A trip to Sarnath

I was awake from 6am despite having nothing to get up for this morning! I managed to drop off at around 7.30, only to be woken up less than an hour later by Kathy phoning me! I didn't sleep any more! I spent the morning trying to catch up on my notes while Fiona slept. I woke her at 10.30, so that we could go for breakfast and get packed up ready to check out of our room at 12 noon. We then moved our luggage to the day room, and chatted to Kathy for an hour before it was time to leave for our trip to Sanarth Temple.

We were downstairs at 1pm to meet our tuk-tuk driver. We saw our leader, Meriy, who told us that she was too sick to continue the tour. She will leave us in Agra, and we will have a replacement leader for the rest of the trip. It is no great loss - she hasn't been very good from the beginning!

Our auto arrived on time, and we made the 35-minute journey to Sarnath, a sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon to his five disciples after attaining enlightenment, often called the "Turning of the Wheel of Law". It is home to ancient ruins, including the massive Dhamekh Stupa, Ashoka Pillar, and the Sarnath Museum, which houses the famous Lion Capital. Sarnath was historically known as Isipatana and is one of the four most sacred Buddhist sites, attracting pilgrims and tourists from across the globe.Läs mer