Varanasi / Sarnath (Utar Pradesh) - March 3rd, 2007

I spent the day in Sarnath, 10 kms. NE of Varanasi, where Buddha came to preach his famous first sermon on Deer Park, after he achieved enlightment in Bodhgaya.
Muslim invaders destroyed the city and it was rediscovered by British archeologists when excavating it.
I visited Deer Park and they have quite a few dee and was able to feed them carrots. The archeological museum had a lot of Buddhas in stone, bud stone umbrellas carved with Buddhist symbols and the lion capital from the Asoka pillars. The lion has been adopted as India's national emblem. there are many Buddha temples representing various countries, very colorful. The Tibetean temple had a Tebetean restaurant nearby so I went to eat momos (dumplings) very good.
In the way back to the hotel in Varanasi, some people throw 2 buckets of water at me from above. This was the beggining of a big festivity that was taking place that night and mainly next morning. It's a good thing I was near the hotel so I went to change clothes fast.