This is the second of four important sites in the life of Buddha, the first one being Lumbini in Nepal. This is the site where Siddhartha Gautama acheived his enlightenment beneath a Bodhi tree, and was thus transformed into the Buddha. Mahabodhi Temple is the site where this happened, so needless to say many Buddhists visit this; and a sea of dipping maroon and saffron coloured monks can be seen every morning around the temple as they worship. As at Lumbini, the...

I found myself scurrying through narrow towering alleys filled with people, bikes, cows, colourful Hindu shrines, but too narrow for cars (after all this is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world). The ancient buildings were high, so I was struggling to work out which way the shadows were falling so that I could work my way in the direction I wanted. My train had been nearly 3 hours late, and I had jumped off a station early because it look...