My First Solo Trip To Rameshwaram
We all have heard that sudden plans are always the best one. Same thing happened with me. After completion of my training I got on bench period. For two months I have never been to any place. I have not to miss this chance. So I made a plan and decided to go to Uttarakhand. As it was in my bucketlist since from my childhood.
But I have to cancel this plan because railway ticket was not available for next 2 weeks. Then I made a plan to visit Rameshwaram. And fortunately I got a tickets for my selected dates. I was so excited for this trip. As it was going to be my first solo trip.
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Journey From Sambhaji Nagar ( Aurangabad ) To Secunderabad Railway Station :
That day came and I boarded the train from Sambhaji Nagar at 4:20 AM. I reached Secunderabad station at 3 Pm. The train from Secunderabad to Rameshwaram was at 9 Pm. Now I have to wait for 6hr for my next train. After reaching the station at first I kept my luggage at cloack room.
Wandering Through The streets of The City :
I took only my small bag and started roaming around the city. At that time I didn’t know where I was going. I was just wandering in the direction the road would lead. I walked through the small alleys past the shops for about an hour. In Hyderabad, you cannot miss trying the famous biryani when you visit. I had not eaten anything since morning and was very hungry. And the temptation to eat biryani could not be stopped either.
Since I was going to visit a religious place and also it is one of the important Dhams among the Char Dham, So I avoided to eat non-vegetarian food. I went to vegetarian restaurant near the station and had a delicious vegetarian meal. There are lot of restaurants are available which is placed very close to the railway station. After that I came back to the bus stand. Bus stand is situated very close to Secondarabad railway station.Â
Hyderabad city was not new to me. Even before this I had visited this place 3-4 times. So I knew about the places to hang out or spend time here. The train to Rameshwaram was scheduled at 9:30 pm from Secunderabad station. So I still had 5 hours left in my hand. Then I decided to go to Lumbini park. Lumbini park is located at a distance of 6 Km from secundarabad station. From the bus stand you will easily get the buses to reach here. I took a bus and this is where I spent the rest of my time. I came back to the bus stand at 7 pm. Once again I went back to the same restaurant for dinner. After dinner I waited for 1:30 hr. in that restaurant.
Journey From Secunderabad To Rameshwaram :
In accordance with the schedule, the Rameshwaram Express departed from platform no.6 at the scheduled time for Rameshwaram. Finally, I started my journey to Rameshwaram. My long-awaited day has finally arrived. I had no idea that I would go to Rameshwaram this month. It all happened suddenly. As I was going towards Rameshwaram, I was getting more curious to see the Pamban bridge. As part of this journey, there is a train crossing across the Pamban bridge which is one of the major attractions. This is the moment I was waiting for.
But one thing was regretting that the train was going to pass from Pamban bridge between 3am. I knew I would’nt get to see this bridge at 3 am. But still I went close to the door. I could’nt see clearly because it was dark. The lights of the train were falling into the water. only that part was visible. At that moment I decided that I will come back to Mandapam and will enjoy this journey to the fullest. Mandapam is a town located just before the Pamban Bridge Starts.
Journey From Mandapam To Rameshwaram :Â
Train reached Rameshwaram station at 5 o’clock. IÂ take the train back to Mandapam. Mandapam is small town located just before the Pamban bridge. I waited at Rameshwaram for 1 hour and caught the train to Mandapam at 6: 15 am. There was a Madurai special train at 5:40 am. I went to Mandapam. And again I waited here for 1:30 hr to reach back to Rameshwaram. And finally I got to see that wonderful sight. The view with the sea on both side and the railway passing through it is indescribable.
Later at 9:30 I reached Rameshwaram railway station. Took an auto from the station and went straight to the hotel. The hotel I booked was around 4-5 km away from the station. I checked into the hotel and just then another person came to check in. He was also solo. He asked me, ‘bhai tu bhi solo hai kyaa’ I said, haa. And then we both decided to travel together.
Day 1 : Exploring Rameshwaram
So far I had only heard the name Rameshwaram. And the joy of actually being here was somewhat different. It was my first day in Rameshwaram. After breakfast we went to see the Ramanathaswamy temple. But before entering to this holy temple we have follow some rituals. Before entering you have to take bath in the Agni Tirtham, a Kunda.
After bathing in Agni Tirtham you can go to the temple. Before entering to temple you will get to see 22 types of Kunds. Bathing in these 22 kundas is very important. There is no need to pay money to anyone to take bath in this 22 kundas. Temple employees are there for this, so don’t need to pay. It took us around 2 hours to have darshan.
Journey Towards Dhanushkodi :
After taking blessings we returned to our hotel and we had lunch. After that we took a scooty on rent. You will easily get scooty on rent at this place. It will cost you around 400-500 per day. We left for Dhanushkodi. On the way to Dhanushkodi you will come across Jatayu temple. Make sure to visit this temple. The view getting from this road was unusual.
I have no words to describe the beauty of this place. There is Arabian sea on our left and way of Bengal on right side. It was really different kind of experience we had. And one more interesting fact about this is Sri Lanka is only 30Km away from Dhanushkodi.
We were at Dhanushkodi for 3hours. There was no desire to leave this place. At 4 o’clock we started back to Rameshwaram. After that went to Panchmukhi Temple located very close to Rameshwram temple. Panchmukhi Temple is located at a distance of 3 Km from Rameshwaram temple.
In this temple you will find the same type of stones ( Floating Stone) that were used in the construction of Ram Setu. After that we went for dinner. Later I went to drop him at the station. He had come for a day because he had some work to do in Chennai. After leaving him, I returned back to the hotel. And thus the first day in Rameshwaram went happily.
Day 2 :Â
My second day was not as special as first one. I went to see the bridge. Railway going through the sea , the view getting from here was truly mesmerizing. After coming, I went to visit the house of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam house.
Day 3 :Â Rameshwaram To Madurai
This was my third day in Rameshwram. Two days are sufficient to visit Rameshwaram. Now from here I wanted to go to Kanyakumari. I took a bus to Madurai from Rameshwaram bus stand. You will easily get buses to Madurai from Rameshwaram bus stand. I catched the bus at 9:30 am and reached Madurai at 2pm. From bus stand I went to Madurai railway station. This is the most convenient way to reach kanyakumari from Madurai. Buses are also available.
Madurai railway station is situated just 10 Km from the the bus stand. From the bus stand you will easily get an auto to reach the station. Otherwise you can also take a cab. You must know the Meenakshi temple located in Madurai. It is known as an ancient temple in South India. It is just 2km from the railway station. You can also go by walk. It will take only 15 min to reach the temple from station. There is no need to take auto or cab.
After reaching the station, I first put my bag in the cloack room. I had a little breakfast before heading to the temple. And then later I went to the temple. I was amazed by the structure of the temple. But I could’nt go inside the temle. The temple is closed in the afternoon so I could not have darshan. The temple was to open at 4 clock. But It was not possible for me to wait until 4. Because I had to catch a train to Kanyakumari at 4:20 Pm. So after spending some time I returned to station.
Madurai To Kanyakumari :
Came to the station and took my bag from the cloak room. Then I went to platform no.3 from where the train to kanykumari was scheduled. After a while an uncle came and sat beside me. He was speaking on the phone in Hindi. His way of speaking sounded familiar. Since from last 4 days I had not been heard Hindi for a such a long time. Ever since coming here, everyone has been speaking either Tamil or Telagu.
So I asked him, are you from Maharashtra? My guess was right. He told me that he is from Kalyan, Maharashtra. He came here for some business deal. We chatted for a long time while waiting for the train. We reached Nagarkoil station at 10:30 Pm. I wanted to go to Kanyakumari from here. Kanyakumari is located at a distance of 20 Km away from Nagarcoil. I was looking for auto but is was night time they were asking for more money.
I had another option which was to go by bus. So, I immediately went to the bus stand, and that uncle also came with me. Despite waiting for a long time, I didn’t get a bus to Kanyakumari. Then that uncle said to me, you can book a room in the hotel where I am staying. He told me, when I come here, I always stay in this hotel. I booked a room and freshened up. That uncle’s room was also next to my room. Next day I had to go to Kanyakumari so I went to bed early. Thus the journey from Rameshwaram to Kanyakumari ended. That uncle helped me a lot in this journey.
Day 1 : Exploring KanyakumariÂ
It was my first day in Kanyakumari. I felt a distinct joy to be at the last point of India. Kanyakumari, also known as Cape Camorin, is a coastal town located in the state of Tamil Nadu. This is the place where the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian sea, and the Indian ocean meet. Beautiful beaches, mesmerizing sunrises and sunsets, and a rich cultural heritage make Kanyakumari a popular tourist destination.
The vivekananda Rock Memorial, Thiruvalluvar Statue, Kanyakumari Temple ( Kumari Amman Temple), wax museum, sunset point, sunrise point are some of the top tourists attractions in Kanyakumari.
I took a bus from Nagarkoil bus stand to Kanyakumari at 8 Am. It took me 40 minutes to reach Kanyakumari. After reaching there, the first thing I did was breakfast. I had a dosa for Breakfast. After that I waited in the ticket line for almost 2 hours. It took me 2:30 hours to reach Vivekananda memorial as it was very crowded.
After that I went to the beach. I spent a lot of time on the beach. After that I went to see the museum. 1-2 days are enough to visit Kanyakumari. At 5 pm I took the bus back to Nagarcoil. This was my short visit to Kanyakumari.
Journey To Hometown :
The next morning my journey to Mumbai started. As I boarded the train back to my hometown, I felt a sense of pride in myself. This solo trip had been an incredible journey of self-discovery and I had come back with a sense of confidence. This solo trip had taught me that it’s okay to step out of comfort zone, to explore new places and to explore new things. This was just the beginning of my adventure and I couldn’t wait to see where my next solo trip would take me.