Lumbini Garden Hotel

... and in it's minimum it was a working toilet. At some point I just took my bag and walked out. They shouted something at me, but I didn't really care - what an "ars" am I. 
The room at the homestay was ready, though the girls was surprised - I thought you'll forget or something - she told me (I wanted to explain the whole situation, but didn't). There was some sort of concern about the walk to Ranighat - it's too late now. But I was sure I can do it fast. On the way I got ...

The sun is already more than an hour in the skies, but a thick fog still covers the fields around. I walk some 15 minutes to the cremation spot. There is a very big and old stupa there. It's build of red bricks and has a half ruined. One thing is for sure - the place possesses a very distinctive ambience. 
I walk back to the Tibetian Temple, pack, leave the monk Rs100 (he again is interested ...

... ghat (plaats aan Ganges) en nonstop werden er houtstapels gemaakt en dode mensen door de oude stad naar de oever gedragen. Maar er gebeurden natuurlijk ook nog andere dingen: veel mensen zwemmen en wassen kleren en spelen cricket. Het was heel mooi om met een bootje langs alle verschillende ghats te varen en alle mensen bezig te zien.<br>Maar na ruim 5 weken India is het wel fijn om in het rustigere nepal te zijn. Heldere rivieren ...

We arrived in Luimbini and it is a real small town that only gets busy when its overloaded with pilgrims as it is the birthplae of buddha and there are literally dozens of temples everywhere from all over the world. we arrived in time for lunch and after shower and getting refreshed after drive, we biked to the Mayadevi temple (the birthplae) and wandered around there, we left our bikes in the ...

... me), and decided to buy a few cokes off her (60 ruppees each, about twice the actual price).<br><br>But I bought three "fossils" for two cokes. Not a bad deal. <br><br>Yet this brought me to the dilemma... where in Tansen could I find a rock hammer to break the fossils open with? You can't just rent rock hammers... and even if you could, who would have one? I went to a jeweler, and with one look at the extremely hard rocks, they ...

As the legend goes, Queen Maya Devi was walking by near the present day city of Lumbini. She was quite pregnant, and as she walked by a small pond in the shade of some trees, she quite unexpectedly went into labor. There by the banks of that small pond she sat alone and gave birth to what would be one of the world's most influential men, Guatama Siddartha. <br><br>Queen Devi had been told that the child prince would be special. Before the child's birth mystics told her and ...

I finally decided not to do the Jomsom Trek but to visit Lumbini instead. Lumbini is known for The Buddha's birthplace. I had reserved my bus ticket through The Sacred Valley Inn which was supposed to be for a tourist bus ticket (I was charged 500 rupies while the ticket cost 300 rupies) and then was put on a local bus!!!! Needless to say it was a very long ride on a very crowded, hot and slow bus which had to wind up and down and around the ...

Last night was best forgotten really. Couldn't get a direct bus from Nepalgunj to Kathmandu, so got on one to Narangot (?) or somewhere, blindly trusting this nice guy who helped me (and bought me sweetcorn). Turns out our bus didn't go there anyway, it went to Butwal. Having NO idea where that was I got off the bus, and just looked lost until another nice man asked me where I was going, using all my Nepali skills I managed ...

Well, for a World Heritage site, the birthplace of Buddha and an important stop on a major pilgimage route, Lumbini was a little underwhelming. We arrived after a long but uneventful bus trip from Pokhara, and lodged at one of the few guest houses in the tiny main street. Far from the lush oasis town I was expecting, Lumbini was a dusty, one-horse town an hour east of the last Nepali ...