By the holy Ganges
The rest of our group has just left for Delhi so now the start of my solo travel… but not for long as I am so lucky to be able to experience true Indian life with Amit’s parents and friends from Tuesday. It has been hard for us to get to know Indian people because, as Western tourists, we have constantly been approached by people wanting to sell us something and have an ulterior motive for talking to us. This unfortunately makes us wary. That’s why I am extremely lucky to be staying with Amit’s family on Tuesday and Wednesday night and Rudra and his family on Thursday.
Varanasi has been really interesting. A walk along the gats opens up a flurry of activity with people preparing bodies to be burnt, many sadhus (guru-type pilgrims who shun society - not sure how else to describe them but they often wear robes, have dreadlocks, a stick and face markings), people bathing in the holy river, cows, goats, boats plying up and down and people selling things.
I am now catching a bus tomorrow morning direct to Bodh Gaya instead of train and I will be picked up at 5.30am tomorrow morning to be taken to the bus station. Usually I would be grimacing at such an early departure but I am actually happy because it means more time in Bodh Gaya. I will only get a couple of hours there of daylight rather than the whole day as planned but at least I get to see it. The roads to there are pretty bad apparently and I am going in a local bus so it will take 7-8 hours. I have bought my bottled water, biscuits and chips in preparation. I am also prepared for bollywood movies and hindi music (as experienced on the trip to here from Allahabad!).
You have reached the final leg! Hope the bus trip went OK. 7 to 8 hours on a bus on bad roads doesn’t sound particularly fun but better than not getting there at all!
. I’m guessing that you are excited to be on the way to Amit’s Parents and Rudra 
I’m sure you’ll experience what true Indian life is like (and not what the Tourists get). It is good that there are people that you know and that offering their hospitality to you!
Hope that you didn’t go crazy and decide to take a dip in the Ganges
As holy as the river is, it is still one of the most polluted rivers… I hope that there is no more trouble for you with trains and that you are able to have a relatively good journey into Kolkatta!
Thank you Andrew! I did arrive to Bodh Gaya fine after a long 8 hours. It went fairly quickly though and I got to see the rural countryside to the melodic tunes of Hindi music! Hee hee!
I also got to gasp and cringe as we hurtled head-on towards trucks coming in the other direction with one of us swerving to the side at the last minute. It doesn’t give much confidence when you see a truck on its side in a river off a bridge and another two mashed up after colliding. I was thanking my stars that it was the last bus trip I would be on here (fingers crossed anyway that there are no more problems with the trains).
The bus workers were nice and told me where to get off at Bodh Gaya. When we stopped in the morning, they were saying to me ‘Lunch’ and ‘Toilet’ in a very concerned fashion!
The temple here is nice - saw the Bodhi tree where the Buddha became enlightened with many people doing yoga nearby and monks in their orange and red robes meditating with beads or chanting.
Hahahah! So they had the Hindi music to sooth the soul while the transportation for your body was hurtling recklessly down the road!
I hope you had clean undies!! 
Sounds like carnage on the roads in India! Good to see that you arrived safely though.
Were there many people at the Bodhi tree? I forgot that that was where Buddha reached enlightenment. It must have been amazing!
Oh that hit and miss on the roads from big trucks and buses coming from the opposite direction… oh i can so relate to that LOL. My stomachs churning thinking of it…. sounds like you are having great adventure…
What fun you’ve had in India and can’t wait for you to entertain us with your tales very soon….maybe now you’re nearing “Good Ole Oz”!! I bet you feel like you’ve been away for years. So happy that you’re safe and sound though with so many wonderful memories of an intriquing part of the world. Amit has been so kind to keep us up to date with your travels and safety. Thanks to him
Yep, big thanks to Amit! I spoke to Ruth this evening and she was in Kolkata already. Rudra had picked her up from the airport and they were having a drive through town (otherwise she would have had to stay at the airport for 10 hours… Yawn)
I will be glad to see you back home after a month! Excited about next week 