Bodhgaya is full of apparent contradictions. It is one of the 4 most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites but central Bihar is also one of the poorest regions in India. Even more poor people then elsewhere in India populate Bodhgaya’s streets and sights begging for a few rupees. Our simple guesthouse lies at the end of a poor quarter - you get quickly used to walking through it - but for the first time in India we get WiFi in our room and do not need an Internet café.

It was in Bodhgaya that Buddha reached enlightenment while meditating under a Bodhi tree. A direct successor of the Bodhi tree still stands at the site. In the Mahabodhi temple area around it Buddhist monks and pilgrims from many countries come together to pray to the Buddha. Lumbini (Nepal) where Buddha was born, Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh) where he gave his first sermon and Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh) where he died and Bodhgaya constitute the 4 most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Although Buddha spent most of his life in India it is predominantly a Hindu country. The emperor Ashoka (3. century BC) who made Bodhgaya a Buddhist pilgrimage site also attempted to create a Buddhist empire but Hinduism prevailed since then.

The environment of the temple is decorated with countless flower offerings in orange and red. You see lots of red and orange robes. Their bearers perform their Buddhist rituals. Chanting fills the air. People pray in the temple and around it and turn the prayer wheels lined up on one side of the temple. Or they simply sit beneath the Bodhi tree inspired by the atmosphere. This is where Thomas met Javana, a young monk from Myanmar. The bottom right picture above shows him on the right together with one of his fellow monks. Close to the temple is the butter light house where hundreds of lamps burn day and night to honor Buddha.

Many Buddhist countries have founded monasteries in Bodhgaya. The Tibetan community is particularly active maintaining several different monasteries with typical colorful wall decorations and wall paintings showing Buddhas life but also evil spirits and beautiful girls. Many Tibetan monks come from their Indian exile in McLeod Ganj (Himachal Pradesh) to spend the winter in Bodhgaya including the Dalai Lama who often comes in December and January. In the Tibet Om Café you can enjoy Momos - these filled dumplings are Tibet’s national dish - accompanied by meditation music.

Further Buddhist or at least partially Buddhist countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Vietnam, Japan and China also have set up monasteries in Bodhgaya. Within half a day or so you can get visit Buddhist monasteries and temples from quite a few countries.

Bodhgaya draws lots of visitors - be they pilgrims or tourists - from India and elsewhere. Like the monks and the locals they get around by auto or bicycle rikscha. If you are a rich tourist you can rent your own auto rikscha for a few Euros. Otherwise you get crammed in with everybody else heading in the same direction.

In the quarter where we stay, we enjoy everyday life in the tiny little paths between the simple houses whenever we leave our guest house or come back to it. Children play, cows browse the wastes, women and girls wash and maintain the houses with cow dung. Men - hopefully among other things - play cards. Every now and then a monk crosses the quarter like we trying to avoid puddles and dirt. At night, we are grateful that our mobile phones feature flashlights for this purpose.

(Postcard purchased at the Tibet Om Café)