SOMNATH VISIT (B) - 549

     BARODA - SOMNATH VISIT 

The Baroda to Somnath Travel covers a distance of 480 Kms . The Travel Agent we zeroed in  was Neel Travels . We had negotiated with him and arrived at Rs 14/- per Km for our entire 3 Day journey on their Brand New Suzuki Ertiga Car which could accommodate seven  persons comfortably . The point to be noted is that not once did our Car cross the 80 KMPH Mark during our entire 3 day Sojourn. 

The Driver went by the name of Bharat who became more of a Guide and a Travel Consultant with each passing hour . This being a CNG car it became necessary for a Refill almost after every 160 Kms .

Fully Fueled we left our place of stay which was very close to the Baroda Airport at 12.00 Noon . 

We were headed for Bagodara as the first place of halt which was at a distance of 130 Kms . The roads were extremely well laid and wide. There seems to be hardly any difference between the State and National Highway .

The Tea Break was at AMBER HOTEL near the Highway . The Somosa was simply out of this World . The Fafda which was something new to everyone except me in the group was a welcome change . The Ginger Tea in the Small Paper Cups was a totally new experience .

Refueled , we were on our way to Rajkot via Virpur . Rajkot is a very big city and has a very large number of Industries and Assembly Units  . Our driver was smart enough to take the By pass of the By Pass road , enroute we  passed a Railway Level Crossing which had Gondal Railway Station on the other side . 

This brought back fond memories of stories which I have heard many times over from my Parents . My father was in charge of the Railway Line being laid in the Rajkot To Gondal Section . His Home was in a Railway Carriage which went by the strange of a SALOON  in Railway Parlance . This Carriage is supposed to have had an Office , Living Room, Bed Room , Kitchen and a  Toilet .  I as a small kid have been reported to have spent nearly a year with my Parents in these parts and in this Railway  Coach . The de javu is hard to be expressed in words  .

The next stop was at  Junagadh where we stopped bye to have yet another cup of that refreshing liquid in small doses which went by the name of Tea . We were on our way to Somnath our final destination for this leg of our trip  which we reached around 9.00 pm .

We had booked our place of stay at Athithigruh . We noticed that it had an Eatery , very next to the Hotel . There was an all pervading smell of FISH even as we opened the door of the Car . We assumed that this emanated from the Eatery next door .

We checked in and on enquiry of a decent Vegetarian  Eatery close bye, we were informed that the Hotel Next Door was an Exclusive Vegetarian Restaurant and the smell of fish was from the very many Fish Processing Units all around .

Relieved , we had our dinner and called it a day .

Our plan was to Visit the Somnath Temple Aarathy at 7.00 Am . This we did in quite some style and went around the main Temple quite a few times . The beating of the Drums , Blowing of the Conch , Cymbal Sound and the loud chanting of HAR HAR MAHADEV all go on to make this a totally unforgettable experience.

Taking of Pictures is totally prohibited in all the Temples in these  areas .

Other places of worship included the Triveni Sangamam , the meeting point of the Rivers SARASAWATI , HIRAN AND KAPILA , Laxminarayan Temple , Bhalka Theerth Mandir and the Gayathri Mandir .

After a sumptuous GUJARATI Breakfast we were on way to our next Port of Call , Dwaraka and Beyt Dwaraka . 

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