RAMESWARAM
Now this was one short and sweet trip and it could not be better.
So I traveled from Chennai with two of my friends.
Rameswaram is an overnight journey from Chennai, ten hours to be precise.
So we simply took a bus Saturday night, reached Sunday morning and took a bus back Sunday night.. so simple ryt!
Now Rameswaram is known for the iconic Ramanathswamy Temple, for being one of the Char Dhaams and has immense mythological significance. The temple of course has beautiful architecture like other prominent temples in the State. The thousand pillars ( I tried very hard to find the place where that picture of all the pillars converging has been taken but could not), long corridors, the high compound walls, the 22 tirthas ( holy water bodies), the aura of all the stories about this temple being built by Ram and Sita themselves is astounding.
But before that we had to freshen up :P So we got down at the bus stop and figured out from the auto driver that there are few places where you can freshen up at a nominal price and also get a locker for your stuff. Plus this place is right outside the temple. You have a lot of nice restaurants nearby where you can have a sumptuous breakfast and start your day.
After visiting the temple we wanted to chalk out a plan for the places to see. It seems every auto guy also has a tourist places checklist. We hired one auto for the full day travel and we covered everything.
We saw Kalam Sir's house, his school and his recently inaugurated Memorial. It does make you wonder yet again how a person from such a humble background did so much out of his life and created so much impact :)
Dhanushkodi - The next place to visit was Dhanushkodi, also the place for which I was most excited. Dhanushkodi is an abandoned town which got ruined in the cyclone of 1964. What we have left now are ruins of an old churche, railway station etc. We were lucky that the road till the tip of Dhanushkodi got recently opened and we could directly go till the end in our tuk tuk. The sight of a well made road with only sand on both sides which merges into the sea is an irony! At the end of the road, we got down and went to the beach to see beautiful clear blue green waters. One can just sit there for hours and be worried about nothing. On the way back there is another temple from where Lord Ram planned how to enter Sri Lanka. The city is filled with such stories of Ramayana and its a treat for anyone interested in mythology :)
Pamban Bridge - So Rameshwaram is actually a city on the Pamban Island and in the olden times, this railway bridge used to be the only connect of the city to the mainland. <Fun Fact - This was also the longest sea bridge India had till the Bandra Worli Sea Link was made in 2010 > We went to the adjoining Annai Indra Gandhi bridge from where we could see the Pamban bridge. Just the fact that from the top you can see the water below and have wind in your hair makes the whole experience amazing :) I also did try to educate my guy friends about different shades of blue taking color of the boats as an example but in vain :P
On the way back to the bus stop, we stopped at a place where it is said that Sita wanted to drink water and Rama pierced a bow inside the earth to get water. We do have a nice aquifer there from where you can stand see the calm almost still sea below. Another place where we just sat for a while, cracked jokes, talked and created memories :)
I really wanted to see Ram Setu ( a bridge built by Ram to Sri Lanka) but it seems we can see that or any part of it only through a satellite.
Location - Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, India
No of Days - 1
Total spending - Rs 3000 ONLY!!
So I traveled from Chennai with two of my friends.
Rameswaram is an overnight journey from Chennai, ten hours to be precise.
So we simply took a bus Saturday night, reached Sunday morning and took a bus back Sunday night.. so simple ryt!
Now Rameswaram is known for the iconic Ramanathswamy Temple, for being one of the Char Dhaams and has immense mythological significance. The temple of course has beautiful architecture like other prominent temples in the State. The thousand pillars ( I tried very hard to find the place where that picture of all the pillars converging has been taken but could not), long corridors, the high compound walls, the 22 tirthas ( holy water bodies), the aura of all the stories about this temple being built by Ram and Sita themselves is astounding.
But before that we had to freshen up :P So we got down at the bus stop and figured out from the auto driver that there are few places where you can freshen up at a nominal price and also get a locker for your stuff. Plus this place is right outside the temple. You have a lot of nice restaurants nearby where you can have a sumptuous breakfast and start your day.
After visiting the temple we wanted to chalk out a plan for the places to see. It seems every auto guy also has a tourist places checklist. We hired one auto for the full day travel and we covered everything.
We saw Kalam Sir's house, his school and his recently inaugurated Memorial. It does make you wonder yet again how a person from such a humble background did so much out of his life and created so much impact :)
Dhanushkodi - The next place to visit was Dhanushkodi, also the place for which I was most excited. Dhanushkodi is an abandoned town which got ruined in the cyclone of 1964. What we have left now are ruins of an old churche, railway station etc. We were lucky that the road till the tip of Dhanushkodi got recently opened and we could directly go till the end in our tuk tuk. The sight of a well made road with only sand on both sides which merges into the sea is an irony! At the end of the road, we got down and went to the beach to see beautiful clear blue green waters. One can just sit there for hours and be worried about nothing. On the way back there is another temple from where Lord Ram planned how to enter Sri Lanka. The city is filled with such stories of Ramayana and its a treat for anyone interested in mythology :)
Pamban Bridge - So Rameshwaram is actually a city on the Pamban Island and in the olden times, this railway bridge used to be the only connect of the city to the mainland. <Fun Fact - This was also the longest sea bridge India had till the Bandra Worli Sea Link was made in 2010 > We went to the adjoining Annai Indra Gandhi bridge from where we could see the Pamban bridge. Just the fact that from the top you can see the water below and have wind in your hair makes the whole experience amazing :) I also did try to educate my guy friends about different shades of blue taking color of the boats as an example but in vain :P
On the way back to the bus stop, we stopped at a place where it is said that Sita wanted to drink water and Rama pierced a bow inside the earth to get water. We do have a nice aquifer there from where you can stand see the calm almost still sea below. Another place where we just sat for a while, cracked jokes, talked and created memories :)
I really wanted to see Ram Setu ( a bridge built by Ram to Sri Lanka) but it seems we can see that or any part of it only through a satellite.
Location - Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, India
No of Days - 1
Total spending - Rs 3000 ONLY!!
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