Today we woke up feeling thoroughly refreshed in our luxurious rooms and after a breakfast fit for a king, it was a mere ten minute walk to our next destination, the place where Buddha Gautama was born.
We took a short cycle-rickshaw trip to the gates of the monastery where there were loads of stalls selling Buddha 'merchandise', after plucking ourselves away from the temptation, we walked further on where the ancient remains of a few monasteries lay and took our own sweet time walking around them.
The trees were adorned with Tibetan prayer flags, which made the gardens feel very fresh and alive. We then walked passed the Holy pond and into the Mayadevi temple, where a group of around thirty monks and pilgrims were chanting the mantra.
We stood in the middle just taking it all in and for some reason I had tears welling in my eyes!! I wasn't sad or happy, I think I was just moved and it was a great way to be introduced to the Buddhism culture here. Then, just a few steps away, there was a wall that was lightly dusted in red and gold and below that, in a glass casing was the exact spot where Buddha was said to be born. It felt significant and very special.
After buying a few things from the stalls (it would be rude not to), we got back in our beloved little lady and headed to Tansen; it would be a steep climb up for her but we have every faith she'll make it!
The people in Nepal have reacted in such a special way to us! Never have we had so many waves and smiles and usually it's them who initiate it. The children shout 'hi' as we pass them and they giggle and laugh, and the ladies will often put their hands together and greet us with 'Namaste'.
I know that Gordon and Katie are relieved to be out of India and I am too, but I'll always have a soft spot for the country as it was the first place I had truly travelled in and it's the kind of place that needs the time to fully appreciate! (I keep telling them this but I don't think they're at all convinced!).
The lil lady was doing well until Gordon noticed a bit of metal dangling besides him; it was one of the ''support parts'' for the roof rack. Oh no! Here we go again! We stopped and Gordy wrapped it up in cellotape and then weaved the spare bit of rope around it to secure it, yes he ruly is a modern-day MacGyver, but little did we realise that just five metres away was a welding place...whoopsy! So we ripped off all of Gordy's work and got it welded back in to place, the guy did both sides - and once back on the road, the annoying squeaky sound had disappeared! Job well done!
The views, the views, the views!!! WOW! We are being spoiled to lush green mountains, with their taller white-topped cousins lying in the background like a movie set backdrop on our ride up, and the air.... well, it's a lot fresher and much easier on the senses too! And to top it off, I haven't seen one doggy roadkill today!
We arrived In our hotel with the best views ever, overlooking the many mountains of the Himalayas. From here, it should be plain sailing to the finish line, but I don't want to think about that right now, I just want to admire what's in front of us.
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