My Temple Trip to Dwarka via Ahmedabad

Someone had suggested to me to go to Dwarka via Ahmedabad. Seeing Dwarka temple was my long dream for me. I had seen so many fabulous pictures of beautiful Dwarka temple. Anyway I needed to see Ahmedabad as I had heard that this city has a lot to offer. So I was ready for ” Kuch Din To Gujariye Gujarat Men”.

I made some arrangements for my stay in the city first with help of my OYO App. I was a first timer for Ahmedabad. So I googled many items of informations about the city. However this city was not so unfamiliar to me because my favourite TV serial ” Tarak Mehta Ka Ulta Chashma ” is based on Gujarati characters and they do not shy mentioning about Ahmedabad and its culture again and again. I was most fascinated about Gujarati food being a foodie. I was waiting for my encounter with Jalebi-fafda, Kathiavadi Thali, Oondhai, Aam Ras-Puri, Thepla, Handwa, Keechu etc. I had seen in the serial a place in Manik Chowk, popular for its street food. So I was all set for Ahmedabad.

Ahmedabad : Touched Down

My flight for Ahmedabad was from Bangalore at 6am. It was on time. I landed in Ahmedabad in 2 hours. First thing you will notice is weather. It is really warm. I am talking about April month. Specially coming from Bangalore you will feel the change in temperature. Second thing you will notice is that the local people here love to talk to you and you will find them very friendly.

I got my cab through my Ola App for my hotel that was near SG Highway (Sarkhej to Gandhinagar), a brilliantly made 6 lane highway. You will find skyscrapers on both sides of the road.

I reached my hotel in 40 minutes and found the hotel quite good. Staffs were supportive.

I was raring to see Ahmedabad but the weather was really so hot that it kept me inside the hotel. I waited for the evening. Meanwhile I came to know that the ISKCON temple was nearby my hotel. So I decided to visit the ISKCON temple first and then I wanted to go to Manik Chowk, near Ahmedabad Railway Station. As I was to be in Ahmedabad for 2 days only, I wanted to cover this city as much as possible.

Took an auto for ISKCON in the evening and reached the temple in few minutes. You will notice in Ahmedabad that you dont have to fight with Autowallahs for getting their fare meters on. They will do it on their own. Here you have to take care of one thing if you ride an auto. Here in the local auto meter,you cant see the fare in rupees. Instead of that you will see points. Suppose if you hire an auto and you see 120 points then you will be charged Rs 52. All autowallhas carry a fare chart which you may ask for if you have any doubt. You will find the meter in the left side of the auto in a round shape. See pictures.

The ISKCON temple is comparatively a bit smaller here. But you will find the deity well kept and worshiped. But I felt the temple should have been organised yet better. The temple is situated on the highway itself. You wont find any problem to locate it.

From the ISKCON temple I left for Manik Chowk. But here I would like to tell you that this market opens in the night at 8.30 pm onwards. I had to wait for 2 hours there. At first site Manik Chowk appears to be just another chowk of any city. But it turns into a huge street food festival venue after 8.30 pm in the night. Local people are fond of eating and you can see the evidence here.

Manik Chowk:

Apart from local popular delicacies, you find all foods from South, Punjab and North. I think there are more than 1000 food items to be chosen from. You may be spoilt of so many choices.

There is a common seating arrangement for you. You can sit anywhere. Vendors will approach you for your order. I decided to taste local foods and found them awesome and filling. You will find many fusion foods too. I tried butter sandwich with sparkling chutney of green chili. It is worth trying.

I returned back to the hotel around 1 am. I found Ahmedabad very safe. You should not worry for your security.

Law Garden:

Next day I decided to go to Law Garden that is famous for hand-made dresses. In Navratri time you will see these dresses being flaunted by local people doing Dandia.

It is really a good place to do shopping. But be ready for bargaining hard. 100 ka maal 40 men mil sakta hai. I came to know that in the evening there is a gathering like Manik Chowk behind Law Garden.

If you are in Ahmadabad, you should visit Akshardham Temple of Gandhinagar. I visited there too. If you go by OLA cab from SG Highway, it will cost you between Rs 140 and Rs 180. You can take bus too from Gujarat State Transport Bus Terminal that is situated near Gita Mandir, Kankaria. Bus ticket will cost you Rs 48 for Akashardham Temple. The bus stops just near the temple.

In the temple you will have to deposit your phone at a counter. Remember to take your belt out before entering the premises for security reason. Keep it in your hand while you are checking in. Later you can put it on again.

Like other Akshardham Temples, it is also a very beautiful one made of red stones. Visiting the whole premises of the temple will take at least 1 hour. You can also use its cafeteria for all kinds of fast food. Do try Swami Narayan Khichadi plate in Rs 60 that will be served with an Amul curd cup.

The third day I was all set for my Dwarka Temple tour. Dwarka is city of Lord Krishna. I decided to take bus for Dwarka. It takes 9 hours. However you have options for trains as well from Ahmedabad.

Wind Mill:

When you are about to enter Dwarka, first of all you will see huge and enormous wind mills. I mean they are really huge.

Dwarka is a small city. You should prefer to stay near the Dwarka temple as the entire important parts of the town are nearby. I had stayed near bypass. The auto took Rs 20 for dropping me near the Dwarka temple. You will notice so many cows on the streets. In fact they are everywhere. They are worshiped here. People feed them.

Dwarka Temple : City of Lord Krishna
 

It is considered one of the 4 Dhams for Hindus and it was founded over 2500 years back. This incredible temple has the imprints of ‘Chalukyan style’. Its height is aprox 52 meters and it is a 5 storied building. Limestone has been used for the temple. This temple looks amazing on the bank of the Gomti River.

The sculpture of Lord Krishna,well-known as ‘Shankha Chakra Gada Padma Chaturbhuj’or Dwarkadheesh, is made up of lustrous black stone measuring 2.25 ft in height, holding a conch, the Sudharshan Chakra, a mace and a lotus in its various hands. You will be amazed to see this form of Lord Krishna.

Before entering the temple you are needed to deposit your camera, mobile and any luggage in the locker room. Then you may take tulsi mala ( Rs 10/each ) or some prasad to offer the Lord. You can purchase prasad for your dear one from a counter. Price list is written on a board there.

Just behind the temple you may go to see the Gomti river as well as the sea.

In my next post I will share my experience with you about trips to other places adjacent to Dwarka.

Happy reading and travel safe!!! Cia!!