October 10 - Saranth and Silk

As we boarded the bus shortly after 10, it was strange to realize it was still morning. We had been up for almost 6 hours already. Tiredness hit Steve and me. He dozed and I did my best to pay attention to Sanjay's information for our next stop at Saranth, the ancient Buddhist learning center. It was here that Buddha preached his first sermon to his disciples. There is a temple with interesting frescoes about his life, an outside exhibit showing him preaching, the Buddhist stupa (discovered by an Englishman in 1836), and the Saranth Museum that houses sculptures of Buddha and Hindu gods and goddesses. I decided not to pay the fee to take pictures in the temple. Better buying a set of postcards of Saranth and Varanasi. As we walked into the museum, there were hawkers on both sides of us, but we all ignored them. Getting very good at doing that.

Again, onto the bus for a ride to "King of Brocade" The Mehta International Silk Weaving Center (a family owned/run business that has existed for multiple generations), located near our hotel. We were given a demonstration about the weaving they do on the looms. There were bottles of soda and fruit for us to have while the proprietor showed us some examples of the beautiful work they have in their shop. Bought a few items. (Couldn't resist.) We will be faced with the challenge of fitting everything we bought into our suitcases. We can manage, I'm sure.

In our room, there was a bottle of wine. We had some with fruit (left yesterday for us) and English "digestive" crackers that I had bought at the Khajuraho Airport. Good snack.