Buddhist trip

My husband would like to tour Northern India visiting Buddhist places of interest,

(not travelling with a tour, doing our own thing)

Can anyone give us advice on the best way to do this, is it safe, etc

Any experiences that you have had good and bad that may help us plan a safe and enjoyable trip.

thanks

Buddhist trip

We went on a tour of Buddhist sites in Northern India and Nepal a couple of years ago, and had a wonderful time. Now we are planning to go back and trying to plan a trip on our own. Would love to communicate with you more. Are you comfortable sharing your email?

Buddhist trip

tahoedvs, thank you for your post also for the other post you have given advise.

Really happy to speak to you knowing that you have done what we would like to do and see in India.

I have had a good response from many giving advice on travelling etc, but you have had the experiences of visiting the sites we wish to see in India.

How did you find the tour ?, did you have the time you wanted to spend in each place?

We are now thinking of doing a tour around the Buddhist sites, and then travelling on our own, would really like to do the whole thing on our own we don%26#39;t really like tours I think you are rushed and cannot spend the time you would like at a specific place, but having said that I think I would feel a bit more secure being on a tour, really don%26#39;t know what to do for the best.

Someone mentioned that hiring a car and driver this is popular have you done this yourself?

Would also like to experience staying in a Buddhist retreat for a couple of days, do you know of any ?

I am a little surprised that there are not many posts on this forum on the subject of Buddhist sites in India.

Thank you for being so helpful.

Joana.

Hi Joana,

I came across some websites and thought they might be helpful to you. The Root Institute is located in Bodhgaya. The Buddhanet Asia is a directory of buddhist organizations and helpful links. The last one is a travel company (which I have no personal link to or even knowledge of the organization, so I%26#39;m not saying they are good or bad...I simply don%26#39;t know), but their site looked like it at least had some useful information on it.

http://www.rootinstitute.com/

http://www.buddhanet.net/asia_dir/2abc_i.htm

http://www.buddhist-pilgrimage.com/

Lots to say.......We did a tour with Insight Travel. Our group was exceptionally small which was ideal for us because we really didn%26#39;t want to ';do a tour'; while on pilgrimage. Our entire group was the four of us with two leaders. It was more like travelling as a family than a large group. The leaders are a married couple. He is a professor of Buddhist studies, teaches a semester in Bodh Gaya at the Burmese Vihar every year, through Antioch University in the US. She is an incredible support and manages all of the details while travelling. And there were many - such as making sure we were at Bodh Gaya during the fullmoon ceremony, etc. We had time at each site for a morning meditation, dharma talk, background information, and time on our own as well. Compared to other tours we looked at, it allowed for us to feel like we had really BEEN at the sites rather than rushed through. The leaders were incredibly flexible, always willing to allow for a little serendipity - tea with a local family on our walk to Pragbodhi Hill outside of Bodh Gaya, visit to a museum that wasn%26#39;t on the schedule, etc. Everything was covered. Felt like we were kids again on a family vacation. It was completely stress-free. We were completely taken care of. India is a challenging place to travel. They made it so that all we had to think about was ';showing up'; and partaking of the richness of where we were. We would happily go again on the very same tour except for the cost..... But, it%26#39;s first class all the way.

Their website is:www.insight-travel.com

It has the itinerary, pictures of the tour we went on, and comments from members of a later tour. They have email and phone numbers listed on the site.

There are many opportunites for retreats along the way. The Thai temple in Bodh Gaya has evening dharma talks and frequent ongoing retreats. Christopher Titmuss leads retreats in Bodh Gaya and Sarnath. His schedule is on his website:

www.insightmeditation.org

Also, there is another website that looks like it arranges personal tours which we may look into for our upcoming trip.

www.buddhist-temples.com

There are several itineraries to choose from, but it looks like a good possibility to facilitate travel to all of the sights with a minimum of personal hassle.

And, there is always the possibility of hiring a car and driver, although we haven%26#39;t actually checked into that yet.

In general, the pilgrimage sites are an incredible experience for Buddhists who want to visit them. For us, it was important to be able to be there and enjoy them without the additional stress of travel impinging on our personal goals. So, I can understand your very realistic concerns. It is possible to travel India on your own. People do it all the time. The important thing to consider is how it will impact your experience. I know from personal experience that travel stress can be either a challenge that if it goes well, can be inspiring. Or if it takes too much effort can be exhausting. Or if it goes poorly, can adversely affect a trip and cause one to even skip places that were important to see. So, it%26#39;s important to listen to your feelings and fears, and be realistic about what you need to best enjoy your trip to these sacred sites.

I%26#39;d be happy to answer any other questions. Just let me know. We are leaving in September for SE Asia before going on to India and Sri Lanka. But, until then, I will available and can keep you posted on what we have decided to do for our visit back to the sites, as well.

Good Luck with your plans!

I visited Bodh Gaya two years ago. I and two friends hired car from Varanasi and drove to Bodh Gaya. Bad mistake. As soon as you enter the state of Bihar, it is as if you have entered an area under curfew. We were lucky to make the trip and back without any incident. My point is that you should not plan on travelling alone but join a group. Bodh Gaya is peaceful and beautiful and a must for anyone doing the Buddhist circuit. If you do have to travel alone, please try and fly in and out.

Turleyhead thank you so much for all the info and advice you have given to a number of my post%26#39;s, you are such an expert on India, you spend so much time in helping people plan their trips to India, it is a pleasure to read you post%26#39;s, thank you.

-------------------

tahoedus

Thank you for your information and advice I am sure I will have lots of questions for you in the future, I will print out all the info which will help me plan and remember the advice you and others have given, we are not planning to go to India until next year so we will have plenty of time to organise, when we travel we like to prepare at least 12 months in advance, I realise this is quite some time but it works well for us.

Would love to hear your experiences on your return from your trip.

Hope everything goes well.

----------------

npiai

Thank you for your information and advice, there is no way I would hire a car and drive in India,

I have had good advice from Turleyhead with regard to Bodh Gaya and other places,( regarding safety) we now think it may be best to have a tour around the Buddhist sites we wish to visit and then travel around India and do our own thing, when we do travel alone we would be using the trains we have also considered hiring a car and driver for some of our journey.

You say Bodh Gaya is a peaceful place, which I am sure it is, what was the problem for you there? Would really like to hear the good and the bad experiences you have had.

As I said we were lucky and did not have any bad experience. If you hire a car (the driver is always a part of the package..you dont get self-drive cars in India) to drive from Varanasi to Bodh Gaya. just remember that the political situation in the part of Bihar you will drive through is tense. This areas has a history of violence between the armies of erstwhile landlords (Bhumihars) and the Maoists. However there has been only one case (to my knowledge) of tourists being robbed (no killings) near Bodh Gaya. So please drive during the day and make minimum stops and those too in cities like Sasaram (the tomb of Sher Shah who constructed the Grand Trunk Road, that you will be driving on). I dont want to panic you, and as I said Bodh Gaya is a must and totally safe. I quit smoking at Bodh Gaya after having smoked for almost 20 years. It has that wonderful inspiring atmosphere.

Joana,

First, thank you for your kind words.

I just wanted to give you an example of why I cautioned you about Bihar. Just in yesterday%26#39;s paper was a report that a bomb went off on a train travelling from Patna (capitol of Bihar) somewhere near Lucknow or on the way to Lucknow. The bomb killed 7 people and injured at least 50, with the death toll likely to rise. Earlier in the day, several suitcases of bombs were discovered either in a station or on a train in Bihar. Luckily they did not detonate and the police have 4 suspects in custody.

The western world has discovered terrorism relatively recently. India, on the other hand, has been dealing with it for a very long time. Bihar has serious political problems and corruption, one of the worst socio-economic situations in India, and all of it combines to make it a fairly lawless place in certain areas. As the previous poster was sharing, he was extremely lucky not to have any problems on the road there...brigands and thugs are common and you can find yourself in real trouble. DEFINITELY find a tour agency to take you in and out of Bihar/Bodhgaya. I would definitely try to find one that has MUCH experience in the state, are local people, and preferrably closely associated with a buddhist organization there. I can%26#39;t stress enough the importance of being very safe and cautious in your arrangements there. Even indians and local people can run into problems there. As a foreigner, you are even more vulnerable. If you wish to read a bit about the state of Bihar and what it%26#39;s like to travel there, I recommend reading ';The Age of Kali'; by William Dalrymple, specifically his chapters on Patna and Bihar. He%26#39;s an excellent writer in any case, but those essays in particular will give you a good feel for what the state is like.

The rest of your trip you should be fine doing it on your own and taking the train, etc.

Thank you both once again.

After the information you have given me we have decided on a tour of the Buddhist sites, even though I feel a little anxious about the situation in this area. we feel this will not stop us making our trip to India, I am sure we would feel more secure and safe with a good tour company who specialise on the sites we wish to see.

We have no worries about the rest of our travels in India.

Many thanks

joana

Dear Joanna,

Quite by coincidence, I came across your correspondance. I have been travelling on pilgrimage to the Buddhist sites for many years, (having been brought up in the region) and organising pilgrimages since 1988. I went through your correspondance and agree that you should go with a group. The effect of the pilgrimage is greater too when you are in a practicing sangha, travelling together, besides being with organisers/facilitators who know the nuances of society. Do check out our web site www.buddhapath.com It will give you some information that you seek.

If you feel like coming with us, we are organising a pilgrimage from the 2nd to the 29th of November 2005.

Please do write to me if you want any more info.

With a smile,

Shantum