We are wrapping up our trip in the state of Bihar. We started out in the state of Jharkhand, which was carved out of Bihar in 2000. Jharkhand is rich in minerals so we had a lot of tours of industrial areas: diesel engine plants, coal mines, wire rope factories. Bihar is rich in history, however.We started our visit in Rajgir. To get there we had to cross a very curvy mountain road. We kept having to tell our drivers to slow down. When we stopped for a break at the bottom of the mountain we were all pretty woozy. Thankfully the rest of the trip was uneventful.

We were a little apprehensive about our accomodations in Ragjir – the schedule listed host families, but all of the addresses were “Ordance Factory.” When we got there, we found out that we were actually staying in the guesthouse of the government-owned ordance factory. It’s a pretty new project, though, so there wasn’t any ordance around yet.

In Rajgir we saw Nalanda, an ancient Buddhist university, and many Buddhist temples. The air is better here – fewer open coal fires and a higher elevation.

After Rajgir it was off to Gaya and Bodhgaya to see where Siddhartha got enlightenment. What a beautiful place! The place was crowded, but we were pretty much the only ones taking pictures. Everyone else was praying or just looking around reverently. We have sacred places in America, but except for some Native American areas, I don’t know if we have anything as holy as this.

– Arleen