My first stop in Nepal was Lumbini. Lumbini is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Nepal.

It is the place where, according to Buddhist tradition, Queen Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama in 563 BC.

This is what the current location of his birth looks like. Also, there is the Puskarini, or Holy Pond, where the Buddha’s mother took the ritual dip prior to his birth and where he had his first bath.

Inside are ruins, and the exact spot he was born.

I spend about 30 min in the ruins. There was a king scorpion just beside the marker stone and another one tucked into the rocks on the other side of the marker.

There was a sensation of being hot and humid and enclosed, maybe like what its like being in a womb. When I stepped outside the ruins, it was similar, but less intense, to stepping out of a sweat lodge.

Here is the area surrounding the Mayadevi temple.

Lumbini has a number of other temples, monuments, monasteries, and a museum.

The two that caught my eye were the Japanese peace pagoda and the German Monastery. It felt amazing just being at the peace pagoda. There was a freshness and vibrancy about the place.

That is all.