BUDDHA'S BIRTHPLACE IN NEPAL

A monk chants under a fig tree at the site of the birthplace of Buddha in Lumbini, Nepal.

Lumbini--the birthplace of Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha, is one of the four most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites (the others being: Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, and Kushinagar). The site and small town nearby also sit conveniently next to the border with India, our next stop, so we decided to visit.

The town itself isn't much, particularly considering its historical significance. The guest house we stayed at was probably the worst of the whole trip, and that's saying something, but at $5 per night, it was almost worth it, mosquitoes and all. The bathroom featured a dirty squat toilet, a leaky tap, and a filthy bucket. And then there was the roach that crawled across Liz's chest in the night. Kip was just annoyed that her yelp woke him up ("Roaches don't bite. Shhhh!"). We've experienced lots of bugs on this trip.

Luxury hotels aside, the temple complex is actually quite nice. The most important site is the Maya Devi Temple (seen above), which has a stone marking the "actual" spot where Queen Mayadevi gave birth to Prince Siddhartha, who later became Buddha.

Due to the number of pilgrims inside, an the fact that they don't allow photos, we can't show the exact stone, but it's inside the white building, where lots of pilgrims come to meditate and worship.

Just outside, a long tree-lined road, cut by a canal, leads on to the Lumbini Peace Pagoda. The area is bordered by a crane sanctuary, a habitat set aside for the rare Sarus Cranes in the area.  We were fortunate enough to see one sqwak and fly over our heads as we rode past on our bicycles.

A Sarus Crane searches for food in the Lumbini Crane Conservation Center next door to Buddha's birthplace.

In addition to a crane sanctuary, there are quite a few signs along the way that we found interesting. One ended up as last week's Funny Monday. This sign, which we wish we could read, seems a bit out of place. Heading into India. That's all for now.

Was Buddha big into wrestling?

Nice that the site includes trash receptacles. Interesting they separate their rottens from non-rottens.

It was a full moon. Almost. It was pretty.

In addition to the cranes, Lumbini is also home to monkeys. Lots of them, actually, living right along the road, but they're far outnumbered by roaches and mosquitoes.