January) every year people from all around India and the world visit these holy places and special pujas are preformed by different groups at different time.

03 rd February

All the monks were very happy at Bodhgaya. They did their prayers, and also did rounds of the temple. There were also very happy to see some Bhutanese and Tibetans restaurants nearby since they were having Indian food for past couple of days and wanted to have some native food. They all enjoyed their stay at Bodhgaya and next on our plan was to visit Vaishali and some other nearby places. So we hired a big Bus for the next day to visit Vaishali.

04 th February

We left from Bodhgaya early in the morning at about 5 am by bus. We also took with us packed lunch. We reached Vaishali in the afternoon after a long tiring journey, as the road was not at all good. Despite that everyone was very cheerful and excited to see Vaishali. They went around the sacred place and we all had our lunch in the lovely gardens there. Some of the monks went to see the other temples there and some of them enjoyed the boat ride in the lake at Vaishali. We returned to Bodhgaya in evening.

05 th February

On the 5 th of February we had the opportunity to meet a senior Guruji from Thailand .We did meditation with him in the garden near the main temple and met the guruji from Thailand. He was teaching about meditation there. He welcomed us all and asked us to join in the prayers. We all sat and listened to their prayers.

This was a very good experience for all of us and it really felt good to be there at that time and to be part of such an enriching experience. The Thai Guruji then asked the Guruji from Bhutan to pray for all the Thai people and all the monks from Bhutan stood up and prayed in the Bhutanese language. After that the Thai monks also prayed for all the Bhutan monks. It was a wonderful experience in all to see all the monks come together in prayer despite the barrier of the language. We all left after taking some photos with the Thai guruji. The day was an unforgettable experience for all of us. Next day we planned to visit Nalanda and Rajgir.

06 th February

Next day we left early in the morning for Rajgir and Nalanda, and returned to Bodhgaya in the evening. Everyone liked these two places. In the evening we all went to the main temple of Bodhgaya. The temple was decorated with flowers and looked beautiful in the evening with lights.

07 th February

On the 7 th we visited the Mahakala Caves and the Sujata village. We hired auto rickshaws and left for these places after the breakfast. On the way to the Mahakala caves we saw a number of villages and fields. The houses there had a Countryside look and people were lovely. Little kids could be seen waving hands as we passed from their villages.

The Mahakala caves was on some height so we left our autos and climbed up to the caves. This was a very quite and peaceful place. We also lit some diyas there and sat there for a while. The view of green fields from that height was very beautiful. After having a peaceful time we left for Sujata village and saw the old temple there. All the monk's prayed there and we came back to Bodhgaya.

08 th and 09 th Feb

We spent both 8 th and 9 th in Bodhgaya. Rickshaws are a regular feature, which are seen outside the Bhutanese temple as people from Bhutan love to ride these rickshaws. Our monks also enjoyed the rickshaw rides that they took almost everyday within Bodhgaya.

Everyone did some shopping from the fair. The three-month long fair was coming to the end and most of the shopkeepers who came from Tibet were winding off and going back to Tibet one after another. Buses full of people were leaving from Bodhgaya. It seemed that everyone was leaving Bodhgaya. But next day we saw about three buses full of people from Sri Lanka arrive there. And there's a saying that whoever comes to Bodhgaya once will again return to that place.

We left for Patna on 10 th of Feb in the afternoon by bus to take a train to New Jalpaiguri. The train was two hours late and reached Patna in the midnight. So we reached New Jalpaiguri quite late on 11 th of Feb afternoon. We had already booked our tickets to Phuentsholing by Bus at 2 Pm from New Jalpaiguri and reached Phuentsholing in the evening.

12 th February

We had booked a Bus in advance for Thimpu from Phuentsholing and a Taxi to Wangdi from Thimpu. All the Monks from Wangdi with the guide left Phuentsholing after breakfast. And with this came to an end a wonderful and unforgettable trip with everlasting memories.

Monks liked the train journey, houses in the Indian villages, boat riding, rivers and huge bridges, rickshaws and the Indian people and found them to be full of great hospitality and love.