Tansen to the birthplace of Buddha (Lumbini)

My bus trip to Tansen (Papla) was all but enjoyable. The bus driver was a maniac. He drove so fast on the winding Siddhartha Highway that I was queasy. All along the route were accidents. When I arrived in Tansen it was not the 'romantic hill town' described in travel literature. Well, I was not feeling romantic (must be my age). It was a dusty and busy town. Anyway, I was more interested in how the Windies were doing. The young man who manned the desk at the ugly hotel I stayed in kept me updated on the pitiful score.


The town square was a nice place to watch people for a short while. But I had my mind on some authentic Nepali Dahl Bhaat Takari. So I made my way to the hotel as the light started to fade.


On my way back I took this picture to remind me of the fading light and the beauty of the mountains.


I left Tansen the next morning and after long and packed bus rides rolled into Lumbni, the place where Buddha was born. This is mainstreet Lumbini.


After checking into my guesthouse I went to see the birthplace of Buddha. It is inside this dour looking building. The body of water beside it is where Buddha's moms apparently washed herself after giving birth.


Adjacent to the birthplace are various Buddhist temples built and run by communities from around the world. The Chinese and German temples are the best to look at. But it is apparent that development of other temples is well on its way.


After my stay in Lumbini I made my way back to Kathmandu. The journey of 180kms took almost ten hours. This yak kept me company at one of the many bus stations on my trip from Lumbni.


I had a couple of days to kill in Kathmandu and did my level best to read about the peace agreement signed between the Maoist rebels and the government. Peace, it seems, has come to Nepal. There is talk about an interim constitution, downgrading the monarchy to an apolitical status, and even a truth commission to investigate human rights abuses. It was great to see hundreds of Maoists marching in the streets of Kathmandu the day I left for Delhi (November 9, 2006)

To read up on the Maoist movement in Nepal see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Nepal_(Maoist)


Before leaving though I went to the famed 'Monkey Temple' and watched monkeys take the piss out of locals and tourists alike.


There were also lots of dogs at the temple. I noticed that dogs in Nepal seemed better off than those I have seen in Delhi. There were some really sad dogs at the Monkey Temple though. This scene warmed my heart. The mummy dog watched me closely before falling asleep(click on the picture to see more clearly the pups she is guarding).


I loved Nepal. It is an amazing country I want to visit again. There is so much to see and with the politics of transition well in place, there is so much to learn as they chart a course not too different from what we experienced in South Africa 12 years ago.