Trips with Abhinav

 During the early hours of Thursday the 26th of March right after my exams I left of to the Kempegowda International airport in the BluSmart taxi that was waiting for us. Then after all the security procedures we boarded the IndiGo flight right to Bhubneshwar. After all the onboard entertainment thanks to my phone and Amazon music we landed in the Biju Patnaik airport in Bhubneshwar.  A driver was waiting for us. With a flower bouquet. We had actually booked a sedan but he had arrived with a bigger car...A Toyota Chrysta. Then we directly left to Konark. Konark is a heritage site noted even by Unesco. It is a shrine dedicated to the sun god and the deity used to be flowing in the air due to 2 magnets. It has been closed for 120 years. As per many sources it's been closed to prevent the temple from falling and internally restoration projects are in place. But only the Archaeological Survey Of India knows the reason. This temple is more than 800 years old. It was built during th...

On the night of December 25th, I embarked on my journey to Thrissur in an Ambari Utsav bus. By the next day, around 8 AM, I reached Thrissur. From there, the event organizers had arranged for a bus to take us from the bus stop to Guruvayur. It was a one-hour ride through streets lined with magnificent houses, each showcasing unique architectural styles. Our destination, Guruvayur, marked the beginning of our yatra. I stayed near the ISKCON temple in Guruvayur. After enjoying a hearty breakfast, I visited the Kesavan Samadhi. The burial place, of a remarkable elephant. This was no ordinary elephant but a devotee of Lord Guruvayoorappan (Lord Krishna) named Kesavan. Kesavan was so devoted that he underwent initiation ceremonies just like human devotees do in various temples. The Samadhi was a short walk from the hotel. After paying our respects, we returned to the hotel for lunch.  For lunch, I ate the special delicacy of Kerala coin paratha skipping the day's Prasad at the ISKCON Gu...

 On the morning of 18th April we left to Madikeri on the new and modern KSRTC Power+ one of India's most modern buses. The bus has a controlled environment with an automatic lane-changing system that works on simple keys. Moving on with the trip we passed through the urban lanes of Bengaluru to the farmlands near Channapattana through the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway to the town roads of Mysuru then the reserved forests of Coorg. The Bus journey was also a good experience. Then we checked in to the resort and took some time to freshen up and have lunch. We then left for the 1st destination of the trip, a walk through a coffee plantation that was filled with the scents of Arabica and Robusta codee plants and a bit of Sandalwood and even Arecanaut trees. Then we had a try of the special creamy Coorg filter coffee. This can be equalized to Starbucks's coffee (due to the sugar content). Popular Indian lore says that on a pilgrimage to Mecca in the 17th century Baba Budan, a Sufi sai...

 On the night of December 23rd, 2023 I left to to yet another group camp. This camp was also organized by my teacher with whom I went to Srirangam in the year 2022. Then me and 2 of my friends talked in the bus a bit and I just dozed off. The next day at around 5:30 AM we reached Fathima college at Madurai from where we had to take an auto to our Hotel. Then as soo as we reached our hotel, I just arranged my things and got ready for the next destination the ISKCON Thirupulai . There we had our lunch. Then we left for our 1st destination Nupura Ganga.  It was quite a good walk up the hill to this ancient temple. This place is believed to have the sacred water flowing past the Nupur of Lord Vishnu. The meaning of Nupur is anklet in Hindi and Sanskrit. The sources of the water from the stream which the well is filled with stays a mystery. It is said that this water has the power to Kill any sort of virus and bacteria.  Then we left to the Periya Alvar Thiruvarasu . This is...