TRIP TO DWARKA .. ONE OF THE FOUR DHAM!!

Dwarka is a place where lord Krishna lived.Original Dwarka believed to be sunken in the sea. Bet Dwarka which is believed to be part of original is in small island 30km away from main dwarkadhish temple.  It is one of the most prominent religious site and considered as a one of the four dham in India. Dwarka is situated in western tip of India in Jamnagar district Gujrat. It is well connected by train and road from main cities like Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Jamnagar, Rajkot. We had planned for 4 day trip 1 day for Dwarka, 2 days for Ahmedabad and 1 day for Udaipur. In this blog I will explain  in detail what we did in Dwarka in our first day trip.
As there are lots of things to share about Dwarka so I will divide the day into two parts i.e First half of the day and second half of the day.

We booked bus well before from Ahmedabad. Buses were mostly deluxe coach. You will not found any multi axle bus. Fare was very cheap. For two seats, the fare was around 800 INR.  It was around 10 hr travel to Dwarka. Around 8 AM we reached Dwarka near Bhadrakali Chowk

First Half of the day:

 When I get down from bus and take a look the surrounding.It was look like abandoned city. All the constructions was old. Roads are covered with dust. There was so much dust that you cant see the wall paints. As the trip was only for one day we didn't book hotel. So we needed a room for freshen up. We hired a Tanga( Horse cart). He took us to a guest house near to the Main temple. He charged 20 INR for that. After that we book one room and it charge us 400 INR.  We entered the room and got freshen up.

We first decided to go Bet dwarka then we will do local sight seeing. As we missed the first bus, we changed our plan and did local sight seeing first. There was only two govt, dwarka darshan buses which are running  from Dwarka to Bet dwarka one is at 8 AM and another is at 2 PM which costs 80 INR. There is not much transportation facility to Bet Dwarka. We took the same Tanga wala (Horse cart) which we took earlier while searching for the guest house. He charged us 200 INR and did all local sight seeing. All sights are in 2 km radius. So it didn't took much time. Around 10 AM we started local sight seeing.
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First we visit Gita Mandir which is around 1.5 km away from Main temple near to the Arabian sea. It is a small temple of Krishna and Arjun Symbolizing the lessons which Arjun learn in Mahabharat.

After visiting Gita Mandir I tried learning how to ride tanga. It was so wonderful of riding tanga. You can see the pic.

Then we visit Bhadkeswar Mahadev Temple which is next to the Gita mandir and on the Arabian see. Concrete path is there to go to that temple. During high tide the sea water come above the concrete path hence the temple disconnected  from main land. The view there was awesome. Small temple surrounded by mass of blue water. You will feel like you are at western tip of India.

Besides the temple there is sunset point. You can sit and relax there. As we visited this place in morning we did spend much time there. After that we visit Gayatri Shaktipith. We spent few time there and came back . There is not much to see there. Then we visit Swamynarayan temple and  finally Dwarkadhish temple. It was a majesty temple standing in middle of the town. You can see the temple flag from quite a distance.Way to Dwarkadish was like narrow corridor Lots of small shops leading to Main temple.

 Tanga wala stopped at main road as it cannot go on narrow corridor. We get down at main road, paid him and started walking through narrow corridor. We reached main temple,as camera and mobile phone was not allowed inside the temple, we only could able to take photo from outside.

After depositing camera and mobile in counter we entered the temple. There was huge crowd inside.All are chanting "Dwarkadheeees ki jay". There were lots of God and Goddesses surrounding the main temple. If crowd is not there, it will take aroud 1 hr to visit the temple. We first visited the Krishna temple, the main temple. It was standing bal gopal with full of flowers on it. We visited all god goddesses one by one. After visiting we came outside.After that we purchased prashad from outside of temple. We took lunch in Dwarka peeth. They were charging 20 INR per head with unlimited food. Don't expect tasty and delicious food there with 20 INR. You can find lots of vegetarian restaurant near to the temple. There is no option for Non-veg and drinks. One thing to notice water here is salty. It is believed that Rukmini got cursed by Rushi Durvsa. Because of that Rukmini temple is away from Lord Krishan Temple and because of this curse Dwarka city water is salty. After taking lunch we planned to go Gomti ghat but at that time it was already 12:30 PM and we were very tired and we had to catch 2 PM bus for Bet dwarka. So we canceled the plan and came back to guest house for rest. 

Second half of the day:

We took the 2 PM bus for Bet dwarka darshan. You have to book bus ticket well in advance otherwise you will not get ticket and may have to wait for next day. We started our second half journey towards Bet Dwarka. On the way we stopped at Rukmini Temple outskirt of Dwarka town (reason I mentioned earlier). You will see a small temple besides the road. Outside the temple lots of Sadhus (saint) will be there and other side of road you will find people offering gunny pads to cows. 

We spend around 20 min there and then moved to next place Nageswar Temple. One of the twelve jyotirling in India. You will find a big Shiva statue outside the temple. 

After visiting the temple we moved to Gopi Talav( Gopi Pond). It is believed that the gopis could not bear their separation from Lord Krishna. They offered to sacrifice their lives to the land and merged with their beloved. It is said that they turned into yellow clay, known as Gopi chandan. Even today the soil of the Gopi talav is extremely smooth and yellow in color. 

There is not much shops there. You will find few stores selling traditional bags, cloths. Most of selling Gopika Chandan.

Finally we reached Bet Dwarka. Our guide told bus will stop here for 2 hr. In that 2 hrs we have to go to the island on a boat. Do darshan of Lord Krishna and come back. All people rushed to the boat. We wait near the Jetty stand for few minutes as no jetty was there. After few min one jetty came, we board to the jetty. Soon it became very crowded. Then Jetty started conductor collected 10 INR from each person. When Jetty was in middle of Sea to Bet Dwarka. The view was awesome. Lots of White birds came flying across in search of food. You  can see the picture how beautiful it was.

When you will reach Bet Dwarka you will see lots of traditional market selling sea shells and other traditional things. Temple is near to the Jetty stand and in walkable distance. So don't take auto. They will take you in different way to that temple and charge you 20 INR per head.We reached the temple, the temple was too old. It is believed that Lord Krishna's grandson made that temple in memory of his grandfather. Here also Camera and mobile phone was not allowed.So I couldn't able click photos. After depositing mobile and camera we entered the temple. In this temple, door is opening in every 15 min interval for 5 min. In that 5 min you have to take darshan, if failed than you have to wait for  15 min for next  open. There was nothing to see other than Lord Krishna temple and few traditional shops. There were few Pandits who were giving pravachan about Lord Krishna life inside the temple. But we had only 2 hr for all these things. So we came out quickly. Yo can see the picture of Main gate of the temple, inside the main gate and traditional shop.

We came out to catch boat. It was around 6 PM and time of sunset. The view was just awesome when sun is setting far in the sea. Orange colored scattered in the sky. 

We took snacks from road side stall and came to the jetty. We returned back and reached Dwarka town around 7 PM. As our bus to Ahemdabad was at 8:30 PM. We checked out from our guest house and took dinner in the market. Then we returned back to Ahmedabad. Now our next trip was Ahmedabad. I will post what we did in Ahmedabad in my next blog.

TRIP TO HAMPI

Hampi is a world heritage site which is located in Bellary District in north Karnataka. Nearest railway station is Hospet which is 12km from heritage site. Hospet is well connected to  big cities in India. Private buses are also running from Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune.
We went by train from Bangalore. It was for 2 days trip. It took  9.5 hrs to reach Hospet. We reached by 7:15AM there. We took auto to Hampi. which cost us INR 500/-. When we reach Hampi the experience was completely different. We felt as if we did time travel and reached in 15th Century. No modern construction was there. Full site was archaeological site. Every stone there was 500 year old. You will find few construction besides Virupaksha Temple (Main Temple in Hampi).
I will explain in detail you what we did  in 2 days.

Day 1:

There were no much hotel there. There is not much option to book hotel online also. You can book hotel by calling to hotel no. or by mail.We booked hotel across the Tungabhadra River.  You can easily cross river as regular govt fairy is running. Boat rider will collect INR 10/- from each. While waiting for boat to arrive at pick up point we saw Lakshmi (Elephant name), bathing in Tungabhadra river. It was very nice experience to watch elephant closure to you.

Few minute after  boat came and we crossed the river to check-in the hotel. As it was not a peak season, price was relatively low at that time. We kept our luggage and again back by crossing the river. We took breakfast near the Temple and started our journey. We rent by-cycle to roam around. Hampi is very small place. All spots will come with in the radius of 2 to 3 km. So by-cycle is the best option there to roam around. Each by-cycle cost us 90 rupees per day. You will get by-cycle shop near to the Virupaksha Temple. First we visited Virupaksha Temple. This is the only temple there which is 500 year old and active. Entry fee for this temple is INR 2/- per head and INR 50/- for Camera. It was very nice construction .

After that we visited Kadelakalu Ganesh Temple. It is named after his belly shape.

After that we visited Hemakunta Hill Which was very nice. It is not very high but you can see whole Hampi from there.

Then we came back from hill and visited Sasivekalu Ganesh temple. It is named after he tied Shes Naag on his belly after eating too much.

Then we visited Sri Krishna Temple. It was very nice. few construction was broken as it was very old. There is an ancient  Local Market on the other side of road. It was reflecting how people trading and worshiping god at that time. You can see picture of it.

After that we visited Ugra Narshima Statue  and moved ahead to visit Under ground Shiva Temple which was below the plain land. We went inside. There was Water coming out from land. We have to pull up our pent to go inside. It was very nice experience. You can see picture of it. How beautiful it is.

Then we move ahead to ruined palace where Raja Krishna Devraya and his younger brother lived . First his younger brother  palace will come. There was nothing much to see as every thing was ruined. There was one mosque which was still there.
After that Krishnadevraya palace will come. At the entrance there is Hazra Ram Temple which was very nice and well maintained. These is a beautiful lawn besides the temple.
After visiting the temple we entered the campus. Huge area full of ruins.There are Great Platform which was in good condition. Raja constructed this after winning one battle. Now every year Dussera is celebrating there.

 Besides it there was stepped tank. It was used to be bathing area of people who were living inside the palace. There is another bath area just outside the main campus. That was for workers.

Just behind the main campus there was bath place for Queens which is called Queen's bath. That was nice and well maintained.

It was 1 PM. we decided to have lunch. There is a place Kamalapur which is just 2 Km away from there. We went there and took south Indian Lunch. Yo will not get much options for food there.
Than we are back and went to Zenana Encloser. Entry fee for this was INR 10/- per head. It was nice and well maintained.Inside the Zenana, Raja Made Lotus Mahal for his Queen which was air conditioned.

Besides Lotus Mahal  there was Elephant stable. It was huge.  It indicates how powerful Krishnadevraya was. Besides this There is a museum.

We took rest there for few minute, it was 4:30 PM and we were very tired. So we decided to call off for the day. We came back to hotel and took rest.
There is nothing to do at night there. So you have to be in your hotel room.

Day-2

We started our 2nd day journey after taking breakfast. We decided first to visit Sanapur Lake which in other side of River on which side we booked hotel and after that we will go to visit Vithhala temple rout. As Boating starts at 10AM morning, So around 8 AM we started our journey to Sanapura Lake so that we can come back to river bank by 10 AM. We took auto and went there. when we saw it was not a lake but was a reservoir. Its view was nice.

  After spending some time we came back and joined Vithhala Temple rout.As this rout was little bit hilly so you can't take by-cycle. It is around 2km distance by hilly area. There is auto and bus service also there which will take you to Vithhala temple by road which is 10km. But if you will go by road you will miss many things this way. So we decided to go by walk. The hill was not that stiff. You can walk easily and there are so many things to see you will never feel tired.
First we visited Monolithic Bull. Huge bull made up of single stone. It is situated opposite road of Virupaksha Temple.

After that we visited Achyutyarai Temple. Which was in built in big campus. There was an ancient  market outside the temple.

 After that we walked over the hill there was Sugreve cave. You will easily identify it as it was white painted. It was a small cave.

After that we reached Vithhala temple complex. Entry fee is INR 10/- per head. It was very nice and construction was so beautiful and also very well maintained. There was a Ashok Chakra which raja made after getting impressed on Sun Temple construction in Odisha.

It was very huge temple and also clean. It was very nice feeling to visit the place. You can see picture of it.
It was 5:30 PM evening. We have to come back and after taking dinner we had to catch train back to Bangalore. So we returned back to hotel and checked out and started our journey back to Hospet. We took dinner near the railway station market and board the train and came back to Bangalore..

Trip to Kashmir (Paradise on Earth)

Nothing to say about Kashmir. Just name "Kashmir" is enough to identify the paradise on earth. The most beautiful place on earth. Me and my wife planned to visit most beautiful place. As it was going to  be our first trip after marriage. So we decided to visit Kashmir as nothing is as beautiful as Kashmir.We decided to go on March 23rd 2015. 

Day 1:

     So as per plan we reached Srinagar. When you enter Kashmir Valley the first major attraction you will found "Dal Lake" in Srinagar and Mountain besides it with snow on top. Such an enchanting view you will never forget. 

We can't stop our self to take a Shikara ride there. Our driver stopped at Ghat no 6. We took Shikara ride package of 1300 INR which includes 7 spots i.e Floating market, Nehru park,Furniture Market, 3 spot where Bollywood film shoot happened.  It was such a beautiful experience in Dal Lake as if we are in lap of nature. We did shopping in floating market. The quality and price there was much better than other markets. Here is the photo of floating market.

After that we checked in to hotel and took rest for the day.

 About Hotel: We booked hotel, in Nishant,Walisons Resorts which is a very nice hotel and its restaurant is small but nice.

Hote Charge: 2733 INR for 3 nights

Day 2:

We went for Srinagar city tour which includes Nishat Bag, Shalimar Bag, Sankracharya Temple, Botanical Garden, Hazratbal Nishat Bag and Shalimar Bag were alike. Entry fee for all the gardens is 10 INR. The view of Hazratbal was nice. It is besides the Dal Lake.

Sankracharya temple is on top of the hill.The view from there was just awesome.You can see Srinagar city from there.

Most of the spots are around the Dal Lake. Half day is enough to visit all spots. After finishing our Sight seeing trip we took lunch in Market near to the Dal Lake. You will find most of the restaurant near the Dal Lake only and are average. You can't expect hygiene place except few. Price are reasonable.   

After Lunch we walk along the lake side. It was pleasant feeling by walking besides the Dal Lake. Snow capped mountain, cool breeze, Dal Lake view all to gather was just like we were in some dreamland. You can also see lots of people walking and enjoying the best of nature. 

Day 3:

 We took breakfast at hotel and start our journey to Sonmarg. It is about 80km from Srinagar around 2hr journey. But you will not feel bore in that 2 hr. The roadside view was just awesome. Mountains full of Snow. Complete white surrounding. Nearby villages were look like igloos. If you are planning to Kashmir never miss Sonmarg

. Temperature was -1 degree centigrade.We reached there and hire horse ride as outside cab was not allowed after that. Horse rider charge 3000 INR for 2 for all sightseeing. It was worth it as the place was just awesome. Horse rider gave us rain cum winter jacket and snow boot as the temperature was very chilly . We experience snow fall there. I can't explain how much we excited there by seeing snow fall. There was a waterfall where "RAM TERI GANGA MAILI" film was shoot. We took slage car which took 600 INR for 2 to reach to waterfall. But salge car is not necessary there. You can walk to that place. Only 200m away from horse parking.The snow was so fresh that you can play with that. We couldn't play as the temperature was so chilly that we couldn't able to walk properly. But still I can't forget that wonderful experience of snow fall and white land around me.

You will not find any restaurant there so no food and water available. You have to your own from Srinagar. We returned back to Srinagar and took rest in hotel.

Day 4:

 We checked out from hotel and started our journey to Gulmarg. We were ready for India's highest cable car ride i.e. in Gulmarg. The town under the snow.  It was around 50km from Srinagar. When we reach there every where was nothing but thick layer of snow. Around 10ft height of snow everywhere. Constructions, Poles, roads were look like as if we are in some other country. Everything was beautifully designed. 

We checked in to hotel and took some rest. The view from our window was just awesome. We can't wait to watch the nature from closest. As the full town was full of snow, it was difficult to walk on the snow. We took Slage car and a guide to cover all the spot. It took 2200 INR and Snow boot and jacket  for 500 INR. There was golf course, Gulmarg lake, but because of snow every thing  was covered by snow. So all the places was look a like. So there was no need of guide. We went for cable car ride. There was 2 phases. As there was full of snow, our guide told no need to go to 2nd phase as view will be same. So it took 1200 INR for 2 up to 1st phase. We went inside the cable car. Take the cable car which glass is clear and no scratch to view the best.Cable car started. The view from cable car was just unavoidable. Here is the view from cable car.

We reached on 1st phase. There was full of snow.Everywhere nothing just a white landmass.

 We played snow game there, move here and there. 

After 1hr we came back and took lunch. There were not so good restaurant. You can found few restaurant near the Gulmarg taxi stand. Price are little bit more as compared to the quality of food. You can't expect nice food there. Just to fill your hungry belly.

Day 5:

We roam freely on the road of Gulmarg. there was not much crowed. We clicked lots of photographs there. 

Day 6

. Around 3PM we left the place to Pahalgam. It is around 130km from Gulmarg, around 3 hr journey and the journey was full of excitement and eye soothing. Pahalgam road was so beautiful that you will never want it to finish. Full of Yellow fields every where. It was look like as if we are in heaven. Many times we stopped car and took photo of the place.

We reached Pahalgam and checked to hotel and took rest for the day.

Hotel Information: You will find very few hotel and restaurant here that too quite high price . We booked hotel Welcome. 6200 INR for 2 nights.

Day 7:

As outside Pahalgam taxi is not allowed inside . We hired local taxi to visit the place. We took for Aru Valley and Betab Valley. It took 1100 INR. It was full hilly area travel to reach Aru valley. Lots of turns. When we reach Aru Valley we are just amazed to see such a beautiful place. It was like we are watching a scenery wall paper. As if all my childhood scenery comes alive.

Around 1 hr we took photograph, lost in the nature.After that we move to Betab Valley. That place was named after the movie Betab. The place is as beautiful as Aru. You can see the photos of Betab Valley

It took around 3hr to visit these two places. After that we returned to hotel and rest of the day we spent leisurely.

Day 8: 

We went chandanwari i.e. mini switzerland. The road was not good and muddy. So taxi cant go there, you have to take horse ride to reach there. it is around 2km from pahalgam taxi stand. It took 1200 INR for 2. If you have no time than you can miss it. There are lots of place like that. 

Around after 2hr We came back and took lunch. 2nd half we spent leisurly. We roam around local market and nearby places. Believe me local places are much beautiful than chandanwari. Here are some photo.

Hotel Information: Here also very less option for hotel and restaurant. Most of the restaurant and hotel you will find near Pahalgam Taxi stand. SO better to take hotel near to the taxi stand. Price are reasonable. 

We booked hotel Heena , 4890 INR for 3 nights.

Day 9:

Last day in Kashmir Valley. We returned back with lots of sweet memories and happiness.

For 9 days our taxi driver charged 15000 INR which was worth it. He safely drop us at Srinagar airport. 

Note: Every where you have to take Snow boot on rental. Rental price is around 100 INR for each pair. Its better to purchase snow boot in Srinagar market rather than taking on rent everywhere . By taking rent it will be more costlier than purchasing it.