Bodh Gaya & Delhi - India 22

Bodh Gaya is a little village surviving entirely on tourist trade.
Delhi is a giant city currently under terrorist alert from the American government.

Despite their differences, they can share a post.

The river alongside Bodh Gaya is a beautiful sandy river. I expect an adventure travel group to offer return trips back to the Gaya railway station based on canoeing/kayaking/floating down river.
Delhi is dirty, and when it rains, Delhi is muddy. In Delhi the streets are paved, but several of the bazaars and neighborhoods cover the roads with a nice thick layer of dirt.

Bodh Gaya has a UNESCO World Heritage site a giant buddhist temple, many stupas, and a descendent of the original bodhi tree, under which Buddha gained enlightenment. The only search at the gate is where they ask you to remove your shoes and pay camera fees.
Delhi has a fresh clean metro railway where you are scanned, frisked, and your bags are thoroughly searched. This is even standard when there isn't a terrorist alert.

There are probably 8 or 10 Buddhist temples in Bodh Gaya, each with a different flavor of decoration. The Japanese Temple was as Spartan as their traditional homes and had little more than a statue of a Buddha. The Red China and White China temples both followed the same tradition: overwhelm in numbers. The Red China temple had dragon after dragon along with 3 buddhas and beautiful murals. The White China temple had 100's of 4-inch high buddhas lining the walls (add one for just 100Rs!) along with the 3 buddhas. Incidentally, the Japanese also donated an 80ft tall statue, which appears to be falling on the viewer.

I have yet to find a way to contrast Delhi. Suggestions are welcome.

Delhi did have an amazing number of kites for sale. As I walked through Chondni Chowk there must have been 100 stalls selling various kites. With all the power lines, one would have to be at a park or in a river to fly them.

I head to Agra, in observance of possible terror.