Penelope's blog: Goodbye, India. It's been a blast. Bodhgaya, Kolkarta and a little bit of HK!

Human rickshaws in Kolkarta, one of the only places where they still exist.

The site of mother Teresa's orphange

The last day of my travels, on the beach in Hong Kong

At the Maharbodhi Temple

Visitors flock to the 'Big Buddha'

The original Bodhi Tree

As I was flying out if Calcutta, a stopover in Gaya made sense and would break up the journey from Varanasi. I particularly wanted to go to Bodhgaya (about ten kilometres from Gaya, in the Bihar province) as it's the most important of the four Buddhist sites in India - the place where Buddha gained enlightenment.

From the train I shared an auto rickshaw with a Japanese guy who was undertaking a Vipassana retreat- a form of meditation which allows no speaking or interacting for ten days - and made my way to the most important place in Bodhgaya, the Mahabodhi Temple.

The present temple started to take shape in the 7th century but fell into disuse after Buddhism was virtually wiped out in India after Mughal invasions. In the nineteenth century the British 'rediscovered' it and since then it has become a very important place of pilgrimage for Buddhists worldwide.

The temple is at the site of the original Bodhi Tree under which Buddha was sitting when he gained enlightenment. The tree there today is an offshoot of that original. When I visited there were monks sitting beneath it and people praying at and paying their respects at the shrine that exists in front of it. The temple is also sacred to Hindus who see Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu and despite Buddhist protests, the committee that looks after the temple is largely Hindu. Even I could observe how different the practices of these two religions are- Buddhists being very solitary and inward, with Hindus preferring a more public and exuberant approach.

The spire of the temple is dominant and at 55 metres high, it is visible from all around. As you wander around the site, there are stupas and shrines a plenty and after travelling all morning thought this would be a nice place to sit and relax for a while. However. it was not to be as the usual questioning by locals and demand for photographs that has become such a feature of my travels in India continued. I couldn't even eat my mango in peace!

My guidebook describes Bodhgaya as 'Buddhaworld' and it's easy to see why. Modern temples and shrines are dotted throughout the town. There are a Thai, Japanese and Bhutanese temples alongside a Tibetan monastery that houses a Buddhist population at all times of year although is particularly busy from November to February when huge numbers of Tibetans descend on the town, including his Holinesss on occasions.

I also visited the site of the 'Big Buddha', a 25 metre Japanese style statue that was unveiled by the Dalai Lama in 1989. I have included a picture and reflected that whilst impressive, having seen the huge Buddha in Leshan, China, has spoiled me somewhat.

My stay in Bodhgaya was short but enjoyable. I had dinner and visited a local bookshop (my friend Lilian had asked me to collect for her as she had previously set up an NGO in the area, such a coincidence, and I was to be seeing her in Hong Kong) before paying a final visit by night to the temple.

*I have included a link to Lilian's NGO work in India at the bottom of this page.

And now for my final stop in India, Calcutta. It is in the state of West Bengal whose nationalism led to the new name of Kolkata being introduced in 2001. It was the capital of the British Raj (its architecture is incredibly British) and today is the third largest city in India, behind Delhi and Mumbai.

I was due to get a late train to take me from Gaya to Calcutta. Ig ended up being much later than expected, and it was nearly 3am by the time we boarded. After pretty much having smooth sailing on all previous bus and train rides, I suppose I had to have one blip!

I had made my way to the platform for the scheduled time and ended up chatting to an Indian medical student called Amit for hours as we sat out the delay. I was actually glad of the company and felt a lot safer as Indian stations at night are not the nicest of places. Whole families, homeless individuals and children, the destitute and beggars were sleeping anywhere they could find space, using newspapers or sarongs as bedding. Close by to where we were sitting, an unfortunate young guy who couldn't walk properly had laid down his wooden crutches and was sleeping soundlessly on the hard platform with rats scampering nearby. An image I will not easily forget. Earlier in the day at the station in Varanasi I had fed a whole bunch of beggar children cake and mangoes. Whilst at times you become desensitised to the harsh realities facing the poor in India, at other times it hits you hard in the face.

My last destination in India was Calcutta, one of the four great urban centres of India (along with Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai) and its third largest city and in the region of Bengal. Like two of the aforementioned, it also has its roots in the British Raj, in fact was its showcase capital. In its day it was the greatest colonial city of the East, something which is still evident today. Majestic colonial architecture abounds, and even in my short time here I was in awe of the sense of 'Britishness' all around.

One quote I read about Calcutta is " everything plays out before your eyes, not an inch of space is wasted" and this rang so true. Calcutta ( now known as Kolkata after a rise in Bengali nationalism ) is proud to be the intellectual and cultural capital of the country although this is often viewed alongside its reputation as the capital of poverty, something Bengalis get angered by.

The city is a cosmopolitan one too, and alongside the street stalls and dwellers you find posh shopping arcades and restaurants.

As a result of the above, my late arrival into Calcutta (Kolkarta) meant I had little time to do anything. By the time I had dropped off my bag, had a snack and worked out how I was going to get into the city ( local bus, 6 rupees later) I was left with only a few hours.

The stunning Victoria Memorial

and St. Paul's Cathedral

I managed to see the Victoria Memorial and St. Paul's Cathedral as the pictures show. I also found my way to the site of the Mother Teresa Orphanage. I've included a link below.

Calcutta is also the only place in India where they still have human-drawn rickshaws (see picture). Apparently these come into their own during the monsoon (Kolkata gets crazy rain at times- something I thankfully did not see) and as she the streets get flooded to hip height, they are the only form of transport that is not paralysed! I didn't take one, I always feel bad enough when someone has to support me with a bike as a rickshaw, but apparently you have to be careful not to unbalance the driver. Many of them are very poor pavement dwellers.

My time in India had come to an end after nearly two months in which I travelled east and West, North and South. From the southern-most tip at Kanyukamari to the foothills of the Himalayas, and the biggest cities on both the east and west coasts, Kolkarta and Mumbai. It had been an amazing journey, challenging me to my very core at times.

India will always have a special place in my heart and, without doubt, is the place of some of the highlights of my trip. I met some great people in India too, particularly those who shared my time in Hampi. Pondicherry was pretty special too.

And now it was time not just for my next stop but also my LAST stop, Hong Kong.

This was just a whistle stop as I was flying back home the next day, so it was less than 24 hours in total. I flew via KL, spending the night on the airport floor (anything for a cheap flight!) and arrived in hong Kong mid morning. I knew I wanted to relax so headed to Repulse Bay (pictured) for some beach action via Aberdeen fishing village. In the evening I was fortunate to be meeting up with Lilian again (I had last seen her in India) as she now lives in HK. We got the ferry over to Lamma Island and I enjoyed an alfresco meal and glass of wine (my first drink for two months!) and good company. After dinner we headed back to her house which included a walk by a beach and through tropical rainforest to reach it. I have included a picture here from the next morning as I made my way to the airport.

So, after nearly eleven months, my trip was coming to an end. To all those, who contributed in some way (big and small) to this last year, I thank you. You will be part of the memories, namaste...