Saturday, March 5, 2011

So Far So Good

For the past two days, I have been getting a little feverish, I am not sure if this was a result of the low dose naltrexone (LDN) medication or from the Noni and Goji juices that I have been drinking daily. i believe it is a healing reaction and I welcome it. Yesterday, I was feeling a little tired in the afternoon and while I was laying down to take my afternoon nap, I noticed a little pain around my abdomen and ribs area.

Presently, my body feels quite good and most times I am experiencing minimal pain. Except for occasionally pain around my chest/back areas and the coughing (with blood stained phlegm), I don't think I have much to complain. My energy levels are moderate and I don't have problems climbing two flight of stairs.

India Pilgrimage Trip Update
So far, 5 of my friends have confirmed participation with three more under consideration. Unfortunately, I can only accommodate 8 people (including myself), so I will have to turn down a friend who was unable to confirm earlier because he is joining a new company and not sure if the new company would approve his long leave.

Planning for a backpacking pilgrimage trip in India is not so straight forward. I depend exclusively on trains to move between towns because it just too long to travel by roads. Trains are not only more comfortable and safer, they are much faster than traveling on the roads. However, some express trains services are not available everyday of the week. So what I have to do is to make my travel plan fit with the train schedule. That is easier said than done. So far, I have one leg of the journey (247km from Bodhgaya to Varanasi) which I have yet to find a train that will fit in on that particular day and time of travel. So the alternative is to travel by taxi/jeep. In another leg of the journey (629km from Gorakhpur to Agra), we will be spending 17 hours on the train!

Preliminary Itinerary
Day 1 - KLIA - New Delhi. In the evening, travel by train to Gaya, overnight on train.
Day 2/3 - From Gaya to Bodhgaya by taxi. Two nights stay at Bodhgaya.
Day 4 - Bodhgaya to Varanasi, by taxi. Overnight at Varanasi
Day 5 - Varanasi to Sarnath by jeep. Depart for Gorakhpur in the evening, overnight on train.
Day 6/7 - Gorakhpur to Lumbini by taxi. Two nights stay in Lumbini, Nepal.
Day 8 - Lumbini to Kushinagar by taxi, overnight at Kushinagar. Leave for Gorakhpur next morning.
Day 9 - Gorakhpur to Agra by train, overnight on train
Day 10 - Agra to New Delhi by train in the evening. Overnight in New Delhi
Day 11 - Full day in New Delhi, leave for home at 10.30pm.

Anyway, the travel itinerary is a first cut and I will have to possibly make some changes as the time nears. This preliminary is to enable the participants to have a rough idea about the pilgrimage and what to expect. Once the itinerary has been firmed, I will post it up with details and share with you. Hopefully, some Buddhists out there will be motivated to take the journey as well.

No comments:

Post a Comment