After a long break, here I am with my first blog for this year. And I felt sharing a travel story would be nice to begin with.
Chotila is a Hindu temple town located near Rajkot, Gujarat, India. The Chamunda Devi temple at 1173 feet high Chotila hill is the main attraction of this town. Being our "Kuladevi" (the family goddess) , this temple was due our "darshan" (visit) after Aarav turned one , and hence became our first travel destination for this year. While darshan was the main agenda, visiting my sister in law resided at Vadodara city was also a part. We thus planned a short 5 day trip including weekends which saved us two leaves and chose to travel by air from Bangalore.
Day 1- The Arrival
It was the "meet and greet" day. The morning flight from Bangalore landed in Ahmedabad after 2hrs 10mins. Ahmedabad airport is comparatively small but pretty decent. It took us exactly 2 hrs to reach my sister in law's residence (Vadodara city) in our pre-booked cab. The drive was nice as it was one straight road minus traffic. We packed our lunch from a restaurant on the way and finished the same in the cab. Aarav enjoyed this drive thoroughly and before sunset we were there. With Aarav being the centre of attention it was smiles all around. While he enjoyed playing with his cousin sister, we finished our cup of refreshing Ginger Tea and some yummy Gujarati Snacks. Freshening up, unpacking the gifts we took from Bangalore, chit chat sessions followed by an authentic Gujarati dinner "Handwo" brought day 1 to an end.
Day 2- An evening at the Park
Day 2- An evening at the Park
The weekend morning started with authentic breakfast - Khakra and Phafda. One who is fond of ghee, spices and green chillies, this breakfast combo is just right. Khakra is a round and crispy dish. In its roasted form, it is smeared with ghee and specific Khakra masalas (spices) called "Jiranu". Phafda again is a crispy crunchy dish which is dipped in "Kadhi Chutney" (the sauce) while having. The taste enhancers are the fried green chillies and shredded raw papaya salad served as sides. A cup of masala chai completed this breakfast combo.
The temperature that morning was around 35 degrees. It seemed reasonable to step out post lunch. The lunch was again a filling and delicious Gujarati Thali (a complete meal) prepared by my sister in law that included Roti, Daal, Rice, Alu methi , Shredded cabbage tossed and tampered in authentic spices, Gajar halwa and Gulab jamun.
A stroll in the nearby park, built in line with Japanese Park, seemed appropriate to spend that evening with the kids. Vast green grounds surrounded by tall trees, colourful flowers grown in a row, fountains & streams, vintage benches made this place worth for photography. Adding to this beautiful, clean and peaceful place were the Peahens and Peacocks walking around. After sunset, we visited the temple within the premises and left the place. The hunger bell definitely rang after the stroll and street food topped the list. So there it was. Pav Bhaji, chatpata Paani Puri, and yummy Malai Kulfi for desert which were enough to call it a day.
Day 3-The Climb towards the Temple
It was 7 am on a Sunday and we were all set to begin the journey towards the main destination, Chotila Hill. Being a small town, it is best reached by road. We traveled by our car however bus/taxi services are also available. It took us 5.5 hrs to cover 250 kms that included the break of approximately 1 hr. Straight wide roads again but frequent heavy loaded trucks makes the road prone to accidents. We witnessed couple of unfortunate accidents on the way and hence the drive had to be extremely careful. But the bigger challenge was yet to begin. The temple located at the hill top was connected through 675 steps. Surely sounds an easy climb if compared to the several thousands steps at Tirupati Balaji temple. But its extreme steapness, bright hot sun, and Aarav in our lap added up to the challenge. While the Powerful chant of "Jai Maata Di" kept us moving, we were totally exhausted and needles to say, breathless once we reached the top. There were good number of people who had come for the darshan and there were people of all ages. A sliding metal partition separated the male and female queues. Finally it was our turn for the darshan and the pandit performed the required puja for us. A sigh of relief once the rituals got over post which we spent some time grasping fresh air and enjoying the top view. It was then time for our descent. Stepping down the steap stairs was even more scary. It made me dizzy for sure. With Aarav in our lap, we were watchful and slow with our steps. It took us 1hr 30 mins to complete this entire visit. Once down, we had the Prasad , a glass of fresh sugarcane juice and then left the temple premises. The drive back home felt more tiring and long. We had lunch , tea and evening snacks on the way and reached home at around 10 pm. A 'Travel'some day for sure, especially for a 15 months old but the happiness of fulfilling the big responsibility soon put us into a good night sleep.
Day 4 - A Drive to Poicha
It was a usual Monday , a usual working day. But what made this day a special one was "Daal Baati" prepared by my sister in law for lunch and our visit to Poicha - Neelkanth Dham, in the evening. "Daal Baati" is an authentic Rajasthani dish. It's preparation is quite difficult and time consuming, especially making the dough (baati). But there it was on our lunch table served with chilled "Shrikhand" (an Indian sweet dish made of strained yoghurt). A short nap was surely required after that delicious lunch but then it was time to head out for our last destination in this trip, Poicha.
Talking about Poicha, it is a two hrs drive from Vadodara. The Google images during our research made it a must visit place and I am so glad we made the right choice. As my hubby then commented, if there is a heaven , it must be like Neelkanth Dham. The Swami Narayan temple spread over a massive area is clean all around. The fountains, colourful gardens, tall statues surrounding the temple makes this a photogenic site. The walk through the water flowing out of 108 "Gawmukh" (cow faced outlets), the huge "Shivalinga" amidst clear blue water and the evening "Aarati" makes it the perfect place to spend a day and de-stress yourself. Neelkanth Dham . A must visit if ever visiting Gujarat.
After capturing loads of memories, it was time for a goodbye, the travel back to Bangalore. So much of traveling and less crankiness makes me believe that Aarav too enjoyed this trip thoughrougly. As this travel tale of mine comes to an end, the remaining worth a visit places will be due till my next visit.
Well...quite a big travel story but do like it and share further if you enjoyed reading this post.
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