Arriving to Nepal: Lumbini - The place where Buddha was born

The day arrived when I had to cross the border India/Nepal through Sunauli. Thanks to the hotel owner’s son, he helped me to arrange a ticket at the busy bus station of Varanasi. Because there are no air-conditioning buses to the border (and trains were already booked), I got a ticket in a tourist bus that departs from Varanasi and ends up in Kathmandu. The whole journey takes 21 hours, but I was stepping out at the border to go to Lumbini (if the time allowed it).

The bus departed at 1 p.m. from the station and it took us approximately 9 hours to reach the border town of Sunauli. It was a Volvo bus with air-conditioning but with one singularity: It had an ambulance light with the sound of sirens. Otherwise it would be impossible for such a bus to open itself path through the Indian roads. It was funny to think at the beginning of the trip with this bus that we were followed by an ambulance, to later notice that it was the bus itself the one that made these sounds.

At the border me (and other foreign travellers) got our passports stamped at the India side and after 25 dollars I got a visa for 15 days in Nepal.  My intention was to get all the way to Lumbini that night (25 km away from the border), but because of the time there was no transport at that time of the night. The plan B was or either stay in a hotel at the border or go to the better appealing city 4 Km north, called Bhairawa. While the bus was parked still waiting for the other tourists to get their visas for Nepal, I decided to take a look at the hotels in Nepal. There was one just in front of our parked bus and a guy insisting me to take a look to it. For 500 Indian Rupees (at the border they still accept Indian Rupees) I could stay the night. After checking it out, there was no way I was staying there. But on my way out of the room I checked, I started to feel that funny smell that sometimes you get in Amsterdam, so looking back to the source of the smell, I saw an open door and 3 guys relaxingly smoking a big fat joint. But, oh my surprise to see that one of the guys was our copilot of the bus! With nothing to else to say I kept with my plan B and I decided to look for hotels in Bhairawa where to spend the night.

I found a one and only taxi parked close to the border and after a tough negotiations and my need to look for a place to sleep we agreed that I would pay him 300 Nepalese Rupees (aprox. 3 euros) if he would take me to see hotels in Bhairawa. So we started the little journey of 4 km. After checking one or two hotels, I quickly decided to stay at Glasgow hotel, which was decently clean and with a very nice and helpful staff. It was only for the night so I was happy to have found a roof and a bed.

Next morning, after breakfast, I asked the helpful guy from the reception how to get to Lumbini. He indicated that it would be a 10 minute walk until I find the buses that would take me there for 50 NPR. The impression that Nepal was giving me so far was a very positive one, where streets were more clean than in India, less noise, more helpful people and zero guys on your back pushing you to go to their hotels or buy their tours. People here were just curious about you, asking you most of the time these questions: “Where are you from?”, “Where are you going?” and “First time in Nepal?”. People were only polite and very hospitable.

I took the bus to Lumbini that was 22 km away from Bhairawa. This trip is made normally in one hour as the bus goes very slow and picking up passengers along the way. Arriving to Lumbini, I saw to girls who were also backpackers and I asked them if they knew where the Korean Monastery was. They told me that they also were looking for the same. So I went to ask inside a store for the directions. A very nice guy helped me with the directions so the girls and me went looking for it.

These girls were to volunteers at a hospital somewhere in Nepal and they were already 5 months in the country. Line was Danish and Silene was French.  They were telling me about how they liked Nepal and the people and also what they did not like. This conversation made it easier to face the 20 minutes we had to walk in the 35 degrees outside at noon.

Lumbini is a sacred place and one of the most important stops for the Buddhist pilgrims. This is the birthplace of Buddha and researchers have actually found the exact place where Buddha was born. Many Buddhist congregations around the world have built temples in this complex and the Korean are one of them (among the Austrian, Indian, Thai and Canadian).

Staying with the Korean monks is very nice but basic. For 500 rupees (5 euros), you will have a bed (a mattress on the floor or a real bed if you are lucky) and all the foods are included. The only thing is that you will have to adjust to their eating times. For example, breakfast is served between 6:00 and 6:30 a.m.; lunch between 11:30 and 12:00 p.m. and dinner at 6:00 p.m. and it lasts also half an hour. After eating, one has to wash their own dishes. You can also attend the prayers at the monastery itself. Sitting on a pillow on the floor while you hear the monk singing while making sweet sounds with his metal bowl. This is an experience you wouldn’t want to miss.

After dinner and the last prayer of the day, there is not much to do later. Everything becomes dark outside and the mosquitos are waiting for you. So everybody back to their rooms (not forgetting to mention that girls and boys have different rooms).  I had a room with three beds but all for myself. Around 9 o’clock the lights goes totally off, you hear the last bells and the gate closing. You are left in your room in the most perfect quietness and darkness. The only thing you hear from inside your  mosquito net is the sound of the geckos and of some mosquitos that are trying to get through but thankfully can’t.

The morning after was used to explore the monasteries around. Walking in the heat would be pretty tough, so renting a bike from one of the workers who are doing the remodeling in the monastery seemed like a good idea. For 200 NPR you got a deal until the end of the afternoon (5 o’clock). Having a bike made this circuit so much easier. Visiting the different monasteries felt like a little competition between the countries to see who made the nicest one. Some were very elegant while others were simple. My personal was the Nepalese Monastery where a black statue of a Buddha sat in front of you with white illumination rom the back. It was stunning. Regretfully no pictures were allowed. My second favorite was the Thai monastery. White from the outside it raised in the middle of a garden. After that I headed to the place where Buddha was born.

A beautiful garden emerges with a huge tree in the middle with flags from different color hanging around it. History says that Buddha’s mother, Queen Mayadevi, was taking a bath in a pond in this garden while she felt it was time to give birth. She left the pond walking with all the pains to a tree in front where the story says that she gave birth standing while holding one of the branches of the tree. Excavations have revealed a marker stone where the exact spot where Buddha was born has been marked. This is the sacred spot where many man go to pray and to give offers. This is the main spot of the garden and it is inside the white temple. And of course, no photos allowed.

While enjoying this small town and its holy places, it was time for me to leave to my next destination in Nepal. I was heading to Pokhara in the mountains but doing a stop in the middle. Sudden changes in bus schedules proposed me another place, the national reserve of Chitwan: Home of Rhinoceros, tigers and bears.