TRIP TO TRIYAMBKESHWAR AND sHIRDI

Around 20th October, my sister was planning to go there, so I thought of joining her in Mumbai.

First day
From Chennai, I took a flight to Mumbai in the morning around 8.30 and reached there at 10.30.By the time I came out and met my sister it was 12.o clock. We hired a taxi for 3 days, it was Swift dezire.quite good.and started our journey to Shirdi. Roads are good, and so is the greenery on the sides, so its a very pleasant journey, we drove for around two and half hours, and then took a break for lunch..There was on restaurant called Shiva..looked quite ok. but found the food very spicy for our taste, I was so enthusiastic about tasting missal pao, but couldn't relish a bit. On the the way, we got very delicious fresh guavas. chatting and eating, the journey was a total delight.In Shirdi we had booked the hotel Eshosans Palace, just opposite the temple..and it was good. We just put the luggage, had tea and came out for darshan, since they were clebrating centenery, so there was huge crowd, and next  day Modiji were reaching there. .Earlier there were no VIP tickets or anything of the sort, now they have done everything a replica of Thirupathi, My nephew got the ticket of 200/-per person and we stood in the queue, I have been there earlier also but there was nothing like this, now they have made 2-3 more small temples of Shani, Hanumanji and Ganpati in the campus.We stood in queue for two and a half hours and when we were just exhausted, got darshan and came out. By that time we had been so tired of standing that we had no stamina to see anything else, just returned back to hotel and on the way saw a restaurant of sardaarji, and thought that here food would be good, but still to be on the safer side we ordered stuff paratha with curd..and lo..paratha was stuffed with green chillli...Now we were determined that next time we have to tell them that put less chillies.

while going to darshan we saw the market, and it was stuff with local merchandise, golden bangles and earrings, bags, all were very good and reasonably rated.

Second day
Next day we got up relaxed and had the breakfast there..it was good..idli,pongal and poha and got ready to get a feel of the area but till 11, there was no movement of vehicles allowed , so waited and then started for Nasik...its hardly a two hour journey, so reached there , checked in hotel Reviera,,we had a suite here..quite spacious and good, but bathrooms were better in Shirdi.We had lunch in the hotel, and then my nephew wanted to relax, but we sisters wanted to utilize the time fully, so went out to see panchvati,tapovan,, and there one auto wala told us that he would take 200/- and show us all 7-8 points of importance there, we took it, and first one we saw was a cave where Seetaji stayed for some time,we couldnt see it, as there was a notice that people who are fat and with high BP shouldnt enter, we are both:)..there was one place where people feed the cattle, we also did it, next was a temple for Lakshmanji, and the place where he cut the nose of soorpnakha,, and then the place where kewat took them across godavri..thats a very scenic place and a little developed also, but we were so tired of climbing stairs and coming down that we just saw all from a far only. We we were so tired that neither could go t the ghat, nor could see a very old temple there..even asked my nephew to bring us icecream at hotel only. We just came back , had dinner and tried to sleep as  next day was early pooja,

Third day
We got up early at 4 o clock to go to Triyambkeshwar..A jyotirlinga....It is 30 kms, so after getting ready we started at 5.30 and reached there at 6 AM. Then we contacted the priest and he took us inside from the back door..only for those who do special pooja, for general darshan, there was again a big line.Here the one who does pooja, has to wear only dhoti..means unstitched cloth only. Temple is awesome, so huge area, all from stone, its magnificient,,we go there and do Abhishekam, and then the priest takes my nephew near the shivling..here only men are allowed, rest all of us can see from a distance. Here Ling is in form of a pit, which is always full of water from Godavri from down..and it represents three gods..Brahma, Vishnu and Shiv, thats why its called Triyambkeshwar,That dhoti is discarded there and we come out.When you see such places, one gets totally awed by grandeur and how in those days they made such beautiful places....
Then we came out and he asked us to go to nearby ghat..where one should usually take a bath before pooja, but we could only wash hands and face. That place was not maintained at all, everything was so dirty and though it was forbidden to have bath there, people were taking..it looked like a stagnant pond. Anyway we came back to priest place for a special pooja.his house made me feel so different, like cant explain even, how we have changed, it was totally old style..would love to live in such a place.Pooja took 2-3 hours and after that we were famished and wanted to have something, nearby was a local joint, and there we had poha and vada pao and misalpao..all ok with tea and came back to our car.
To see there is meeting point of two holy rivers there, we went there, but there is lot of stairs and trekking involved, I was totally done,there is one Neelambika temple, some people said its shaktipeeth, so my sister went up, I waited in car..and we started back for Mumbai.On the way had lunch and reached  the hotel around 6 pm.Then went out to see Juhu beach..its so dirty, our chennai beaches are way better that that, and it was very humid also, since my sister wanted to see a little of Mumbai.we went to carter road, but I was exhausted with heat and exertion , so asked them to drop me at the airport, though they were not agreeing, I told them to leave.

I took my flight back and came back to Chennai.