29/12/2016
It was a cold wintry morning on that day. There was nothing visible due to the heavy fog. We woke up late as the condition of the weather did not allow us to leave the warm quilt. After some mental fight between mind and heart we woke up and got ready to explore the divine city of India.
JYOTI CAFE
As I have mentioned in my previous blog { VARANASI DIARY||TRAVEL BLOG (PART-1)
http://littlehapinez.blogspot.in/2017/07/varanasi-diarytravel-blog-part-1.html } that we loved our dinner at Jyoti Cafe. So we did not stop our feet anywhere but at Jyoti Cafe. We ordered Chocolate Banana Pancake, Hot Chocolate (to give our body some fuel), Cups of tea and Breakfast Platter (One omelette, some boiled fried potato, four toasted bread with butter). After this delicious breakfast we walk towards the Gowdoloya More. From here we hired a four sitter Toto at 800/- bucks. In that toto we visited Sarnath and some ancient temples of Varanasi.
WAT THAI TEMPLE
On that particular day Sun had not shown his face. It was covered with fog. Our toto driver stopped at Wat Thai Temple. It was then 1pm and believe me we were literally shivering. It was so cold and
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WAT THAI TEMPLE GATE |
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WAT THAI TEMPLE |
smoke was coming out of our mouth. We enjoyed the weather totally. Our driver parked the toto and told us to explore the Sarnath. He waited there for us. First we went to the Wat Thai Temple. At the gate a guide from Indian Tourism offered us to give us a full details of the Sarnath. We asked him about the fee but he humbly told us that if we want then we can give him what we want. First of all he provided us some information about that Wat Thai Temple. This temple was built by some Thai dignitaries in 1933. There is a great standing statue of Lord Buddha on the left side of the temple which is 80m tall. You will also find a replica of Ashoka Chakra. The four most important incidents of Lord Buddha are
engraved in the back side of the temple. The air of the place is so
angelic that you can actually feel the purity.
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REPLICA OF ASHOK CHAKRA AND LORD BUDDHA STATUE |
After that we rushed to visit the Sarnath Museum.One member of our group stood in the queue to buy the tickets for us. Each ticket cost 7 rupees. Rs. 5/- for the Dhamekh Stupa and Rs. 2/- for the Sarnath Museum.
ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM SARNATH
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ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM SARNATH |
Sarnath Museum is the oldest museum Archeological Survey of India. In 1910 under the supervision of Sir John Marshall, Director General of Archeological Survey of India this site museum was constructed. This oldest museum preserved the antiquities which found at Sarnath. This antiquities are mostly finest specimen of Buddhist art and sculptures. The most famous exhibits of this museum is the Lion Capital of India and Ashoka Chakra. I put my first foot in the big gallery and I lost myself in the era of Buddhism. The rich art and culture of Buddhist era
literally grab me. My eyes were exploring the sculptures, antiquities and paintings. I was gulping down everything through eyes as they won't allow the camera or phone inside the museum. After that great experience we move to our next destination Dhamekh Stupa.
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DHAMEKH STUPA |
DHAMEKH STUPA
I entered through the gate and I could perceive the spirituality. I inhale the air which is so pure and sublime. I did not experienced that kind of weather. The wintry breeze was like a sharp knife. It was 3pm and the Sun was not ready to show his face. In that foggy weather the Dhamekh Stupa was standing with proud in the middle of the field.
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DHAMEKH STUPA |
Dhamekh Stupa is situated in Sarnath. It is believed that Lord Buddha preached its first sermon to his five disciples here. Its old name was Dharma Chakra Stupa. It is said that Great Mauryan King Ashoka rebuilt the Stupa in order to commemorate the activity of Lord Buddha.
After this great tour of Sarnath we rushed towards the Wat Thai Temple where our toto driver was waiting for us. We left Sarnath with a broad smile.
TO BE CONTINUED..........
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