Bodh Gaya

The night had been quiet thanks to the cyclonic fan blocking any noise out so we woke rested and ready to spend the day sightseeing in Bodh Gaya. When we went downstairs, the two managers of the hotel told us that they had people coming to look at Big Red. Excited we left the key with them while we went to have breakfast in case anybody wanted to go for a test drive.

We found Om Restaurant where I had an average banana chocolate pancake that left a sugary coating in my mouth. We waited and waited for Chris' fruit and muesli and, when we saw a guy walk in carrying a bag of fruit he'd just bought, the hold up was clear. At least it'd be fresh we thought.

After breakfast we returned to our hotel to find Big Red gone. Out for a test drive we thought. How promising! A quick chat with a guy in the lobby though made it obvious that the manager had infact just taken Big Red for a joy ride. He had gone to the temple to pray and had taken Big Red because it would "make him look good." He would apparently be over an hour.

We were not ok with this and spent the next hour stewing. How could any idiot possibly think that this was ok? Again, people seem to have no concept of respecting other people's possessions. Despite having been in India almost two months we still made the mistake of trusting one of them. How very wrong we were to think this guy would be any different to the others we have encountered who are truly out to suit themselves with no thought for anybody else.

Eventually the manager turned up, quite apologetic, as his friend must have warned him that we were not pleased. We took the key and awaited an offer on the bike. The offer came and the offer was refused. 50000 rupees? That's not even two camels!

We thought we better go and embrace the day but first, a quick stop at the Root Institute for Wisdom Culture. Unfortunately there was a retreat happening so the daily yoga class wasn't happening. We dropped Big Red home and set out on foot. We had apparently picked the wrong time of day though as all of the monasteries were closed for lunch, or a nap, or something. We took some photos through the gated entrances and then finished the sight seeing with a stop at Mahabodhi Temple, the most famous of the lot. Buddha attained enlightenment and formulated his philosophy for life here. It was free entry so all we had to pay was 20 rupees to get the camera in. We chatted cricket with the guy taking our money and thought, what a nice man! Until Chris saw him take 100 rupees from our change before handing it to us. Luckily we were on the ball and he rectified the situation with little fuss. We left our shoes, unwillingly considering the amount of people spitting we had seen, and continued into the temple complex.

We took in views of the Bodhi Tree under which Buddha's enlightenment had occurred and it was quite cool to read that the tree that now stands is actual a descendant of the original, grown from a sapling that was kept in Anuradhapura (which we visited in Sri Lanka).

Pretty over the beggars and the beeping we went back to Buddha Road in search of lunch. We had been hoping for a relaxing day of sightseeing but instead were as stressed as ever. I think knowing that it's all nearly over has something to do with it. We ordered two lassis and a pizza but were soon informed that the power was out. Enough was enough. We left despite them arguing that the lassis were already on their way.

We grabbed a takeaway lunch from last night's dinner spot and enjoyed it in the quiet of our room. A yummy veg korma and a few chapattis. The rest of the afternoon was spent battling the hotel staff with regards to a serious lack of wifi, hot water and electricity.

We found a quiet place to have dinner and, although they didn't have the Thai food they advertised or many other items from their menu, we did have a yummy meal. Veg jalfrezi, veg biriyani and chapati as well as a spring roll.

When we got back to our hotel we were ready to do battle. Earlier in the afternoon the manager had agreed that we pay only 700 rupees for tonight's accommodation. We were on a mission to pay only an extra 400 for tonight to make it a total of 1400 for the two nights. Considering we had no hot water at all yesterday and very little today, as well as the wifi annoyance, we figured this was fair. After a huge heated discussion, much of which was Chris and I venting our frustrations that had been built up over the past six weeks, we agreed to pay 1500 for the two nights. We gave in and went to upstairs to get an early night before our huge, and final, day of riding tomorrow.