From Kushinagar, we drove to Vaishali. We only stayed overnight in Vaishali. It was dark when we arrived at the hotel, which was not completely built. There was no registration desk, yet, nor a roof! The bottom floor rooms had just been completed and when we turned on the taps, the water ran brown at first due to the newness of the pipes and never having been turned on. We spent a freezing night with just one extra blanket to keep us warm. So, I slept with my clothes on, wrapped my wool shawl around my head and climbed under the blankets! The fog was sitting on the ground the next morning, so there was absolutely no sight seeing here, not even from a distance, as we drove off toward Bodh Gaya.
Watching the sun rise in Bihar was just glorious!!!
There was a lot of road construction going on, which meant that we were continually switching from one side of the road to the next as one section was completed and one wasn't. At one point, our the driver drove us down an embankment to the next section of road. The bus was leaning to the right and it seemed that with just a one finger push to the side the bus would topple on its side, but with amazing skill, the driver safely got us on the next stretch of road and away we went.
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| paved road ahead |
Our bus broke down at one point in the road. It had lost it's power steering, which is terribly important for driving in India. We stopped and the driver's assistant immediately jacked up the bus. The bus driver added more power steering fluid, while a mechanic found the leak and fixed it by tightening a bolt or something. It was fixed in practically no time at all and away we went!
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| jacking up the bus |
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| the driver, Mr. Kahn, checking the power steering |
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| finding the leak |
We stopped at a scenic rest stop for a bathroom break. As I was squatting, I spotted some lovely plants growing like weeds! Some of the pilgrims did a few yoga stretches among the mustard and then back onto the bus!
Bridge across Ama Ganges to Patna -
We crossed the River Ganges over a long bridge. The driver paid the toll as men walked up to the vehicles trying to sell food or flowers.
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| paying the toll |
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| selling marigolds |
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| boat in Ganges |
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| funny sign - no mention of beer or hard liquor! |
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