BODH GAYA FACT FILE

How to get there:
1. Flight:
-Although Gaya has an airstrip, usually all charter flights land here carrying large groups. Sporadic flights operate from Kolkata to Gaya from where Bodh Gaya is 45mins by road. Taxis or rickshaws await to take you. Rates to be negotiated.
-Flights to Patna are from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Varanasi and other major cities of India from where taxis can be hired to reach Bodh Gaya.
2. Train:
-Any train that reaches Patna Jn. (120kms, 5hrs) or Gaya Jn. (25kms, 1hr) may be taken from the extensive Indian railway network.
-From Patna numerous options like taxis, buses and inter-city (local) trains are available.
-From Patna jn, costs are rs. 50-60 each way by bus, rs. 1200-1500 for private cab. Avoid local passenger trains which are invariably over crowded and sometimes unsafe too.
-From Gaya Jn. share auto costs rs. 30 and private auto rs. 150. Taxi options from Gaya are limited but exist.

Where to stay: Gaya: Usually people don’t stay at Gaya unless they have an early morning train out from there, as i did. Hotels do exist but none with too much comfort. Look around for some deals around the station. Hotel Ajatsatru is one such, right opposite.
Bodhgaya: Numerous options from budget with share bath, some monasteries rent out rooms (which are clean with private baths are great value for money but come with emphasis on peaceful living, no board facilities and need ahead booking) or few high end hotels with a/c rooms are also available in bodh gaya. Range: rs. 300 to 2500.

What to expect:
-On such self searching trips people are supposed to go with no expectations! As tourist however, expect the usual outside of the temple...hawkers selling religious fare, eateries, bookshops, travel agencies, taxi drivers, cycle rickshaws, flower sellers, people in suffering asking for alms..etc.
- A walk around the little town are sights of underdeveloped Bihar outback...small shanties bursting with child population, poverty, open sewers, strewn garbage, roadside eateries, dust & grime. However, one also sees magnificent temples developed by several nations (Thailand, Japan, Bhutan, Korea...), all jostling for space alongside each other.
- Once inside the main temple (Mahabodhi) you are transformed to another realm....clean, quiet, leafy, meditation gardens, ponds, flowers, aroma....peace.

What to see:
- A trip to every monastery or temple is recommended, each having exclusive architecture inside & outside with immaculate gardens & sprawling lawns
- The ASI museum is a let down not because of the contents but the apathy in the display of the excavations.
- A walk inside the temple premises late eve is a fabulous experience. Don’t miss it!
- Visit to places of worship of other faiths too can be visited.
- Trips can be undertaken to Varanasi (250kms), Sarnath (outside Varanasi)

What to seek:
Hope for liberation for oneself & all sentient beings thru Buddha Dharma!

Girish Deshpande, an urban seeker!