Phase II of our trip started at 1:30am on Tuesday, the 14th when we woke up to catch a 6am flight to Calcutta and then another 40-minute flight to my husband's hometown of Gaya. Since meeting him in the early 2000s, all he has ever talked about is wanting to take me to see his hometown. From what I heard, I wasn't so sure I needed to see it, but the time has come so here I am.
Although he was born and raised in Gaya, which is in the Northern state of Bihar, he has gone to college and worked in Bangalore since he was 16. Coming back here is both a blast from the past and a solemn reminder for him of how things once were. Since his Dad's passing in 2012, the family has not had an occasion to visit so coming back has been both sad and bittersweet.
The town itself is quite small. The airport has 2 gates and only 2 planes that land here per day. The primary reason for any air service is the high volume of Buddhist tourists who visit the neighboring town of Bodhgaya where Buddhism started. The plane here was 99% Buddhists, many with fully shaved heads in monk attire.
We proceeded directly to the hotel, which I was assured was going to my liking. I'm always a bit skeptical as standards vary widely and pictures online sometimes aren't even of the same place. Overall, I am satisfied with the place. It seems that few people are staying here now, even though it is a popular tourist time now that the weather is cooler, but I think the Buddhists likely stay closer to their pilgrimage spot and this hotel is on the outskirts.
As with most hotels I've stayed at in India, this one looks very nice from a distance, but it's the close-up where things get a bit questionable.
There is a lot of the usual unfinished woodwork, torn carpet, and stained chairs, but also there was no hot water (when questioned the front desk said due to minimal guests they shut it off but will turn it back on tomorrow), the tv's don't work (a guy came today to fix it by turning it on and off and told me it would be on in 10 min, but an hour later it still isn't working), the continental restaurant has no available continental options in spite of them being on the menu, and the power has gone out twice already since I started writing this.
This lovely little decoration is outside our window ledge. I'm unsure how long it has been there or even how it got there since the window doesn't open.
On the positive side, the restaurant was able to provide some ice to go along with their 'chilled' room-temperature water. I'm sure they have been waiting for years to use this ice bucket.
In addition to typical Indian food, many restaurants also have Chinese-type options. These chicken egg rolls were actually pretty tasty.
We visited a famous Hindu temple today that doesn't allow any pictures, but apparently is the site of a Hindu demon being stomped into the ground and the footprint of the Lord Vishnu is there to prove it. Just as we were going to enter the area, the guards informed us that the temple would close for an hour, but some of the visitors wouldn't take that for an answer and literally pushed their way in. The guards decided to rethink the closing time. Inside, there was definitely a stone there that appeared to have a footprint-type marking on it. Everyone was kneeling down and giving it flowers and rice, bending their heads to touch it. I can't confirm or deny it was a footprint of a god, but everyone seemed pretty happy to be there.
The temple area has lots of interesting happenings, such as this cow that can turn on the faucet when she wants a drink.
This cow tried to push Shivali in the lake.
This cute little girl washing clothes down by the river 😢
And of course, some cute homeless puppies I can't take home. ðŸ˜
After the temple, we ventured over to the neighborhood my husband's family used to live in to see if we could talk the new occupant into letting us take a peek inside. She was a bit confused at first but obliged. I was surprised by how emotional I felt looking around at his extremely humble upbringing. He shared a lot of stories about climbing the big front tree and sneaking out windows. The house is very small and hard to believe a family of 5 lived here, but I think it was very valuable for Shivali to see.
The Bathroom. The front room, used as a bedroom.
We continued around town visiting several places where Roy and his family would hang out when they grew up, and people they knew. It was an eye-opening experience I won't forget anytime soon. Tomorrow we are visiting the Buddhist area and a few other things before we move on to Phase III.
I'm going to try and get to sleep before the power goes out again. SIGH.
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