Bodhgaya: Arrival at the Cradle of Buddhism

For this 2nd day, we had to go to Bodhgaya, an important place for Buddhists since it is there that the Buddha practiced his meditation under the sacred Bodhi tree before finally reaching Nirvana.

We left early in the morning by taxi (150 Rs) towards Howrah station, not far from our hotel, crossing the famous Howrah bridge.

The bridge built between 1937 and 1943 is the 6th longest in the world in its category (cantilever type, i.e. with cantilever beams). 30m wide with a span of 457m crossing the Hooghly River, one of the branches of the Ganges, the bridge supports daily traffic of some 80 vehicles, 000 million pedestrians and a few thousand cattle...

We cross the Howrah Bridge to head towards the station of the same name, one of the busiest in the world.

Train journey Calcutta – Bodhgaya

We had barely set foot in front of the station when a porter offered to carry my bag. At that moment, I thought to myself that I could carry my bag and at the same time, I thought to myself why "steal" his livelihood, so there he was, heading towards our train after we had informed him of our destination.

Please note that Calcutta railway station is the one with one of the largest attendances in the world, so there are a lot of people around.

Didn't have much time to see the station since we arrived and got on our train straight away which was already at the platform. The train left the station a good half hour later. We were in second class, the "legend" that Indian trains are packed to the point of not knowing where to sit (on the roof) is far away for us.

Everyone has their assigned seat and if a few people will squat the same corner of the cabin before departure, once the train has left, everyone returned to their quarters and the journey went smoothly. We ate our meal on the train while a guy came by to sell bags of chicken, 95 Rs for lunch.

Desert…

Arriving at Gaya station, we said to ourselves that we might as well take our ticket to Varanasi, our next stop. Ticket for a night train the day after tomorrow. There weren't many people and yet it was long...

Between the shameless Indians who pass in front to ask for something, the only counter (no. 7) available for reservations which really took its time, we had to be patient, but we did get our ticket, couchettes, forced to take a higher class due to lack of space, it would cost us 3 Rs.

We notice that people are crowding into the corridors and elsewhere while waiting for, I don't know which train, because they don't have reservations, necessarily cheaper, and arrive as early as possible to be sure of having a seat.

Once this is done we could finally reach Bodhgaya, after a tuk tuk ride, only 150 Rs, because shared with a few other Indians on the way.

Arriving at Bodhgaya railway station.

Not many people… And yet, it will take us half an hour to get our train ticket to Varanasi…

In the shared tuk tuk.

Even on the rooftops.

How to sleep in a temple

Our goal for Bodhgaya was to sleep in the main Thai temple, knowing that for Thais, it is all the more possible as it is free, meals included.

So we went to the temple, unfortunately, we were told that a group of monks being present at the temple at the moment (Bodhgaya being a major place of pilgrimage for Buddhists) all the rooms were unavailable.

We pass the Buddhist monastery in Bangladesh.

The other Thai temple in Bodhgaya.

The scenery around the other Thai temple.

There we came across a group of children who were very happy to have a photo shoot.

Drying cow dung, used as fuel for cooking in particular.

Ok… So we set off again towards another Thai temple a little far away where we were advised to go.

Jitima explains our situation to a nun passing by, she tells us that she is going to look for someone in charge... Still not seeing her return after more than half an hour, we decide to leave.

Not having a hotel and really wanting to save money, we decided to try our luck again at the first temple, they having told us that they would see what they could do and miraculously, they found us a room to sleep in!

Obviously, it's very basic, a very thin, hard mattress, no sheets, no blankets, nothing, we still have a bathroom nearby.

But it's perfect for us, Jitima feels at home among his friends and the meal being included allows us to taste something other than curries which we were starting to overdose on after everything we had eaten in Sri Lanka.

Here we are at the Thai temple, easily recognizable.

A Little Lesson in Buddhism

Bodhgaya has the appearance of a village despite having nearly 31 inhabitants. Part of the Gaya district (where we arrived by train, some 000km away) in the province of Bihar, the small town is, as I said earlier, a major Buddhist pilgrimage site, the reason being that it is the place where Prince Siddhartha Gautama, the one who would become the Buddha, attained "enlightenment".

Buddha which is actually a "title" designating the one who, through his wisdom, has achieved Awakening (bodhi), that is to say attained Nirvana. It is also defined as a kind of elevated consciousness and supreme knowledge and that of a total and permanent inner peace.

In Buddhist belief, reaching this stage ends the cycles of reincarnation and one can finally reach heaven.

Photo credit : Pixa Bay Maxlkt

Walking through the streets of Bodhgaya

For our part, no meditation or other moments of relaxation, but a walk in the alleys of Bodhgaya where poverty hits you hard. The children smile at you happily, without necessarily begging, rather just the simple pleasure of having their picture taken, of having a little attention.

We will go on a "reconnaissance" tour around from the Mahabodhi temple, where the Bodhi tree is located, under which Buddha… Well, I’m not going to repeat myself…

On the square adjoining the main temple of Bodhgaya, the Mahabodhi temple.

On a rickshaw taking us back to the Thai temple, it's not far but we thought it would make someone happy.

On the way to our little room.

A monk will chat with Jitima for a little while.

Our meal of the day, at the Thai temple.

Other Thais (employees?) were there too.

After this walk we will return by rickshaw (40 Rs) to the temple to have our meal just before they close the service (we are obviously held to fixed times) then we will leave again for the Mahabodhi, at night this time, just to take a digestive walk and because there is nothing else to do in the area...

Before going to bed, we will stay a little in the Thai temple café, with the monks amused by my presence, some of whom will take pictures (I lost mine after my phone's memory card was corrupted...).

Temple obliges, we do not strictly speaking “buy” the available drinks, we make a "donation" by slipping coins and/or notes into the box provided for this purpose.

Short night stroll in front of the Mahabodhi temple.

A view of the Mahabodhi Temple compound at night.

The Thai temple has its own little café (with WiFi, please), where some monks meet in the evening to chat.

Obviously it's basic, but it's free!