Day 5 Varanasi 1 - Sarnath

Train to Varanasi less appealing as it was already full as we joining mid-continent and mid journey ! ....and we only have three hours on board ....while train goes onto Delhi for many hours ! We are all spread out over the train too ! We traveled through mainly agricultural areas ( rice - vegetables- hay ) on our way to Pandit Deen Dayan Upadhaya.... difficult to pronounce!

First we are off and the dusty road is frantic with bikes , tuktuks buses and strangely populated by speed bumps ? But we arrive safely !
We reach Sarnath the birthplace of Buddhism . The deer park is where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna and it’s the site of his first teachings from Buddha to his disciples . Temples and site of first preaching to disciples, the impressive Dhamekh Stupa, Another big Buddha statue near Wat Thai temple , archeological ruins , museum and in some artifacts from over 2000 yrs ago including the four lion symbol of India .

The hotel looks good however a bit damp ! Smells like my grandma’s cellar ! Some odd conversations over bills with multiple staff and how to sort out change that becomes more of complex than the Middle East ! We change rooms three tomes and ask if there is a safety deposit box in the room ....they appear later with an actual safe ....it’s portable and unattached to any wall but we now have a safe ....Surreal !Read more