Bodh Gaya and Makhala Cave on way to Deer Park

          This bottom photie has most of the pilgrims in it. From the left, Eric, Francoise, the German Catherine, Olaf, Catherine, Alexandre, Cecilia, Natalie, Brigitte, Marianne and Joachim. At least on is missing; Carol who does the Chi Quong.

           Some days there is so much happening that you cannot remember which day is which. Yesterday, I was up and in the Bo Tree park at the back of five. In the mid-morning we visited the cave where the Buddha spent six years doing the austerities. Like the last time I was there, we did the puja in a wee darkened room where Makhala is supposed to have been seen. Then we were on the road till seven at night, with a dinner break, and arrived here after seven.
 
           This is only the second place with wi-fi in the rooms and hot showers too, but the connections for the plugs is very difficult. Just enough to exasperate me this morning. But it's a little bit more basic, a monastery guest house. Breakfast with the wee monks today was spicy beans and curling topped bread roll things, but it was a good cheap, nourishing breakfast and there was milky tea.

          It costs 300 rupees for tourists to get into the Deer Park, which has extensive archaeological ruins and the scale of Kushingar. The recitation/puja and meditation there completely turned me around since I was tired and crabbit this morning and frustrated. Our nurse squeezed some puss out of the top of one of my fingers and dressed it after breakfast. That's the only problem I've had healthwise here. No flu this time (yet) and no upset stomach. After another three nights here, we head for home.