I wasn’t planning to write so soon after my Bandhavgarh trip. I thought it would be quiet for a few weeks, but I guess that’s not the case. One of my college friends, Rohan, planned to come to Patna. He had to attend a wedding in Banaras and decided to come to Patna a few days early to chill and explore. He is a free soul. He loves to talk to everyone on the street and try different things. So, that’s how the plan started. He came to Patna on 31st January, and Yash and I went to pick him up from the airport. He was supposed to stay at Yash’s place. It was already late, so we decided to catch up the next day.
Now, Rohan had been to Patna only once before, and that was for two days. At that time, the situation was kind of grim, so we didn’t get the chance to show him around much. But this time we wanted to show him the real Patna. We started the next day with breakfast at Yash’s place. Then we went out and showed “Marine Drive” to Rohan. It’s a new place in Patna built along the Ganges, and it’s pretty. After that, we went to have chai near the airport. I don’t really like chai, but there’s this place that makes it really well. We called Taha and asked him to meet us near a cafe in Patliputra. Rohan had met Taha the last time, so he was excited to meet him again. I asked Rohan to try the Nutella cappuccino that I really like, and he was game for it. Then, we went for a late lunch. It was almost 5 PM 😛. We explored many more places, went to have some Thandai at night, and then I left for home.
The next plan was to show Rohan some interesting places. There are many, but we decided to go to Rajgir and Nalanda. It’s around a one-and-a-half-hour drive from Patna. The Ruins of Nalanda are one of my favourite places. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a must-visit if you are in Bihar. Just standing there and thinking about the gravity of that place amazes me. But first, we wanted to show him another ASI site near Rajgir. It’s supposed to be the markings of chariot wheels from the time of the Mahabharata. I don’t really believe in all this, but since Rohan is religious, it’s a good story to tell. On the ground, there are shell inscriptions that have not been deciphered till date. From there, we went to the Rajgir Wildlife Sanctuary. Our plan was to visit the safari and then the glass bridge. We got the safari tickets, but the glass bridge tickets were sold out. We left for the safari, and it was amazing. I can’t compare it to the Bandhavgarh safari because it was an open jeep in Bandhavgarh, but here it was a closed van. But nonetheless, it was fun. We saw spotted deer, a sloth bear, a tiger sleeping in the grass, and a lion and a lioness. It was afternoon, so most of the animals were just resting. The safari took around an hour, and then we went to the Aviary. It was a huge enclosure with birds from all over the world. It was a treat to watch them. As we were coming to the exit, Rohan went to the counter and started chatting with a person from the sanctuary. He came back with the glass bridge tickets😲. He is from an army family, so he mentioned this, and the guy just gave him the tickets. He is very persuasive. We then went to the glass bridge. Now, I must say I didn’t like it much given my fear of heights. It is so huge, and the second I looked down, I felt fear creep in. But still, I went ahead to the edge of the bridge. They allow 3-4 minutes per group, so we took some pictures and then came back. It was a nice and thrilling experience but something I would not want to do again 🙃.
It was almost 3 PM, and we had to see the Ruins of Nalanda and also go back to Patna. But there was very little time to explore the Ruins of Nalanda, so we decided to skip it and chose to go a little further to the place where Dashrath Manjhi cut the hill after his wife died because there was no road to the hospital. And they call the Taj Mahal the symbol of love. I love this place too. The road to this place is also very beautiful with huge barren mountains everywhere. We watched the sunset there and then left for Patna. That was the end of Rohan’s trip to Patna. Before leaving, I asked him how he found Patna, and he said it was amazing and he couldn’t wait to come back and visit all the places that we couldn’t cover this time. There are so many places here that I need to explore myself. Such rich history and culture, and I am glad people are starting to see it.
February was supposed to be a chill month. I had no plans. But I guess I was wrong. I also have a social event to attend in a couple of days, which is making me nervous, but I will push myself to go. Then, it will be a couple more weeks before I leave for Bangalore and have a stress-free vacation in March, as I need to start working on a big project in April and need to be in a good mental space for that. I am looking forward to this trip because the next vacation might be in late 2026 or early 2027. Till then, I will try to make the most of this one.
