We then had a long hot journey to Lumbini. Along the way we ran into protestors who were blocking the road. The political situation in Nepal at the moment is tense as they are trying to form a federal government. The Maoists have suggested creating states based in ethnicities, and this is what the people were protesting about. However it seems like the government will not form states on this basis. Either way we did have a police escort at one stage through a town. We never felt threatened as if you smiled and waved the protestors would generally smile and wave back.
Because of the threat of protest we decided we would look around Lumbini after we arrived so we could leave early in the morning.
Lumbini was very hot and humid. It's a complex of temples and monestarys built in honor of lord Buddha who was born in Lumbini. So we visited the place where he is said to have been born from the armpit of his mother. We also viewed some of the various monestaries that have been built by different countries. Most impressive were the Chinese and Korean.
After this we finally checked into our hotel. Unfortunately the hotel was not what we expected. The place itself was nice but a lack of power and water made out stay there a little uncomfortable. Espiecially when it's forty degrees outside and there is an air conditioner on the wall that won't work. This however seems to be the way things are in Nepal, things aren't always as they seem, and while things may be started out with best intentions, so often it seems as though things are left half finished or incomplete. So it was a restless night for all as we sweltered in the heat and listened to Mosquitos buzzing around our heads. We were all quite happy to board the bus and head to our current stop, the hilltop town if Lansen.
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