Life here has pretty much been school, school, school....but, we did get a few days off inbetween terms. We decided to go on a retreat for a few days down to Lumbini, which is better known as the birthplace of Buddha. The trip was fun but our mistake was going during one of the hottest times of year! An entire day on a local bus packed with people (don't even think of air conditioning) left us all a little hot, sweaty, and grumpy.
I did really enjoy seeing the sights though. The area was only recently confirmed as the place where Buddha was born, so it is still under development. They were really smart in setting aside a fairly big piece of land to develop for the site, but a lot of things are still being built. There is a small temple still with the bathing pool where they say the event took place. Now, a number of different countries are in the process of building their own pagodas.
On our second day in Lumbini, we rented bicycles from our guest house and road around the area. The area is big enough that I wouldn't have wanted to walk, but small enough that a bike was fun.
The sign as the entrance to the main area where the temple is.
Some of the old ruins from the temples around where Buddha was born. The signs read from around he 3rd or 4th century.
The temple with a spot inside marked as the official birth place.
Lots of prayer flags!!
This peace pagoda was out side of the development area for the Buddhist temples, but it was really cool to see. This was probably my favorite building we saw on the trip.
Below.....Pat waiting for some bullocks to cross the road when we were riding our bikes around.
My homeroom class...on my birthday. They were very, very excited. They are Class 4 and I teach them science. And, the kids that live downstair from us....plus, I'm in my school dress.
