bodhgaya with grandma and kid?

rakim

Hi everyone,

I'm based in Hong Kong and am considering a family trip to Bodhgaya in early to mid-March -- this has been a dream for some time as my family, particularly my mom in law, are devout Buddhists. My mom in law is a fit 60-ish but we'd also be bringing my four year old son, and given some of the comments I've seen on Bihar in this forum, I'm beginning to wonder if this is feasible. Would really appreciate any advice or input on:

*Whether it'd be safe/enjoyable to spend a few days in Bodhgaya and surrounds (Nalanda, Rajgir) with an older woman and young child as mentioned above. Is weather a concern at all in March? I'm willing to spend on quality accomodation and private transport if that makes things easier.

*Related to the above, any recommendations on nice, clean family-friendly guesthouses or hotels in Bodhgaya, and a local guide/driver who may be able to show us around for a few days?

*I'm probably going to end up flying in and out of Kolkata -- any thoughts on what would be the most stress-free way to travel from there to Bodhgaya with a family? Would it be possible (or adviseable) to organise a guide/driver there who may be able to show us around Kolkata bit then bring us to Bodhgaya and back?

Will be cross-posting a variant of this post on one of the travel planning forums. Many thanks for the help.

Moderator note: No you won't. Please check the site's Forum Rules on multiple posting, which isn't allowed, as it doesn't help anyone.

atala

A stay in Bodhgaya and surounding area is a perfectly safe thing. It is only the transfer from Gaya (railway station) to Bodhgaya at night which is a bit questionable, and outside of towns at night. Bodhgaya is 12 kilometers from Gaya, thru open land, that is why.

The weather is perfect in early March (depending what you prefer though). Beginning to get a little hotter during the day. It is also a good time to visit because by then the main crowd has gone.

Since I myself have only experience with staying in monasteries, I cannot recommend a hotel. 16 years ago I stayed in the Ashok which was then already a bit run down. No idea how it is now.

I think you would need to get a guide to Rajgir in Bodhgaya or rajgir itself. Get the book Middle Land, Middle Way by Ven. S. Dhammika (http://www.bps.lk) It gives sufficient guidance to find your way alone (with a driver).

I doubt it would be feasable to find a guide in Kolkata who then guides you to Bodhgaya. The way to do it on your own is to book a train, for instance the Doon Express which leaves Howrah (main train station of Kolkata) 20:35 and reaches Gaya early morning (5:05).

wonderwomanusa

I did that night-time ride from Gaya to Bodh Gaya years ago (before it was so unsafe) and it was really creepy; a morning arrival is a very good idea!

atala

You probably booked your flight already. In case you did not, it is actually the better idea to come into Delhi, then take a flight to Varanasi, where you can go to Sarnath, and then rent a car there that takes you to Bodhgaya. So you see two sites on your pilgrimage and get to see India a bit from the road. Varanasi Bodhgaya is not that far, just around 200 kms.

A good Hotel that has branches in all the Buddhist circuit sites is Hotel Lotus Nikko. Their room rate ranges in the area of 4000 Rupees (one hundred US dollars).

http://www.lotusnikkohotels.com/html/lhotel.htm

Uncle_Martin

Be brave, travel by Rail to Gaya, just wait at the station until dawn then auto or taxi to Bodhgaya the guy selling coffee is really pleasant and appreciates a friendly chat ... perfectly safe journey in the daylight or after 07:00 hrs ... never had a chance to argue the finer points of marxist-leninist-mao-tse-tung thought with an insurgent or try to convince a bandit that robbing a fellow rogue was out of order or even practice my religion (devout cowardice)

I found Bodhgaya very friendly and felt perfectly safe ... nice places to stay should include the Hotel Siddarta (friendly staff)run by the Bihar State Tourism ... it appears to be bookable on line and has availability ... I booked over the phone in my normal inept and bumbling manner and was pleasantly surprised to discover that my details had been properly taken and a room secured ... this old grunter found it totally acceptable as did several other 50+ people I talked with who were staying there ... it was mid-range and good value. There were plenty other mid range hotels in town many of whom seemed to specialize in/cater for guests who were Buddhists from the far east ... If you are rich you could fly into Gaya as the airport is between BodhGaya and Gaya. Local guides might need the money but you can easily find you way from the map in the Lonely Planet, never mind tourist info available. The only flip side about the village is the difficulty in buying ordinary strength beer at less than the rich tourist price ... the local bottle shop only had super-strength and rejected my advice on the best beers to sell to tourists ... or perhaps the bulk of bodhgaya tourists are too spiritual to enjoy a cold beer in the evening ... however if you like rum'n'coke you're well sorted. To find details google 'BSTDC' or consult LP /RG I suspect I'll not get round to posting my hotel reviews for a while ... oh and if a leaf from the Bodhi tree lands on your head, grab it quick unless you like either the comedy of life or a nostalgia of regret

atala

Uncle, good hotel advice.

Yet,


Only international airlines, among them also charters, from Buddhist countries (Lanka and Thailand) occasionally fly into Gaya. I think Thai Air has a regular flight. Indian Airlines had once one flight, but since suspended.

SilverMaple

There are now regular flights at least weekly by Indian Airlines from Kolkata to Gaya airport, a short taxi ride from Bodhgaya. We did this in October 2007. Took the Friday flight, which leaves Kolkata 10 am and arrives at Gaya 10.55 am. Bought the ticket from the Indian Airlines rep in London for £75 single.

To our surprise this plane left from Kolkata’s international terminal, not the internal terminal where we were first sent. It seems a stopover on an international Buddhist pilgrim flight, as previous poster indicates, coming from & returning to south-east Asia - I think Kolkata - Gaya - Myanmar was our plane's route. But it's perfectly easy to get tickets for the Kolkata - Gaya part of the journey.

Re issue of danger, we found Bodhgaya itself entirely safe and very pleasant. But didn't spend much time elsewhere in Bihar.

Re accommodation, many of the Buddhist monasteries at Bodhgaya have guest rooms. If you stay there, you're expected to follow some basic Buddhist rules for behaviour. We stayed in a Buddhist community there & were very glad we did this.