Trips with Abhinav

  On the morning of October 19th, I and my dad left early in the morning for the Kempegowda International Airport. We had to go to the Terminal 2 of the airport to catch the 8:40 am flight to Delhi. Then we reached Delhi airport. We got our luggage and our 8-hour-long journey to Mussoorie started. At around 7pm we reached the foothills of Mussoorie and the view of lights was just breathtaking. We reached the hotel also situated on a mountain. Then we had dinner in the hotel. It was around 9℃ at that time. We turned on the heater feeling warm but after sleeping we had no feeling of the temperature dipping. The next day we woke up and thought of just going for a walk to the hotel for breakfast but as soon as we stepped out the views of the snow-capped Himalayas were just beautiful. Then we had breakfast and left for Kempty Falls the first destination. Nestled in the Indian Himalayas, amidst soaring mountains and sparkling air, lies Kempty Falls It is 1364 meters above sea level. ...

On the early morning of August 12th, I left for the mysterious city of Chidambaram with my sister and a few relatives. The same day it started raining heavily so we waited until it stopped raining and went on our way to the temple. The temple was quite huge with hundreds of pillars. As it was a Saturday it was a little bit crowded. Then when we reached the main sanctum, it took some time to decode how the idol really was as it was covered with garments and embedded with jewels. We stayed at a good hotel. Chidambaram is not just a town, but a mystery. It is home to one of the oldest and most magnificent temples in India, dedicated to Lord Shiva as the cosmic dancer, Nataraja. But what makes this temple unique is that the main deity is not an idol, but an empty space. Yes, you read that right. The innermost sanctum of the temple has nothing but a curtain of golden leaves, behind which lies the secret of creation, the Chidambara Rahasya. This secret is said to be revealed only to those w...

  Srirangam is a river island in Tamil Nadu, famous for its Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, the largest temple complex in India, and the biggest functioning Hindu temple in the world. It is also one of the 108 Divya Desams, sacred places for Vaishnavites. I had always wanted to visit this holy place and experience its rich heritage and culture. So, when I got a chance to go there with my friends, I was overjoyed. We reached Srirangam by a KSRTC Airavat bus from Bengaluru. We checked into Hotel Hayagriv, a comfortable hotel near the temple. After freshening up, we headed to ISKCON Srirangam, a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Krishna. We had a delicious lunch there and enjoyed the serene atmosphere. Next, we visited Kaatazhagiya Narasimha temple, a small but ancient shrine of Lord Narasimha, the half-man half-lion incarnation of Lord Vishnu. We were amazed by the intricate carvings and sculptures on the walls and pillars. We also saw the Dashavathar temple, another old temple that dep...

Wednesday 28 September: I had to get up at 4 in the morning to catch a train at 7 in the morning. We went to the railway station and we had a nice walk until the end of the train we had to board the Karwar express. Our coach was called the Vistadome. The train then started. The views of the western ghats from Sakleshpur to Subramanya road were amazing! We could see ranges of mountains stretching to the horizon. Many waterfalls, streams, and a lot of tunnels came in our path.   Then we reached Mangalore junction. In Mangalore, we freshened up and left for Tannirbhavi beach. The water there was cold. We even saw the beautiful sunset there. Then we came back and ate in Pabba's cafe. We ate our dinner at the Sagar Rathna hotel. Then we come to the end of Day 1. Thursday 29 September: We woke up early in the morning and then left for Kudroli Gokarnatheshwara  Temple. It was quite huge and nice. Then we went to the 11th-century Kadri Manjunatheshwara temple. I had a pleasant feeling...