Posted by Catherine

We had a pleasant evening in our little cottage “Tara.” We were serenaded in the early evening by loud dance music from a wedding across the village from us.

Each cottage is named after the woman who owns it and this is a photo of Tara.

After breakfast we boarded the bus with a farewell from our hosts.

Well, most of us got on the bus. Four members of our tour found out last night that they had the wrong kind of visa for India and can only enter India through an airport. The four young men had to take a cab back to Kathmandu, overnight there, fly to New Delhi in the morning and then fly on to Varanasi to meet up with the tour. It was an unfortunate turn of events. The process of getting a visa for India is very confusing. Ours are affixed in our passports and are the right ones to enter into India by land.

We traveled through a more mountainous area again and stopped for an early lunch at a roadside restaurant frequented by truckers. Lots of local colour!

From there, the terrain flattened out again with farm lands interspersed with large factories for processing grain and brick making.

Around 1:00 p.m. we arrived at our first destination of Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha and a revered pilgrimage place for Buddhists from all over the world.

It is a massive complex (2 kms x 3 kms) of temples, gardens and parks. There were endless busloads of people coming and going. Two different groups of people wanted to have a photo with me!

I guess they don’t see too many tall women here. I felt like a famous person! No blending in with the locals here either!

We only had time to visit the Maya Devi Temple which marks the actual birthplace of the Buddha around 563 BC.

No photos are allowed inside, where it was fairly quiet and reverential. There were several ruins from the 2nd century and under some plexiglass a stone reputed to show the Buddha’s first step on the earth. People touched the surrounding stones with their hands and foreheads for a brief moment. It was powerful and poignant to be here and contemplate all the millions of people who have visited this sacred site over the centuries.

The outdoor courtyards were brilliant with prayer flags and the colourful clothing of the visitors.

We saw several large groups of pilgrims in various processions with drums and horns – very impressive.

After a brief rest, we found our shoes and made our way back to the bus. It was another hour of traveling to get to our hotel. After a lovely Indian meal, we enjoyed the first hot shower we’ve had in days. Early start tomorrow as we leave Nepal, cross into India and head for Varanasi, about 12 hours of traveling!

Namaste 🙏