Finding Enlightenment

I got to my next destination by train from Kolkata which was great fun as it was a fascinating journey in which I spent the entire time staring out of the window watching people going about their daily business in their small towns and villages. I was heading to a town called Bodhgaya, best known as a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists from around the world. Why? Because in Bodhgaya stands the tree under which Siddartha Gautama, otherwise know as Buddha, reached enlightenment in 6th century BC, hence it is known for its spirituality.Spiritual my arse.......! I had dream like images of a centre of tranquility and calm to relax after the hustle and bustle of the city. That was my first mistake, if there is one thing I have learnt in India is that you absoloutely cannot expect anything, as everything turns out slightly or hugely different to what you had in your head. So its best not to think about it too much, or care, as then you won't be disappointed.

Anyway, my point is that you have to be a pretty good Buddhist to come out of Bodhgaya with a sense of calm. As we arrived in our rickshaw there was the noise of beeping horns all around, the road gave out clouds of dust and as we stepped out of the auto rickshaw our driver tried to get more money out of us than we'd agreed. Our room was dingy and miserable and the shit food took about an hour to arrive. We were tired and fed up after the long journey. But luckily the next day we found a gem of a guesthouse, tucked outside the craziness along the side of some farmer's fields where goats roamed in the fields and kids played. (pic above was the view from the balcony - calm!). I got to hold a baby goat and now I realy want one as a pet. The guesthouse was clean, amazingly cheap and had a gorgeous breeze to cool you down.
We visited the Mahabodhi temple and Bodhi tree where the monks gather to meditate and do their monk thing! One morning I got up at 5am to go see the sunrise at the temple and sit for some quiet reflection by myself. It was really interesting to sit and watch the monks, as for the sunrise, I couldnt tell from what direction it was coming over the walls, so I more watched it get light, which was still very atmospheric and it was lovely to sit there and write my diary.We also (attempted) to buy postcards, which we had not yet been able to find, so if you get a werid temple picture coming through your door, that will be from me. Aside from the cool, intricate temple and gardens, there isn't alot to see in Bodhgaya, but I did discover an amazing yoga teacher who gave lessons on the roof of a building in one of the small surrounding villages. So it was really fun to do yoga over the amazing views. He was dutch and very friendly, he would always ask the class what they wanted to do so we got to do some weird and wonderfull positions (like headstand!). I also met a girl that was by herself from Austria and looked my age (which is actually really rare, hence I know how lucky I am to be here). She was travelling by herself and loved it. I saw this a sign that everything would work out okay by myself and it was nice to know that I was not the only 21 year old female that has travelled around India by herself, altough I still think that I must be one of the few. So that was that, Kaz booked her flight home for a weeks time.
In the end I did manage to chill out for a few days which was really nice, and as always befriended a local restaurant owner that served great 'Hari Om' specials - Fried potatoes, eggs, cheese, tomato, garlic and onion! Good for fattening me up post gastroenteritis. But did I find enlightenment ? The short answer... no it didn't happen! However I have found a strange sense of inner calm that has been with me throughout the holiday which could have a lot to do with the reading I did about Buddhism whilst teaching. All of the principles of Buddhism are thoughts that I had already formed in my head, therefore I do actually believe in it's principles and have taken alot from it and will use it as a point of reflection if it all gets to much! My inner calm may also be a reaction to all the craziness that I have been through, there was no choice in the matter. If I hadn't been calm and had allowed things to stress me out, I would have had to fly home by now..... and Im still here!