Riding Bikes in Lumbini

Lumbini is a quiet dusty town with two roads, one dirt and one paved. It is one of those towns you could easily pass by without realizing anything special was hidden there. However with the help of two bikes and a map we found a dozen giant breath taking Buddhist temples. Lumbini is the birthplace of Buddha and many Buddhist groups have built monasteries to celebrate the Buddha and his mother. Each monastery is built in the architectural style of its region. There are temples from Japan, China, Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, Korea and Tibet among others. The Tibetan temple is behind me. We spent two days riding bikes on tiny winding muddy paths through the forest. Now and again an unbelievable structure would rise from the horizon and we would have another gigantic structure to explore. There was hardly anyone else around except for temple guards dozing off in the shade or young monks going about their daily routines. A great sense of peace exists here.