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Sunday, 19 January 2014

Travels From Jamnagar


Balachadi Beach
We would promise ourselves every time we got posted to a new place that we would make an effort to take in all the places of interest around us. Jamnagar was one of the few places we actually did this.
Driving out to the unexploited Balachadi beach was always an exciting time and we were usually the only ones walking along its rocky shore. It was rumoured that old temples built along the coast had been reclaimed by the sea many years ago and if one was lucky one could still find objects thrown up by the tide. I did find a marble Brahman bull with part of his face missing and a stone Ganesha, which I still have with me, though I could never verify if the stories of old temple ruins were true. 
When my mother came to visit we drove up to Dwarka, passing virgin beaches of golden sand on the way. Dwarka is the ancient kingdom of Lord Krishna and a holy pilgrimage site for Hindus. The Dwarkadeesh Temple was magnificent in architecture though I could have done without the kohl rimmed eyes of the young temple boys demanding to know what our cast and religion were.

The hair raising ferry shuttle to Beyt Dwarka

We took the ferry to the island of Beyt Dwarka which is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna. Myth has us believe that the city of gold was swallowed by a massive flood when he left this world and if  one looks into the depths of the ocean one can still see the sacred township. The four kilometre boat ride was literally a hair raising experience as the sea was very choppy accompanied by a strong wind so we were actually quite nervous about making it one piece and not ending up as fish food.
 We spent a few days in Bhuj with our friends Lalima and Umesh Shashtri. This quaint town with its shops full of the most beautiful ethnic craft left an indelible impression on my mind. Unfortunately most of the town was devastated in the terrible earthquake of 2001. From here we ventured out to Mandvi beach but the only memory I have is of an angry sea with dead jelly fish like creatures washed up all along the shore.
We drove the 200 kilometers to Somnath and explored the sacred complex there. The principal temple is believed to have been built in gold by the moon god Soma, in silver by the sun god Ravi, in wood by Krishna and in stone by the later Rajputs.


Somnath
 
We spent a couple of the nights at the ITDC hotel in Gir Sanctuary where we hoped to catch a glimpse of the rare Asiatic lion. We saw plenty of deer and small fauna but the big cat eluded us completely. What made it worse was hearing a raucous bunch of tourists just behind us exclaiming how they had just seen "many many loins" crossing the road!
We also explored the Union Territory of Diu which is a place infused with Portuguese history. The old fort was an imposing edifice with well preserved old bronze cannons still manning the ramparts as they must have years ago. The churches we visited also exuded a sense of peace and calm with their quaint old baroque charm.


Diu


 


5 comments:

  1. You know, we visited Somnath & Beyt Dwarka in Aug' 1989. It was exactly as you describe. Just loved the pics and their captions. What fun to see you all in these quaint photos. The boat ride to Beyt Dwarka was especially scary for all of us too then! :D

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  2. This small hotel in somnath is very centrally located in the Veraval city. The central location is one of its main features, quite close from the main train station, main bus station. The tourists prefer coming to this city because the Somnath Temple is only 7-km compared to bypass from where it is 12-km away.

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  3. Madhuram Hotel in Somnath has a complete package for any Religious or Business Holidays; we do have facility of Multi-cuisine Pure Vegetarian Punjabi, Chinese, Continental, and South Indian & Gujarati Kathiawadi. Shree Somnath Temple – 7 KM away from Hotel Madhuram.

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  4. Hotel Maheshwari one of the best Beach hotels in diu located in Upper West Side Neighborhood, Close to Nagoa beach.All Rooms Running Hot,Cold Water Fully Furnished, Intercom,T.V. Channels,Doctor on Call Rental, Air booking, Travel booking. A/c Restaurant With A/C. Bar Facilities.

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  5. Hi..thanks for sharing your travelogue and i really enjoyed reading about your experience. However, if you wish to visit Dwarka, then check out these luxury hotels in Dwarka for comfortable accommodation.

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