Bodhgaya, India

Monks in a rickshaw

Bodhgaya is the most holy of religious sites for Buddhists. It is where Gautama Buddha found enlightenment in 534 BC. It is one of the four most important places as a pilgrimage destination for Buddhists and tourists from all over the world.

None of my friends or colleagues had been to Bodhgaya, so I was somewhat reluctant to give it a try. But when my friend, Jane, was planning a trip to see me, she mentioned that she was interested in visiting a place that celebrated Buddhism. So, off we went. No regrets!

Mahabodhi Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Mahabodhi Temple was built around 1,500 years ago. King Ashoka built the temple to honor Buddha's enlightenment. After Buddhism began to decline in India, the temple became buried in dirt and sand until 1883 when it was restored.

Bodhi tree where Buddha found enlightenment

Mural depicting Siddhartha as he meditated and fasted for nearly six years

This bodhi tree is actually the fifth bodhi tree since Buddha sat for 3 days and nights. Storms and human damage have required new plantings.

Tibetan woman performing prostrations in front of the temple

Sadhu reading the palm of a monk

Jane and I sat down with the sadhu to see what he was saying. Unfortunately, he did not speak any English. He tied a string around our necks, tapped us on our heads with an ancient text, smiled, laughed and then put his hand out for a donation. Worth every rupee!

Girl selling plates of flowers for offerings at the temple

Monk and dog

The Mahabodhi Temple complex is a serene and welcoming place to sit and meditate/pray. It was our intention to go to the temple at 6 a.m. both mornings to listen to the thousands of monks and nuns chanting. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain both mornings and we crawled back into bed. Regret that!

Flower mandala

These mandalas were being worked on every day. First, someone would place all the cups of water in patterns. Then the flowers were slowly placed throughout the day by monks and nuns.

Placing the cups filled with water

Hundreds of young monks arriving at the temple

80 meter Buddha in town

I was quite surprised to discover that the entire town is dotted with exquisite temples, monasteries  and Buddhas representing many nations around the world. We were a bit concerned that there might not be much else to do after visiting the main temple. Wrong! Never got to see all the temples in three days.

Bhutan temple and monastery

Monks creating butter-wax offerings

We stumbled upon these monks one morning while visiting the Bhutanese Temple. Their level of concentration was mesmerizing.

Jane inside the Bhutan Temple

Inside Japanese Temple

Outside the Karma Temple

Monks learning to ride bikes. Joy!

Deeply touching

**Note: In July of 2013, bombs went off on the complex of the Mahabodhi Temple. Two other bombs were found in town, one at the 80 meter Buddha, and were deactivated. The bombings were set off by an Islamic terroist organization in revenge for Muslim killings in Burma.

India never ceases to amaze me. Despite the challenges of trying to get from one place to another in India, finding adequate hotels (with hot water and electricity), clean food. water, and toilets, it is always worth the work.

Knowing that I only have a few short months left in India, I feel so blessed to have discovered so many incredible places and people of India!

Sri Lanka Part III: Tangalla Beaches and Mulkirigala Rock Temples

Tangalla Beach

After Yala National Park, we headed southwest to Tangalla. This is a less touristy area with small sheltered beaches. Our stay at the Moonstone Villa was just perfect. It is located on the busy main street, but once inside, it is a lovely quiet spot with terraced rooms, swimming pool, and a great cafe. Across the street and down some crumbling steps we found this beach. The water was perfect for bobbing in the surf. But the best part was the tiny Cactus Lounge restaurant. There are only six tables, right off the beach, and the seafood (giant prawns) was the best I had in Sri Lanka! If you want fresh lobster, you have to order it the day before. We wished we had stayed here one more day!

Mulkirigala Rock Temples/Caves

One of the reasons I wanted to stop in Tangalla was to visit these caves. They are located about 15km from Tangalla. It is a peaceful drive through the countryside.

700 steps to get to the caves

There are seven caves built out of a giant granite rock, reaching up from the forest. The caves were originally built beginning in 2 BC.

One of five giant sleeping Buddhas in a cave

Inside one of the caves

The ancient paintings (thousands of years old) that adorn the walls and ceilings are so intact and clear.

More sculptures (behind glass)

The Mulkirigala Rock temples are not full of tourists. In fact the day we were there, there were only 6-10 other people. When you arrive, you enter a little museum where a man speaks in broken English, gives a Buddhist blessing, and then expects a donation. I will take any blessing I receive, so I gave a small donation. The actual ticket office is up one level and costs RS200 ($3). Worth every penny.

Devil mask in Ariyapala Mask Museum

The next day we left for Unawatuna, in search of our friends Kris and Rick. Unfortunately, Kris had left to return to Delhi while Rick was out surveying some land to purchase. Yup, they are now Sri Lanka land owners (a very complicated process). I will be back for sure now!

So we continued onward to the Ariyapala Mask Museum. Although a roadside attraction for tourists, we loved seeing the display of these incredible masks.

The men do the carving

The women do the intricate painting

Stick fishermen

As we traveled up the west coast, we stopped often for sights like this. Some men approached us demanding money for taking photos of the fishermen. When I refused he yelled to them to cover their faces...I have since learned that these "fishermen" might only be looking like they are fishing, making money from the tourists. Find it hard to believe that they would go to that extreme. ??? There are actually real stick fishermen along the coasts.

The real deal...pulling in a net.

 Our last night was at a resort in Katunayaka. Beautiful setting, but a buffet dinner was not what I was looking for! Thankfully our driver had stopped at an amazing seafood restaurant on the way for lunch.

This part of Sri Lanka was quite devastated by the tsunami of 2004. Thousands of people died when the sea mysteriously "disappeared" and locals went looking at the sight, instead of running inland. As Sri Lankans rebuild, there seems to be a thirst for high-end tourism that doesn't quite match the services provided. Still, this place is magical and I would not wait too long to visit, before it is all divided and developed.

Just another Buddha

Sri Lanka: Part II: Yala National Park and Beaches

Diyaluma Falls

The drive through the heart of tea plantations to the southern tip of Sri Lanka to Yala National Park was long but gorgeous. Our driver took a hilly and slow route through valley after valley of every shade of green.

Stopping for a drink of King coconut juice

Everywhere you go are stands to buy fresh fruit or juices. The King coconuts are orange and the juice is less sweet than brown coconuts. Very refreshing.

Delivering coconuts to a restaurant.

Wetlands of southern Sri Lanka

As we approached Tissamaharama, on the southeast coast, the land became an agricultural wonder of rice paddies, peanut crops, banana plantations and more.

Visiting along the lake

Sri Lanka is predominantly Sinhalese Buddhist, from the Theravada Buddhist branch. There are also large populations of Tamil Hindus, Sri Lankan Moors (Muslim), and Christians. The Veddahs (hunters) are Sri Lanka's original inhabitants. There are only 2,000 Veddahs left today.

Buddhas along the highways

The statues of Buddha are almost always white with less adornment than seen in India or Thailand. When worshippers go to a Buddhist temple on a Sunday, they usually dress in all white.

Sri Lanka is home to several amazing national parks, sanctuaries, and refuges. Over 8% of Sri Lanka's land is home to these parks and sanctuaries. The biodiversity of Sri Lanka includes 92 species of mammals and over 400 species of birds. It is quickly becoming one of the planet's wildlife excursion hotspots.

Yala National Park is home to one of the largest leopard populations in the world. But even if you never saw a leopard here, the park is beautiful and teeming with birds, reptiles and occasional elephants.

Our driver/guide for our safari

We hired a driver/guide for just the two of us. The cost was spendy, $80 each, but worth every penny. The park was crowded with many jeep safaris, but the drivers took care to go in different directions so we felt as if we were quite alone for much of the safari until...

Leopard spotting!

Look closely behind the tree! This leopard was quite camouflaged, but an incredible sight. The drivers of the jeeps began calling each other and before we knew it dozens of other jeeps arrived. Two drivers even argued about who got there first. Arrgh!

S

Land monitor: keeping the snake population down

Kingfisher

Water buffalo everywhere

Wild boar and egrets

Sign at our hotel

We stayed at the Yala Cinnamon Wild Resort while in Yala. It is a beautiful setting on the edge of the National Forest and bordering the Indian Ocean. The villas and "jungle cottages on stilts" were lovely. However, the resort seems to cater to tour groups. This was not the quiet jungle experience I had hoped for. But, with that said, there were animals traipsing through the resort each evening. Elephants were seen our first night, but we did not see them. However, wild boars wandered outside our cottages and crocodiles lazed in the lake next to our swimming pool!

Crocodiles , pelicans and cranes

Fishing huts at the beach at the edge of the resort

Beach at edge of resort

The next day we headed east along the southern coast in search of our friends, Kris and Rick.

Sri Lanka: Part I: Many Shades of Green

St. Claire waterfall outside Hatton

During winter break, I decided after spending two weeks at home (Bellingham, WA, USA), I would head to Sri Lanka for a week before heading back to India. What a great idea!

Sri Lanka is an island country at the southern tip of India. Years of war and a recent tsunami (2004), have diverted many tourists from this magical place. Today the tourist industry is alive and well. It is a gorgeous and diverse country, full of history and tradition.

Mahout with young elephant at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

After a sleepover in Colombo we met our private driver and headed inland to the hill country. But first I insisted that we stop at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. Being rather crazy about elephants, I was in heaven.

When we arrived, one group of elephants was already at the river for their morning bath. Pinnawala is home to about 75 elephants, most of whom were orphaned by accidents. It is the largest herd of captive elephants in the world. Today Pinnawala is also a breeding place for Asian elephants.

Sama had her leg injured by a land mine left over from the war

There are about 50 mahouts (elephant handlers) who care for the elephants. The orphanage was impeccably clean and well-organized. There is $20 entry fee, which I thought was a bit steep, but once inside I was more than happy to pay.  The elephants appeared healthy and well cared for. Few are ever released back into the wild, but sold to temples or private owners (which is somewhat controversial).

Babies playing in  the Maha Oya River

Walking back from the river to the "estate".

The shopkeepers quickly pulled in their racks of items for sale and stepped way back into their shops. One or two of the elephants had chains on their legs because they were "unpredictable". Getting this close to a herd of elephants was more than I could dream of. I told my traveling buddy, Cristi, that I was happy now and could go home. Ha! Little did I know what was ahead...


That afternoon we continued our drive to a small tea plantation town, Hatton City, where we stayed at the lovely Tea Hills Bungalow.

Tea Hills Bungalow

View from bungalow

Bungalows were originally built for the managers of the tea plantations during colonization by England. In fact, the hill country is often referred to as "little England". So many shades of green...

Women picking the tea leaves

Traditionally the women pick the leaves by hand. They place a light bamboo stick on top of the bushes. Only the leaves above the stick can be picked. The men fertilize by hand row by row.

Local tea picker

The tea workers often walk one to two hours to and from the plantations in very steep hilly country. A typical day's earnings is around $3-$4. So, the next time you enjoy a cup of tea, say thank you to these amazing people.

Carrying leaves to the buyer

In the village

From our bungalow we headed out for a walk through the tea fields and into a tiny village.

Shrine in a tree

Sri Lanka is largely Buddhist. However, we were in Tamil country (Hindu). There are many Christians and a growing population of Muslims.

Fetching water

Leaving the hill country

After two days in tea plantation country, our driver led us through valleys and valleys of breath taking vistas. I truly was not expecting such beauty. Onward to Yala National Park in the south!