Stay in Lumbini( The Birth Place of Gautam Budddha)

Stay in Lumbini(The Birth Place of Gautam Buddha)

Ashoka Pillar

After a pleasant stay in Chitwan, we decided to go to Lumbini. Lumbini is considered the most holy places by Buddhists all around the world. Also known as the birth place of Gautam Buddha, this place is the identity of the country. It took around 6-7 hours to reach Butwal as we were once again stuck with bus similar to the one in which we left Kathmandu. It was taking longer than what we had expected. But the disappointment did not last too long. We were once again filled with excitement when we started climbing the hills  and seeing scenery all around.

When we reached Butwal, we were relieved of the tedious journey. Thank God. Also we came to learn that Lumbini was still 21 km farther than that place. So we boarded a local bus and headed towards Lumbini. To our disappointment, the bus was very uncomfortable followed by strange smell. Similarly, we were startled by the act of the bus-driver. What he did was he stopped the bus in a bus-stop and entered a small shop for a cup of tea. Anyway after an hour we safely reached Lumbini.

Shadow of Maya Devi Temple in Sacred Pond

Hunt For a Place to Stay

Now it was time to find place for stay. As usual we did not have any idea. We started looking every Lodge for rooms. But it was strange that we found none. It was also growing darker. Fortunately, a friend had connections and knew a person there through his grandfather. So luckily we got chance for stay in one of the Buddhist Ashrams. Later we got to learn that there was a Grand Puja going to be held in Lumbini by Lamas from all over the world and this was the reason we did not get any rooms for stay as all of them were booked.

The sun was already below the horizon and the gates to the Maya Devi Temple were closed for the day. So we were suggested to visit a Gumba nearby which was quite attractive and we were happy talking to the monks in the Gumba.

Final Day in Lumbini

The Peace Light( Shanti Dip)

Picture Inside Maya Devi Temple

Early in the morning the next day, we were ready as early as possible to explore Lumbini. We thought we would be the first to visit the Maya Devi Temple but we were amazed to see that Lamas had already started their Grand Puja and lots of people had reached there before us. So we hurried to have our chance. It was really a place of peace and the remains of Lord Buddha and his mother Maya Devi had been preserved well. Though pictures are not allowed inside Maya Devi Temple, we grabbed an opportunity to take a picture of the inside. The monks were meditating in the Temple. Then we visited the Sacred Pond and the Bodhgaya Tree under which Gautam Buddha meditated. When we reached to see Ashoka Pillar, we realized that we had missed to observe the 7 steps of Little Buddha and so we re-entered the Temple to have a glimpse of that.

After that we decided to fill our stomach and so we had our meal in a local restaurant. Lumbini is very big place to visit on foot. Therefore, we hired bicycles for all of us and set off to visit other attractions of Lumbini. 

First of all we visited Shanti Deep (Peace Light) gifted by the English Government. Then we found museum to be another attraction of the place. Peace Stupa, Chinese Gumba, Korean Gumba, German Gumba, Canadian Gumba and Royal Thai Gumba were other attractive places we visited. We were disappointed to see Korean Gumba was still under construction due to lack of Budget. Also we reached there at the time when those Gumbas are closed down for two hours for prayers which was to our disappointment. After all that time, we were all exhausted. Therefore, leaving other Gumbas for next visit, we headed to our place of stay. Anyway riding bicycle was the best part of the visit to Lumbini.

Peace Stupa of Lumbini

So the overall trip to Lumbini was both exciting and pleasant with few disappointments. But it was a great experience there and keeping in our mind that not everything works as planned headed back to Kathmandu the next morning.