On 16th Jan we decided we had to visit the Kumbh Mela, Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi. Dad joined me on the trip from Mumbai and I from Dubai. Here is post on my experience.
I tried to book flights from Dubai to Ayodhya but seemed all commercial flights had
a halt in Mumbai, Bangalore or Delhi. We fixed our itinerary from 21st
Jan to 24th Jan.
On 21st Jan the most optimum route for me seemed
flying Indigo, Sharjah 01:55 to Lucknow 06:55 and taking a bus transport at 12 pm to
spend some short time in city and travel to Ayodhya. Spend a day or two in
Ayodhya head to Prayagraj visit the Kumbh Mela and head to Varanasi.
21st Jan
Arrived in Lucknow airport at 06:55 but it was too early for
the city that couldn’t find a local breakfast. Dad Spicejet flight to Ayodhya
from Mumbai had been delayed to land at Ayodhya at 11.
I forfeit my bus at 12 pm and took a cab from Polytechnic Chauraha (Reaching here was easy a metro costing 60 Rs from Lucknow airport to here). I booked a sharing cab which took me straight to Ayodhya costing me 450 Rs. I had mid morning butter aloo paratha and headed to sleep.
Our hotels were such that we were 400 mtrs from Ram Mandir. Dad
took a cab from airport to hotel which is 30 min away. However due strict security
measures the Ayodhya police doesn’t allow out of Ram Mandir registration town
cabs to drop off at the hotel. A local rickshaw brings him to hotel. We made
sure to travel light.
After lunch at Udupi express we walk around the city a bit
and headed to siesta nap.
At 4 pm we decided to pay Ram Lalla a vist. Due to our odd
timing we didn’t need a VIP ticket which needed to be booked 15 days in
advance. We had a smooth Darshan and in 45 min we were out of the temple complex. The main
temple is built with a similar stone used in Abu Dhabi temple (red marble) but
surrounding areas are still under construction.
We head to Hanuman Garh and Bharat Kund which are in walking
vicinity. Our energies are high now thanks to Bhakti (a Hindi word for spiritual
motivation)
After a quick dinner we decide to forfeit our next day hotel
stay avoiding staying one more day as we have covered the main events.
22nd Jan
Our Honda Amaze cab Ayodhya -> Prayagraj -> Varanasi (costing
us 9000 Rs) was ready at 06:30 again from outskirts of Ram Mandir complex which
in 4 hours would take us to Prayagraj. It seems expensive but hotel stays in
Prayagraj prompted us to use this route.
Its foggy in the morning, so a little tense but the drivers
all use parking indicator lights to notify the trailing cars.
We reach Bada Baghada Parking at 10:30 and start walking
towards Sangam Dwar ( a place where you can take holy dips). We made a mistake
of walking which was a 6km journey(also the entrance we chose the police had barricaded
the EV scooters path) but on the bright side we get to see a plenty of sadhus
resting, the ISCKON distribution center. After a tiring walk we reach the
Sangam Dwar at 13:30; another 500 mtrs and we reach the river bed. We take a
holy dip blessing at the Triveni Sangam bank(A confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and
Saraswati) river and after quick steamed corn snack we decide to start our back
journey. By this time we are very tired. Luckily we head to main road from here
at 200Rs a person the rickshaw drops us right to our transport car. We now start
our onward journey to Varanasi which is 3 hours drive.
Our hotel was 400 mtrs from Assi Ghat in Varanasi. We were
amazed by narrow lanes of Varanasi but it is called the golden bird city (सोने की चिड़िया) of Uttar Pradesh. There
were a plenty famous brands showroom which you generally see only in
Tier 1 city. After a light dinner. We book a tour guide at the hotel reception
for the next day.
23rd Jan
We wake up at 7am and head to Kashi Vishwanath temple. We
book a priest and quick entry darshan (costing 500 Rs plus dakshinas). Again in
45 min we were lucky to finish the darshan. The Shivling in the temple is situated
down so if you plan to visit look down when your turn comes. The temple campus
has been expanded by buying land from the local priests. In the campus is
the Gyan Vyapi mosque which is in dispute in courts. The back structure of the Gyan
Vyapi mosque has same marble tower and patterns as the Kashi temple. We have a
quick delicious breakfast of special Puri (made of wheat, fenugreek, and fennel
crushed seeds) and Chokha.
We visit Kaal Bhairav Mandir and Durga Kund. We were late
for Sankat Mochan temple so we headed back to the hotel at 13:30. A relaxed veg
(our entire trip is pure veg) lunch at Nathu’s a 1939 built establishment. The
highlight was sweets for lunch was a delicious tiny jaggery balls laddu which
breaks in to tiny round pieces. We definitely don’t miss out on local Banarasi Sweet Paan.
At 16:00 we finish Sankat Mochan temple buy our ladies the
famous Banarasi silk sarees and head to Assi Ghat and book a one and half hour
river cruise over the Ganga ji river Ghats. Roasted peanuts with shell is our
staple on the cruise. At 18:30 the boat
halts in the river we witness the famous evening Ganga aarti.
(It is advisable to book a local
tour guide in Varanasi (available at all hotel receptions) as they negotiate
with rickshaws for you and reduce your travel time within the city. All the
temples are not at walking distance from each other)
At the banks of Assi Ghat we do
our pooja and order the famous tomato chaat. The Ganga Aarti lasts for 1.5
hours.
For dinner the highlight was a Paneer
and Sattu stuffed litti with chokha. For dessert we order the famous malai (a light
milk foam) and head back to hotel at 20:30 which is at walking distance.
24th Jan
We visit the Jangamwadi Math (envisioned
and funded by the Wadiyar dynasty of Kodagu) at 07:00 and 108 Shivling Mandir
called Mani mandir in vicinity. After idli and dosas for breakfast we have a
thandai. We got to also see bhang crushing process which we avoided consuming
in our thandai.
One more commendable thing of Uttar Pradesh is they avoid using any form of paper cups. All tea is served in kulhads ( an earthen glass). We use EasemyTrip.com a public listed entity for our flights, hotel booking for which I am a shareholder. It is priced correctly now after the recent dip.
At 12:00 we head to the airport
for our flight Varanasi to Mumbai. Nirulas the famous Delhi eatery spots had an
ice cream counter at the airport. We shared a tutti fruit ice cream after lunch
and waited for our Akasa Air a Boeing 737 max flight which was delayed by 2
hours.
Back to Mumbai at 19:50 and I take
a flight back to Dubai after 3 days.
Thank you and Jai Shri Ram!
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