One of the lovely things
about travelling is the lovely people you meet.
Some are truly inspirational in their way they have severed all their
connection (except family) and have dedicated their lives to improving the
future of the people they have adopted.
In the most cases, these have been women who have raised a family and
now ‘making a difference‘ in a lesser country, I admire them greatly.
Others have run away from
problems at home and have moved to another country but find that the problems
have come along with them and they are not nice people.
Why am I writing this, well
the other thing about travelling is that you have to say ‘good-bye’ and knowing
that you may never see them again.
Unfortunately, Mayte and
Jessica could only stay here for 3 months as they had to get back to work so
they both left Mayte in April and Jessica early May. It is always a sad time when one of the
volunteers leave as the ladies take everyone to their hearts and they always
try to get the volunteer to promise to come back.
I have promised that I will
catch up with them again, Mayte when I travel to Spain next year and Jessica
who lives in Nelson which is near where I would like to live if I settled in
New Zealand when the airfares are cheap to NZ.
It was in Lumbini around the
year 563 BC that one of history’s greatest and most revered figures, Siddhartha
Gautama – better known as Buddha – was born. It’s not great surprise to learn
the World Heritage – listed Lumbini as huge religious significance and attracts
Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world.
Lumbini is about 285 km from
Kathmandu but as is usual travelling in 3rd world countries it takes
ages and this trip was no different, I left home at 0630 and arrived at the
hotel in Lumbini at 1630, hot, tired and hungry.
It is possible to travel in
an airconditioned bus but it is expensive $40 one way but a local bus is only
$18 return.
The trip took us through a
lot of mountainous country and some very flat land as well, the only thing that
was consistent was the heat.
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I made a mistake when I was
booking my hotel, I was as usual looking for the cheapest one in the $10 range
and so booked a room for the 2 days.
It
was only on the night before I left that I looked at it again and found that
the hotel was in fact on the Indian/Nepal border and 26 km away from where I
wanted to be. Bugger and no refund.
Lumbini Heritage Centre is a
huge complex containing about 20 temples and various other wonderful
sights. I entered the complex by the
main gate and walked about 10 minutes until I reached the first temple and then
wandered through the complex for about 5 hours although I must admit that I sat
and read and sat and just enjoyed the amazing feeling the whole place had.
Maya Devi Temple sits on the
site of the birth of Buddha and is a large complex with a brick plinth laid by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd Century BC.
The area is plastic and
cigarette free zone and your bags are searched when you go through the
gates. The whole area is sacred and you
have to leave your shoes at the gate and walk around in bare feet which is OK
as the area is either lawn or paving but of course I was there at mid-day and
the ground was burning and I am sure that I got 3rd degree burns on
the soles of my feet. It is funny
thinking about it later; everyone was doing the 30 second dash over the paving
onto the grass, not quite so serene at the time.
The sacred pond beside the
temple is believed to be where Maya Devi bathed before giving birth to the Buddha;
I washed my hands and arms in the water but did not feel any tingling or
anything and the spots on my hands haven’t disappeared.
They have incorporated a
sanctuary in the ground for the sarus crane and of course there are other wild
life there as well including a bird which looks a lot like a Jacana.
It was lovely and a cool breeze blew across
the water and you could sit and look at the birds and enjoy a bit of relief
from the sun.
I am not sure if you
remember that I went on a 10 day Vipassana Meitation retreat when I was in
Cambodia and greatly enjoyed it. There
is a centre here, fancy spending time here where Buddha was born.
Another nice thing was the
scattering of Buddha’s teaching throughout the area and suddenly seeing one and
then thinking about the words.
There are just so many
temples, monasteries and statues that it would take ages to write and you would
get bored reading. I will show you a few pictures.
I was at the bus stop 0530
the next day for the trip back home and arrived home at 1600 and had a cold
wash and was certainly glad to be home.
Life then settled back into
the routine of teaching, catching a micro bus and teaching and then back home
about 1730 and if there is power using the computer and if not then reading my
Kindle.
We have had two volunteers
since Jessica and Mayte left, both from USA, one left after two weeks and the
current one who is here for 4 weeks has managed to have more time of in 2 weeks
than I have had in 4 months. Oh well.
I have decided that 5 months
is perhaps a bit too long as my feet start itching after about 3 months no
matter where I am.
I think the hot weather has
been a bit of a shock, I am soaked and my hair is dripping wet when I finish 2
hours of teaching.
They are going to
install a fan in the classroom in Basandara, the students have all put in money
to get it, I offered to help out but was told that I am already giving enough
by just volunteering.
 |
| View from my bedroom window |
Since the first rains have
started the whole Kathmandu Valley has been transformed, the ladies have been
out in their gardens and now the corn is as high as they are and the pumpkin
and bean runners are climbing the walls and escaping into the walkways.
Gaynor is picking all types of beans, cooking
pumpkin runners and also picking tomatoes.
The fruit trees are now full of plums, lychees, peaches and
mangoes.
It is certainly nothing like I
imagined
