OK- So i left the big city of Kathmandu on 3/12 and retreated into nature at (Royal) Chitwan national park- located in the central lowlands of Nepal, bordering on India. Staying in a quiet village, Sauraha, my lodge right beside the rapti river on the banks of which crocodiles (gharials and muggers) often bask nearby. Just what i needed to escape from the cities for a natural high.
My time was spent canoeing, walking and bicycling riding through jungle, forests and grasslands, elephant riding, touring local towns & villages, admiring domestic elephants and wildlife, birdwatching in wetlands and conversing with locals and other travllers.
The most remarkable thing about the place was the frequency of wildlife sightings- as if the population of animals was very high, there was little or no problem with poaching and animals felt quite confident to be around humans. On my first full day i visited an elephant breeding centre where a wild rhino had just wandered in to hang out, metres away from buildings and people etc.- it baulked at charging me when i walked to close (5m)- to the panic of my guide- but i think it was just an act and the rhino really liked the company of humans!
I was also able to see 2 x mother and baby rhinos from elephant back, many monkeys and spotted deer while on foot, wild boar, sambar deer and mouse deer from my bicycle in the forest- as well as so many beautiful and graceful birds- such as circling eagles and prancing peacocks, large and small.
People in Chitwan- locals were friendly not pushy in shops for tours etc. Many local villagers belong to a tribe called Tharu which has developed immunity to malaria and a lifestyle unique and in relative harmony with the park. Visited the Tharu cultural museum-interesting with many festivals, and watched a Tharu cultural performance of music and dancing- an energetic display with animal costumes and even a twirling cross-dresser (did quite a convincing job!)! The Tharus practices are very matriachal- with festivals just for women and men living with the family of their wives- perhaps this explains their cheerful and naturally harmonious lifestyles.............
6th of december said goodbye to Sauraha and all the wild animals to catch a bus to Lumbini. 2nd leg of the jounrey was made riding on the roof of the bus for the best view as we approached the sacred buddhist site of Sakyamuni buddhas birth and the ancient temples, pilgrimages places that have evolved around this site. After arrival in town, i toured the main sights. They are not visually spectacular but are powerfully atmospheric and obviously ancient- a preserved stupa in the centre marking the exact site of the buddhas birth, other excavated periphery building remains, a 2nd century BC Ashokan (Great buddhist King of India) stone pillar, sacred pond and bodhi tree, the area heavily decorated with multi-colour prayer flags and pilgrims in reverential meditation.
Had the pleasure to stay in the Korean monastery in Lumbini for 2 nights- which has been turned into a travellers hub for monks, pilgrims and visitors. All accom and meals free on donation basis- those koreans have alot of loving kindness! Also allowed me to escape the exortion racquet in the village outside the monastery zone- made up of muslim- i wondered if they were the descedants of the islamic invaders who had desecrated such holy sites back in the 10th century (although by then Hinduism had regained its ascendancy in India) - for being 'idolatrous'. Our muslim jeep driver was by all means a fine character however- negotiating some horribly potholed roads to take us to the isolated monuments the next day.
took a tour to rarely visited monuments outside Lumbini the 2nd morning- shared a jeep with few other travellers to visit the remains of the city where the Buddha grew up, a palace from where he escaped from in rejecting the worldly life, old stupa and ashokan pillar remains and a famous lake where the king of the Sakya clan (buddhas descendants) sacrificed himself to save the rest of his people from massacre at the hands of a brutal, ruthless invading king. In this story however, the Sakya clan was forced to scatter- this is why today no one knows where are the living descendants of Buddha. Palace gates, and the obvious earthen rampart around the buddhas family castle and other excavations were all that remained . Took some imiagination to appreicate the limited sites. Tried to imagine the scene of the place during the buddhas lifetime. Would have been alot of lush forest back then (as in the stories), wild animals all around, clearer sky allowing a view of the high snow covered peaks to the north, fewer people, but similarly cultivated fields, peaceful surroundings, a more harmonious naturally lifestyle prevalent- such surroundings could inspire idealism in the buddha as a boy.
The isolated villages we drove though, and their friendly inhabitants were probably as interesting as the monuments. Many huge hay piles, villagers fanning rice to separate husks, farm animals, colorfully clothed women fishing in packs with hand nets (shy to be photographed!), bright yellow fields of canola and freshly harvested rice.
Later in the afternoon i took a long walk around to visit all the various national monasteries constructed to honour the site- in their varying architectural styles- like a mini buddhism world fun park! went to Chinese, Nepalese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai, Burmese (or should i say Myanmarmenese?) temples. Also a notable german funded (Tara foundation) temple with richly adorned stupa decoration and equisite buddhist paintings in the tibetan style- they kinda represent tibet which can't officially have its own temple without upsetting china.
visited the Lumbini museum which was well-displayed with many replica statues and photgraphs of artowk spanning the full geographical, historical and artistic & architectural developments of buddhism around the worlds through the centuries. Features on some historic Buddhist sites im yet to visit on this trip like Sanchi and Ajanta caves only whetted my appetite to get to there.
Joined in the korean style prayer sesssion in the meditation hall of the monastery on the last night there to experience a new type of devotional activity- alot of standing and sitting, bowing in patterns with chanting- i hummed along contentedly and followed with some meditation afterwards. Really enjoyed staying here- have met some lovely people such as a Japanese monk who tuaght me alot in a short time and other younf people interested in Buddhism from around the world. Sad to leave but many more places to see- off in the land of INDIA!
Got accross the border nice and early (no bribes asked for!) and 2 very slow buses, 300km across rural Uttar Pradesh where it seemed the villages were alomst continous (not surprising for a state with 170 million living in an area the same size as victoria), and 9.5 hours later i arrived in Varanasi- holy city for hindus on the ganges river. Last night wandered the busy streets, dodging insitent rickshaw-wallahs and salesman, making a few necessary arrangments after finding a hotel.
This morning headed to the bnks of the ganges river in search of a bicylce, laundry, ATM and internet with photo-CD ability- logistics take time. Made it to the riverbank for a walk, watching the kids play cricket, many holy men working their trade under umbrella beside the river- offering advice, blessings, few people tried to sell me hash, among other things, while i admired the views of the river, numerous small boats, tall ghats, temples, palaces and mansions facing the river, faces of huge Shiva and Parvati paintings anear the most famous cremation ghat, dasaswamedh, reflecting the morning sun. however i had been here before and would be leaving by train tonight- so my primary destination today was to a place i hadnt yet visited- Sarnath, just outside Varanasi, where the Buddha expounded his first sermon- known as the turning of the wheel of law-2550 years ago. Rickshaw got me there by lunch and i enjoyed a visit to the archaelogical museum where many priceless artwork were on display such as the top of an ashokan pillar decorated with 4 lions - now the state symbol of India, a huge standing boddhisatva statue with large carved stone umbrella, a renowned piece with buddha sitting and teaching, fingers touching, wheel behind. Most of these artworks were from 5-6th centuries A.D (the Gupta period) but many where also from the 11-12th centuries- with strong Mahayana and tibetan buddhist influnces showing - while other were from the earlier period (pre-A.D) when buddha was never humanly depicted in stone. In Sarnath the large Dhamekh stupa- 34m high, 45m round soild stone dominated the ancient site, with many temple, stupa and monastery ruins being excavated around, a inscribed Ashokan pillar, and a jain temple next door said to be the site of the 11th tirthankar (enlightened Jaina holy man- beliefs similar to buddha such as Ahimsa- non-violence). Also national monasteries built by buddhist countries around the world. I made the prescribed triple clockwise circuit of Dhamekh stupa and took osme time to soak in the surroundings. Some dedicated young westerners were circuiting the stupa dozens of times- prostrating themselves on the ground every few steps- likely a self-denial exercise to fortify the strength of their practice. Seems like its spreading- could it be that western nations will be the location of a renewal of the Buddhist civilisation- as predicted 000s of years ago by buddhist astrologers?!
The same evening, after visiting the very sacred, golden gilded (800kg of gold) Viswanath Hindu temple, beside a newer large whitewashed mosque- the area heavily guarded by security forces- i was patted down twice and made to turn off my mobile kept in locker storage- are they expecting a terrorist attack i thought? - i found out later the heavy police presence was due to the communist party annual national conference taking place in Varanasi from the following day.
Bumped into some Koran friends from Lumbini and played some cricket with local boys beside the river before preparing for the next leg of journey.
- I had a patience testing time at the train station- my train 4 hours late being told by announcent every 15 minutes for the whole 4 hours that it was about to arrive. Still, slept a little on the cold stone floor of platform 1 before boarding at 3am, snuck a few hours sleep before finally arrived in Satna 5 hours late at 11am. Shared a jeep with 4 fellow travellers - 2 aussies and 2 germans to my next destination- a 8 seater costing only $27AUD for the 120km journey- i can live with this- just gotta find some other tourers headin in the same direction each leg!
As i write this i have arrived in Khajuraho- home of Indias most equisitely sensous and erotic temple carvings created during a brief period of blossoming artistic genius during the 10th and 11th centuries- but more about that later....................
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