Although the park compounds were large, visitors generally congregate near to the actual spot of Buddha's enlightenment. Referred to as Vajrasan (or the Diamond Throne), some monks would give Dhamma discourses to his pilgrims while others would meditate quietly (I was probably too pre-occupied with picking up the dried leaves that fell from the Bodhi Tree). After spending the evening in the temple, I went back to my hotel for dinner and went to catch up on my emails - I was on official duty afterall (Rs30/S$0.97 per hour). When I came out from the internet cafe, I realised that Bodhgaya (after the Mahabodhi Temple is closed for the day) had became a quiet town again.

Rajgir, our next destination, was a good 3-hour (or 85kms) bus journey away from Bodhgaya. The ancient capital of the Magadha kingdom, Lord Buddha spent some time here preaching to his disciples on a hill known as Griddhakuta (or the Vulture's Peak). After taking chairlift up to the top of the Ratnagiri Hill to visit the Vishwashanti Stupa (built by Japanese Buddhists), I made my way up to the Vulture's Peak (it took me 13mins and 10mins to run up and down that flight of stairs) and checked out the remains of a stupa (marking the location).

After a sumptuous lunch at the Raj Regency (where we had fish right in the middle of nowhere), we proceed on to visit the Nalanda University ruins (Rs100/S$3.23 per entry). Founded in 5th century AD, Nalanda was considered (at that time) as one of the great universities at that time. It was reputed to be so large that when the invading Afghans sacked the university, the libraries burnt for 6 WHOLE months!

Anyway, I had to admit that I did not pay due attention to the details as the midday heat was getting into me. Started to feel lethargic and was so glad when the bus finally pulled into Gaya Junction Railway Station 4 hours after leaving Nalanda (delay due to a flat tyre though the tour guide refuses to let us get off the bus to buy the freshly fried samosas from a stall that was just beside where our bus had stopped). The train was fast becoming like a mobile home to me but I do not really care; getting a shower was alot more important at that moment.