(photo by Manu)

We rented bicycles this morning from the monastery. While others rode their bikes, mine kept loosing it's chain every once in a while. First time it happened, me and Manu managed to get the bike going after 10 minutes of manly effort. The second time the chain dropped we started to fix the bike in the middle of the road. As we saw a white van approaching from the distance, we moved the bike to the side of the road. The van stopped and out stepped a young man wearing sunglasses and white pants and said "one minute" and fixed the chain problem in one minute. We continued the bicycle ride amazed by this moment of helpfulness. A bit further along the chain dropped again. We started the fixing...until these two girls that are in the photo above, in their clean red silkdresses, stopped their bikes, got their hands dirty and put the chain back on. They viped their greasy hands to the grass by the side of the road and continued their way where ever they were going like it was nothing.

Juha 

Some photos from our visit to the Maya Devi Temple yesterday and other random stuff.

ASHOKAN PILLAR

MAYA DEVI TEMPLE AND SACRED POOL

The white temple building encloses the ancient ruins of the original temple.

DOING AFTER DINNER DISHES

A SLEEPING COMPANION FROM LAST NIGHT  :)

SMALL TRANSPORTATION BREAKDOWN THIS MORNING

The woman in the photo is our new friend Yoshi from Japan

GOING MU WAY??

This is our last day in Lumbini.  Tomorrow we will leave early for the full day of travel to Varanasi.  Mikko is feeling a bit better, but is still quite weak and needs frequent bathroom stops as well, so we will most like hire a private van for the trip.  Ilmari arrived in Bodh Gaya yesterday and we hope to catch up with him the day after tomorrow.

*bow*

Some pictures from Lumbini by Jani

Hello Folks!  Thought you might like a look at where we are staying.  This is the Korean Monastery I told you about yesterday.  It is quite large and impressive as you can see.

And this is a photo of a side altar taken last night after the evening service.  

This morning we decided to spend another day here.  Juha has recovered from his upset stomach, but Mikko has developed a full blown case of intestinal distress with all the accompanying symptoms.  The worst seems to have passed, but he is still very nauseous and weak.  We have come to town once again to search out medicine for his dehydration and to see if we can get some fresh bananas and juice he can eat safely.  Of course while we are here, we stopped for coffee and some Tibetan bread and eggs and had numerous honey bees and the fellow below as dining companions.

Yesterday, we visited the Lumbini Museum and cultural center.  They had quite an interesting collection of both originals and replicas of statuary, old Nepalese/Tibetan books with written mantras and sutras, and also quite a nice 10 - 15 minute documentary about the history of Lumbini.  Well worth a visit if you are here and have time.

Today, we will be visiting the Maya Devi Temple, the sacred lake and park where Buddha was born, and the Ashokan Pillar which marks the spot.  We wish Mikko could come with us, but I guess if he had to be ill, this is the best place, as he has been here before.  

So, from all of us, a cheery hello!  Please keep Mikko in your thoughts and prayers and we will check in again soon.

This is my first time outside of Europe. There is so much happening everywhere. Thought I'd write some of my impressions of the streets of Kathmandu while looking through the glass of a cab window:

"People on mortorbikes, people squeezed into tiny vans, a crow, people on foot, a dog, a man digging hole to the ground, a butterfly, two dogs fucking, a holy man carrying an orange spectre, little girls eyes saying this is where I was born."


Juha

Arrive Lumbini

As predicted, yesterday was a day of bus travel.  We took a tourist bus, so we were fairly comfortable, though the long, tall guys in the narrow bus seats still looked quite scrunched to me.  Our bus made frequent stops, so all in all it was a fairly enjoyable trip through, and down the mountains from Kathmandu to the hot plains around Lumbini.  We arrived after 5:30 pm so did not get to do much except find the Korean  Monastery where we are staying.  It is situated in the very, very large Lumbini Monastic zone where more than a dozen temples and monasteries from various countries and traditions are located.  There is a beautiful temple there and the accommodations are typical shared rooms for 4 people.  The meals are delicious vegetarian fare, simple but plentiful, and the cost for a room and 3 meals is about 3 US dollars a day.

Unfortunately 2 of our group woke up this morning with a bit of a queasy stomach.  Both Mikko and Juha are taking the morning to rest after joining the Korean morning service and an hours sitting. Mikko says this happens each time he comes to India, that the change in the water, even though it is filtered, puts him off his feed for a day or so, so here's hoping for a quick recovery.

The rest of us have come to town to do chores, and this afternoon we will visit the Lumbini museum.  Tomorrow we will visit many of the temple sites as well as the sacred lake and park where the Buddha is said to have been born.

I'll try to upload some pictures tomorrow.

:)
K

What a day!  What an absolutely glorious day!!  We are so fortunate to be here experiencing all of this.............   

Today started with an early morning sit at 5 am so that we could be on the road by 6 am to go to the Swayambhu temple here in Kathmandu.  I understand that this temple site is one of the most important in the Kathmandu Valley area.  It is shared by both Buddhists and Hindus.  We arrived early, but the place was already jumping with pilgrims, worshipers, joggers, merchants, street vendors, and beggars.  The approach to the temple proper was up many steep flights of stairs.  I have no idea of high we climbed, I only know my heart was beating fast and hard when I reached the top.  

Everywhere one looked in this mountain top temple complex, there were pujas being performed by women in colorful saris, groups were seated chanting, and people were circumabulating the entire site as well as various smaller temples and stupas.  Monkeys and pigeons abounded and added a touch of wistful sweetness to the scene as well as periodic comic relief  :)   We spent quite of bit of time at Swayambhu taking everything in and doing our own individual practice.  

After breakfast on the temple grounds, we headed to Patan, a small town famous for its statue makers.  We were on a hunt for a Buddha for the main altar in Lammi.  All of us had a great time peering into the many little shops, and we actually got to visit one statue maker's workshop.  I particularly enjoyed watching the colorful, noisy sea of people swirl around us in the narrow streets and open squares, and of course, delighted in the little out of the way cafes and restaurants the boys found.

In the end, we found the Buddha below.  We purchased him today, and thus Shakyamuni has now become a welcome member of our party and will accompany us to all the pilgrim sites.

Tomorrow we leave very early for Lumbini, the birth place of Siddhartha Gautama.  Jani and Mikko say the bus trip will take the entire day.  At least we have rooms booked there so we don't have to scramble too much when we arrive.

More later my friends  :)

Hello All --

-- from Kathmandu Nepal.  We all,  (Mikko, Juha, Manu and I), arrived safely yesterday and were met at
Boudha main gate by Jani, who has been our point man here, making reservations and finding important places and things like, ATMs, good restaurants and necessary item shops.  Today we did a bit of shopping, banking, and all of us got haircuts with a wonderful chair massage thrown in!

We just finished dinner and spent a pleasurable half hour circumambulating the giant stupa here.  Tomorrow we are off to visit some Hindu temples in Kathmandu and then we are going to a small town called Patan where they make wonderful Buddha statues. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.