Mahavir Hotel Bihar

... walked for a good hour and a half, probably around 10, 12 kilometres from the station and took a left to find ourselves on the steps of Mahatma Ghandi Ghat, where the city was already wide awake. People were knee-deep in the murky rivers of the black Ganga, beating their clothes against the rocks evenly spaced along the steps, slap slap slap, banter echoing in the darkness, everything muted all around as more people turned up on bicycles, to jump into the river ...

... some water. Our 6 hr journey cost 20 Rupees per head.

We reached Muzafarpur at around 8 . though we got a scare that we might reach only at 10. Our connecting train to Kolkota was at 9:30 PM!

We boarded the train at muzafarpur and reached Kolkota at midday

... like rice fields were present wherever buildings were lacking and the road seemed as though it were always resting on an elevated embankment, weaving through the submerged countryside. After a couple hours the bus grinded to a halt with a queu of other buses and everybody started getting off. We had obviously not reached our destination and the driver explained "bridge is out. Must change bus to over there." He pointed to the river where people were ...

GAYA Gaya is one of the seven sacred cities of Hinduism and most people only pass through it on their way to Bodh Gaya. This is understandable because it is also one of the dirtiest cities in India. However the Buddha stayed in Gaya for some time and preached his third discourse here. A steep hill on the southern edge of the town, now called Brahmayoni, was known in ancient times as Gayasisa. This is where the Buddha taught his Fire Sermon notable for its dramatic ...

Australia Gives India A Cricket Lesson World series cricket returned to India today, with Australia defeating India in the best of two games. Lead by Darcy Rayner 105 from 8 overs, Australia posted a total of 135 from its eight overs. Rayner dominated the Indian bowlers with class as he smashed the bowl around the ground. Dropped by the Indian wicket keeper in the 4th over on 45, he continued to show the ...

As if the train ride hadn't been eventful enough on it's own, we arrived at Gaya station at 1.30 in the morning! Bodhgaya itself is about 16km out of town and we'd been warned Gaya is pretty dodgy at night (strange how the holiest places turn out to be the most dangerous). We figured it would be best to stay at the railway station in one of the 'retiring rooms'. In reality, this translated into a dingy slum of an (ensuite ;) room, a bit like what you might expect if ...

Once breakfast was finished, we grabbed our bags and waited for a minibus. After nearly an hour, one arrived. As usual, the locals tried to sleaze us on the price and we only gave what the locals paid. We jumped out at Tandi bazaar, and waited for another bus. Not long after, one arrived that would take us to Birganj. There was the usual army checkposts, and then we were kicked out. We were mobbed by cycle rickshaws telling us that we could not walk 4 Klm's !!! We walked. Once our ...

I am consistently disappointed with these so called 'spiritual' gathering places. I'm not religious person so obviously that's why. Yes, I know that Bhuddism isn't really a religion, but you wouldn't know it. I am consistently amazed at devotion though, and the lengths some followers go to. I suppose you could liken it to sports in a way. Soccer fans for instance, who will do anything for their teams. It's all greek to me. Each to their own. Anyway, the ...

Hey all, Well, I promised more magic, and Varanasi delivered. This is one of the holiest and oldest cities on Earth, having been in existence for more than 3000 years on the banks of the holy Ganges, or Mother Ganga, of the great rivers of the world. My first morning here I saw three bodies being burnt on massive banyan and sandalwood bonfires, their souls ascending to heaven with the smoke from the fire, and their earthly remains becoming so ...

Where do we start!! Probably with he Murdher Express. We left Agra to get the night train from a town 30km away. We thought two hours to get here would have been enough, we were wrong, we are in India after all! The sun set at 6.30pm... 15 minutes later it was pitch black. With no lights on the "motorways" cars drive with full beams, the cows on the roads dont help nor do the drivers who decide to drive on the wrong side of the road{which is nearly all of them} All ...