Bodhgaya- Varanasi

Patna-Bodhgaya-Varanasi

01st - 06th of October 2017

So a bunch of ladies of the family decided to go on a pilgrimage with a difference. 

We checked the hotels online, read the reviews and finally decided to go with the recommendations made by acquaintances which was a better option. We booked the taxi and the tickets and voila, we were set for our trip  about 20 days in advance.

We read about the places to visit and the known tourist attractions and prepared our itinerary. 

Day-1 Hyd-Patna-Bodhgaya

We flew into Patna (Bihar) which stood upto its reputation of being dirty and filthy to no level explainable. I did not see any footpaths, as there was only heaps garbage on either side of the roads. Our first stop was the famous Patandevi Temple (Shaktipeeth) which is on the way to Hajipur our next stop. Its is a small village through bad roads and small alleys. But we managed to reach our destination after a lot of wrong rights. 

It is important to have a right driver and a car for a long trip hence we decided to change our driver and waited at a mall in Patna for a change of driver and wasted about 2 hours (which was our designated Gaya Time). after half the day of travel and change of Taxi we reached our comfortable Bodhgaya Hotel (Hotel Bodhgaya Regency) (3hrs drive) where we stayed for 2 nights. It was pity we could not go Rajgir and (Jain Temple)

Day - 2 Bodhgaya

I was excited as Bodhgaya had been on my bucket list for a while and we first went to Gaya and saw the Vishwanath and Mangla Devi (Shaktipeeth) Temples. We did consider to go see the caves but the sun and the hike demotivated us. 

We head back to Bodhgaya and after choosing from the various restaurants which have glamourous but fake reviews online, ended up going to this nice place called Nirvana where they served us hot yummy food. We went to the Tibetan Monastery right next to the hotel and it was very peaceful and colourful. After resting for awhile we headed straight to the Mahabodhi Temple. Our hotel was in the center of the city so we just got on a tuk tuk and reached the Mahabodhi Temple. Cameras are allowed with a ticket but cell phones aren't allowed inside. The temple has a different vibe to it with the monks praying and meditating everywhere undisturbed. The back side of the temple has the Bodhi tree under which Lord Buddha attained enlightenment. The campus of the whole temple is spectacular with the open grounds and the Munchalinda Lake and the lighting of lamps room. The constant light chanting which is almost perpetual in the air transports you into a peaceful zone. It was an absolute delight for me to be there as I am a follow Buddhism. We went to the rooms where there were endless rows of lamps lit and we also lit a few lamps too. The monk sitting there spoke to us and gave us some insight over cause and effect and Wipassana which was a pleasant surprise. We again went back to find our Nirvana in food at the same restaurant which also has a very nice ambiance.  

Day- 3 Bodhgaya -  Varanasi.

WE woke upto a nice bright day and visited  The Great Buddha Statue which is in its true sense grand. We saw one more Buddhist monastery and left for Varanasi. Its a 5 hours drive and mind you there is really no proper place to take a break for refreshments. We ate some of our snacks which we had carried and tried to have tea in one of the dhaba. We reached Varanasi by late evening  and were quite tired to do anything. We stayed in Hotel Surya Kaisar Palace which was once upon a time the Palace of the  Nepal Kings in Varanasi. The main Dining area and the Swimming pool area is in the main Palace building and surrounding is the hotel rooms. The hotel is nothing short of royal and is extremely comfortable with only inconsistent food.

Day - 4 Varanasi

Most of the folks went temple hopping starting from the Kashi Vishwanath temple, and the Sankarmochan Temple, etc. etc. etc., and ofcourse the famous Banarasi saree shopping and the Ganga Aarti with Chaat refreshments in between.

Day-5 Varanasi

We went for the Abhishek darshan at 3 am at Kashi Vishwanath Temple where there were not too many people and the darshan were quite peacefully done and we got back and crashed.
As we woke up there was round 2 of shopping for food items and the famous wooden carved toys. The sweet dark Pendas are incomparable and delicious. We again shopped on the way to the Evening Ganga Aarti.  The boat man was our guide and gave us trivia on each of the ghats while we sailed in the serene and to me great surprise clean Ganges. We saw the royal palace ghats and the lovely umbrellas (Chattris) which are popular at the ghats. There are too many cows and buffaloes and dogs everywhere.  There are machines installed to clean the Ganges which seem to be doing the magic. Each Ghat has a story and each story is intriguing. Some of the most important ghats there are the Assi Ghat, Manikarnika ghat (Where the last rights are performed), Darbhanga ghat (palace ghat)., etc. The Main Ganaga Aarti happens at Dashashwamedh Ghat where Lord Ram's Father, King Dashrath had believed to perform the yagna. It was a full moon night and the view was spectacular.The Aarti is grand, the priests perform a meticulous ceremony where by they first offer prayers to all the 4 sides North, South, East and West, upon which they light the exquisite aartis (lamps) which are atleast 5-6 layered and quite tall and heavy. It for a second also resembled a well choreographed performance by well etiquette sharp men contrary to the image of shabby pot bellied priests that I had in mind. There were 13 aartis going on simultaneously and its a delightful sight. everybody present on the Ghats and on the boats are submerged in the aura of the evening and there were not less than 10,000 people or even more for obvious reasons.

Day - 6 Varanasi - Hyderabad

Our morning was free and everyone were way too tired to venture out shopping so stuck to the shop at the hotel and raided it. I decided to explore Saarnath which is about 30 mins drive from where we stayed. The temple is closed from 11am - 1:30pm rather the whole city is closed between those timings. so you need to plan accordingly. Saarnath again is similar to Bodhgaya . The temple there is grand yet simple. I went to the museum and saw the famous pillar and the ruins of the stupa. Its a stint of wonder what it could have been when it was in good shape. Ashoka had left some serious legacy behind. Soon it was time for us to end our holiday and we were at Varanasi Airport to head back to Hyderabad.

Bhutan

Bhutan 19th - 26th June 2018 (Jyoti and Namrata)

We got return tickets in April for June to fly to Bhutan, and decided on the itinery and patiently waited. Come June and we were all set.

On 19th we reached Kolkata and a friend came to see me from Gauhati and we literally painted the city red, shopping, trying signature food, Book shopping at the Oxford Book Store, had Kulhad ka chai and not to forget Mishti doi. It was everything one could do in kol in a day.

Day - 1  Kol - Paro - Thimphu

The stewards at 6:30am were in a rush to give us breakfast and take the boxes back as it was a short flight.We landed into a wonderful airport with a huge hoarding of the present King - Queen and the Prince, welcoming us.

Our chatty guide Bijoy and calm driver Sangey received us at the airport and we started our journey in our comfortable well kept Sentafe car - constants for the next 6 days.

En route Thimphu we stopped alongside the flowing river to soak our feet and buy some fresh peaches to soak up the fact that we finally made it to our holiday and welcome it. Surprisingly, it was hot and the Iphone weather report was silly stuck at rainy 10 degrees. Dont ever trust it and carry layers.

We reached Thimphu and left for sightseeing followed by lunch. We figured that food is there generally is very cheesy and spicy so had to constantly keep telling them to not make spicy food for us.  We went to all the touristy places, kept asking our guide to take us to the more non-touristy yet traditional places where we can feel the pulse of the place.

Besides going to the Museum, the Memorial, we also decided to go to the College of Art and the Paper factory where we saw their culture of learning, the traditional art and craft. We then went to the Buddha Point which was golden inside out and one of my personal fav. Post that we walked around the town and stopped by at Taj Thimphu for tea, which is done up very traditionally and right out side is the Market. The traditional architecture and artistic flare is maintained even till date and is mandatory for everyone who builds a house or a building to follow the standards.

Day - 2 Thimphu

After all the sightseeing and resting we again went back to the shops and they were quite interesting. Half the touristy things were closed due to maintenance. After that we went to the Motithang Takin Preservatory to see the national animal of Bhutan "The Takin" which has a head like a goat and body like a cow. There is a lot to walk around there and beside the Takin not much to see. So ppl with leg ache and tight on a schedule can skip it.The shopping of authentic Bhutani works were cheaper and more in variety in Thimpu. I liked Thimphu as it has a good blend of culture and monarchy run society and where the citizen actually respect and obey the law.
Places close by 5 pm or are closed due to renovation so it isn't a bad idea to figure it out before hand. 

Day - 3 Thimphu - Punakha -Wangdui

From Thimpu we left early for Punakha and on the way had a pit stop at the Punakha Memorial Chorten at Dochula Pass - which is one of the highest point. This was built in memory of the soldiers who lost their lives during the war in Bhutan. We went to the Chimi Lhankhang Monastery which is known as the fertility temple or the "Divine madmonk temple" as the story goes, the view from there is great the monastery is simple. Before which we had stopped at a family run restaurant for a quick lunch before where 3 sides of the place were glass and the view was to die for. .

We rushed to Punakha Dzong as it closes by 5:30. Its grand and nothing less than magnificent which is why the Royal weddings and the coronation happen here. The Dzong basically means the Fortress, so every Dzong is divided into, the administrative wing in the front and the monastery behind. I was yet again awestruck by its grandeur. It has multiple levels and is surrounded by mountains. I can not even begin to describe how gorgeous the main alter room is with the tall pine wood pillars gilded in gold. The statues of Lord Buddha, the Guru and the Unifier are beautifully carved and decorated like I have never seen before. The room is huge and walled with cabinets, with statues of  previous 108 head of the monks. All I wanted to do was lie down on that wooden floor and look at the colorful bright everything.

The Bhutanis style of Buddhist has everything decorated in the five colors representing the Elements.

Blue, Green, Yellow, Red and White.

The cute little lady guard had to shoo us out and we left with a heavy heart but next was a consolation. The Suspension Bridge which is 160 meters of metal, swaying to the winds over the Po Chu River and it is quite scary initially yet extremely calming once you get to the center and just adapt to the breeze  and look around  - the mountains, the valley, the river flowing below, and the wind all tune you to the natures glory inviting you to surrender yourself. It is an adventurous and an joyous feeling clubbed together. like some kind of a frenzie rapture or a light adrenaline.

From there we began our journey of a long drive to Wangdui. Wangdui is about realistically 1.5 hours drive which was casually told to be about 20 mins drive. We had a long long day and the drive isn't an easy one.

In middle of nowhere we reached Kichu Resort finally - our abode for a night. literally a night. Though the service and the resort were worth staying for a lifetime.

I have generally noticed that guides under estimate Punakha and end up giving very little time for Punakah, it is advisable to do the Dochula Pass on return in order to spend more time in Punakha Dzong which is absolutely worth it.

Day - 4 Wangdui - Thimphu -Paro

Enroute Paro we stopped at the Botanical park which is really vast to see some last batches of rhododendrons and some friendly wild sambars (Again this can be skipped too). We had lunch at Clove Bistro at Thimphu, probably our only lavish meal in Bhutan, and had their local yummy peach wine - Zumzin which we bought later to take it home. Cheap yet the yummiest wine. Once we reached Paro and settled in our resort we decided to explore the market in Paro and do some shopping. The Resort was nice but the service in Paro is very different from that of Thimphu and Punakha.

Day - 5 Paro - Tiger's Nest

Wow..... We decided to hike all the way and not take the horse half way, one way. We started from the base at 9:15 am. We hiked. hiked and hiked. Its a tough hike for the unfit ones, though with our low fitness levels we took a little over one hour to reach half way up to the cafe, where we took a break of 25-30 mins before we resumed our  tough journey to the Tiger's Nest. We were extremely lucky to have a clear nice day, not to sunny, no rains, touch wood. Once we resumed our trek the incline got steeper and we were out of breath more frequently, not that the air is thinner or anything but just the hike. The first half of the route is tougher but the so called steps aren't easy as well, as they are undefined and tall. As we see the Tiger's Nest getting closer the distance seems longer as the steps route is along the mountains and is quite tricky and strenuous. There were quite a lot of tourists hiking and kids also managed it well. Finally we reached. We felt accomplished. The guards at the monastery are  particular about people being appropriately dressed. No sleeveless, no short clothes etc.. The alter room is lovely, the statues were by far the best in Bhutan. The Tigers Nest had caught fire in 2006 and has been restored ever since. The Buddha statue is really tall and the 3D intricate design around it with the rest of the 7 forms of Buddha is lovely and with great details. There were 3 idols, Lord Buddha, the Guru and the Unifier and the present king is his descendant and the one who introduced Buddhism to Bhutan.There is another room which is known to be the wish fulfilling temple, infact the Tigers Nest is known to be the Wish fulfilling Monastery. There is one more alter room there and a tiny 3 ft passage which is considered to be the actual Tigers Nest. The myth goes on to believe that the enlightened one had 2 wives, one on Indian side and another on Tibet side and as the treachery of the demon grew unbearable the enlightened killed the demon riding on the tiger who was the Tibetian wife transformed into a tiger. After that they both meditated at the Tigers Nest and the tiny opening of 3 ft cave is where its believed, that the tiger meditated and hence the name.

There is a difference between the Bhutanese way of Buddhism and that of the Leh Ladakh style of Buddhism.

Day 6- Haa Valley

Haa Valley is about 3-4 hrs away from Paro. we started at 9:30am and the drive is not so smooth but the view makes it worth it, with every bent of the mountain. As we reached the mountain top of 3900 mtrs high, the chilly breeze carried a scent of the prayer fragrance and we were lucky to witness an intensive ceremony going on which happens once in a year or once in 2 years. It was being done for the wellness and peace of the mountain beings. The swaying bright flags all over made the lush green mountains look alive under the cloudy grey sky.

From there we descended down to the White and the Black monasteries. It is believed that a white and a black pigeon were left and wherever they landed they constructed these Monasteries. They are not very far from each other, with a distance of a 15 min hike. The White Monastery is grand and there are about 300 young monks and the alter room is done up really well too (Can avoid this). They also have a huge basket ball court. From there we went to the only restaurant in town, but as my frd wasnt feeling too well we just rested for a bit and proceed our journey back. There was a hospital for the Indian soldiers, and only found someone in the ICU to get a tablet for my frd. It was an exhausting drive and we only got back to our resort at 5:30pm.

Its pretty bad to fall sick in places like this as unless you aren't carrying medicines its difficult to find medical stores.

I went for a quick round of shopping to buy a silver bracelet with the 8 holy symbols of Buddhism carved, and other souvenir gifts for everyone back home.

Day 7-Paro - kol - Hyd

we quickly saw the Paro Dzong which was a smaller version of the Punakha Dzong but no less elaborate in terms of it intricate design and art. The view from the Dzong alter room and outside is of the valley and is lovely. WE went to the museum which showcases an video of the festivals in 21 towns of Bhutan dedicated to each avatar of Lord Buddha and has their masks. Everywhere you look around Bhutan is picturesque and is nothing less than a postcard view. 

From there we head to the Airport. And that was the end of out glorious mountain trip.

We head back home with lots of fond memories to cherish.