These places have been beckoning for long . Boarded Rapti Sagar Express on the 30th-of June 2017.Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh is from where Nepal bound journey is to begin . Noutanwa is a border town within India and there is passenger train service between Gorakhpur and Noutanwa.
03/07/2017
By the time the passenger made its way from Varanasi to Gorakhpur and reached the platform it was late by almost one hour .Got to get back to Gorakhpur by evening . The train moved mostly at snail's pace and by the time it was Nautanwa, the time was almost 1pm . Hurriedly came out of station and took seat in a tempo bound for Sonauli .This town again is on the Indian side of the border . It took some 10 to 15 mts . Caught a cycle rickshaw to get across the border to the bus point . Rs.30 for the ride, but was worth . Had it not for him , it would have been very difficult to cover this I km stretch which is seen lined up with trucks waiting for entry.
The mini bus took some 10 mts to Bhair Hawa - a border town within Nepal (by the way, there is an airport at Bhair Hawa)
Another bus for Lumbini and and at long last I was dropped in front of the main gate and the time was about 2.30pm.There were tourists from different parts of the world and the whole 8 km area is well maintained like a garden . Remnants of the old castle where Goutama was born is preserved like in a museum and once inside, one feels engulfed in a magical world !
Outside this building is a pond in which were seen swimming few freshwater turtles .
The Japanese Stupa in white is visible from a long distance and adding to its beauty is the blue water body in front , just like the Taj at Agra perhaps.
Temples by Myanmar, Thailand and few other nations ,where Buddhism still thrived , is scattered in the 8 km garden and there appears no dearth of visitors to Lumbini .
For this visitor, it was a long cherished dream come true.
By the time got back to Sonauli, it was 4.30 pm and the next Gorakhpur train is only at 6:40pm. Sitting in the rickshaw, a sign board of a bus caught the attention - an Express bus for Gorakhpur . No time for a second thought and I was in the bus.
Fortunately an empty seat somewhere at the back side.
By 8.30pm , got back to Gorakhpur and tomorrow its going to be Kushinagar ..the place where Buddha breathed his last.
04/07/2017
.Kushinagar is some 50 kms away and the bus stand is close to the railway station.
There is a big statue of Buddha in a reclining position , obviously suggesting his final farewell.
The story goes that some devotee offered the saint some food and the moment he tasted the same he realised that it was unfit for consumption .. poisonous mushroom say some....But he was not ready to refuse an offer by a devotee!
There is the remains of a huge Stupa as well.
Next destination is Chapra..the border town close to the state of Bihar . From Chapra to Hajipur , again on the banks of Ganges. The 7 km long Mahatma Gandhi Sethu takes you across to Patna (there is work going on for widening the bridge , which till recently had the distinction of being the longest bridge in India) and the plans of visiting Vaishali - which again is on the Hajipur side of the river , will have to wait.
No time or energy left to roam about . Just slept off . A long journey awaits tomorrow.
Rajgir , Nalanda and then Bodh Gaya .Rajgir is some 100 kms and Nalanda is at a slight detour. Buses ply from Mithapur Bus Stand, Patna to Bihar Sheriff ..some 90 kms and from there to Nalanda first and Rajgir next.
Nalanda bears a serene look and it would require at least 2 hrs to finish but there was no time ..A sudden go around and then to Rajgir .Rajgir too calls for at least 2 hrs to see all that is there to be seen including the cable car ride, cave and remains of fortress .
May have to come a second time to devote an entire day for these two locales ..Great loss ! Faulty planning...
By the time it was Gaya Jn Railway station , it started raining cats and dogs. Even the place from where auto rickshaws call out for Vishnupada temple and Bodh Gaya , it would be difficult to make it to the vehicle in a foot deep dirty water.
Rain stopped but had to pull up the trouser bottoms before 
wading through water . Took some 15mts for Vishnupada Mandir .A small but beautiful black stone temple . What was in the mind was some huge structure resembling say a Sree Padmanabha or a Tanjavoor temple. In India the most famous temples are cute little ones ..Badrinath, Gangotri , Sabarimala for instance . Put my bag for metal detector testing and kept it by the Sentry Box and had a hurried Darshan .
Came out after a customary prayer and caught another auto for Bodh Gaya . It took some 30 mts to reach there. The first sign board caught my attention and without second thought gave my back pack , phones and footwear for safe keeping ..free of charge!
In fact the arrangement is for those who are about to enter the near by The Mahabodhy Temple !.
First went to have some food at a roadside eatery .Then to a garden on the way .. and then to see the 84ft Buddha statue and then a Japanese temple ..all on barefoot !
The last on the list was of course The Maha Bodhy temple .
My goodness ..one will have to see and feel for one self . Never felt such a magnificence in any temple .
The Bodhy Tree was simply superb . Like the others who were seen meditating under it , this visitor too sat in meditation for about 10 mts . A divine experience - really !
Some were seem trudging the path of few steps up and down like Goutama Buddha after his enlightenment under the tree .
It says for hours he walked up and down the same way.
Paid a visit to the sacred pond and it was bye for Bodh Gaya.
No doubt this place leaves a mark in one's mind for years on end.
Got to catch my train from Gaya Jn and the Auto man wanted Rs.200 for a solo ride via Rajpath !
Reached Varanasi rather late and immediately checked in . Next morning is the train to Sarnath .
06/07/2017
Saranath train leaves at 9 am from Varanasi City station and for reaching there, an auto would be necessary.
Some one Km I walked thus and the huge ancient Stupa ,He hallmark of Sarnath came into view . Knowing that it might take a while to finish , thougt it better to carry some fruits so that it could be had at leisure . That indeed was very thoughtful I soon realised . The first one to be finished was the Museum and with an entry ticket in one hand and an open umbrella in the other, a backpack with few eatables and necessary gadgets, I got in . The rain continued all through . Sarnath Museum is one of the best and its upkeep very good. One ought to have a few hours at hand if one wants to do
justice to oneself . Priced possessions of Indian heritage , all in one place .Local guides were seen engaged in animated descriptions of exhibits to foreign visitors .. in Spanish , French and English.
Once museum was over, another ticket booth and a ticket for the ruins and the rain of course continued . Breath taking view of Stupa , pillar and monasteries alongside a deer park . The place had a lot of deer when Buddha used to give his sermons in those days . And lo !There sat a male peacock atop a tree and he was all wet but was making big noise at brief intervals. The foreign tourists were very amused to see a life specimen of the world famous peacock.
And at long last called it a day as the present odyssey almost came to a close . Took a break and sat down at a shelter and ate the fruits for lunch .
It was just 1.30pm .
My Gorakhpur train is to leave at 5pm . Got to hurry . An auto once again and he would have Rs.150 . Well . He took some 30 mts for reaching Varanasi Jn.
Got to get some mustard oil which is not available in Kerala. Rain not over as yet. Walked up the slit and mud ridden crowded street . Asked a traffic policeman where one could get some oil. Walked some more distance and got it.
Thought it fit to call a cycle rickshaw for the return journey of some 100 yards . It was an old man .
'Baboo kahan jayiyega?'
I said 'Railway station'.
He showed me the railway station and said 'Baboo wo to bagal mein dikhayee de raha hai na ?
I said 'Sahi bath . Par mushkil is rasta ka hein '
'Aap baidiyen '
( translation ... The rickshaw man asked me where I would go and when I replied that I wanted to go to the railway station , he replied that the station was so close that it wouldn't worth availing a rickshaw . When I pointed out that it was not the distance but the muddy and slippery road that mattered , he invited me to sit ).
Just before the station entrance a policeman stopped him as it was 'no entry' through that gate . I climbed down and gave him money but he refused .
'Nahi saabji mehnat ki paisa he loonga' he said with a broad smile .
For a moment I was too surprised to react . Then I went near him and stuffed the rupee note into his pocket with a smile.This time he did not resist. That's Banaras. See the richness of a true Indian ! He might look poor outside but very very rich inside .
Banaras need to be the Capital of India and rightly so . I would avail my morning Rapti Sagar from Gorakhpur tomorrow but these memories are sure to leave a lasting impression in my mind. Adeau Banaras.
