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