Prayers to Lord Rama in Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameswaram

This is a post that has been in the drafts for nearly a year now! And what a coincidence I opened it this morning to complete it. It is only fitting since today is Rama Navami and I have just returned from a trip to Sri Lanka [ a country that is filled with stories and remnants of Rama & Sita] 

A few years ago, one afternoon a friend called asking if I would like to accompany her & her family on a trip to Rameshwaram. I was thrilled and immediately said "yes". I had been dreaming of visiting Rameswaram for years, but it was just not happening. Mom & gramma told me that "Rameswaram" and "Kasi" are two places where the more you talk about going the lesser are your chances of actually going. 

So that year I had decided to stay mum about this wish of mine and see what happens. Lo Behold, the trip was actually happening! 

We took a train to Madurai and from there a cab to Rameshwaram. Friend's uncle had booked rooms at ISCKON in Rameshwaram. After a good night sleep, we were up and ready. The handbag and a bag with change of clothes. We made our way to the temple where a man met us and took us around. First was to the ocean behind the temple, where we stood while my friend did some puja with her uncle & aunt. And then they went ahead into the ocean to take the 24dips. Following them, the others did. I went with the last batch and did about 24 dips as well. The ocean surprisingly was calm and there were no waves at all. 

After this, we walked out, picking up our bags towards the Ramanathaswamy temple where we were to go around the 22 Theerthams [wells with water from certain rivers] and enjoy the bucket full of water poured on us by the men manning the wells. Phew! we were all tired by the end of it. Managed to find a place to change into dry clothes and slowly headed towards the main Sanctum. Legend has it that it is 22 because it indicates the 22 arrows in Rama's quiver.The first and major well is called Agni Theertham and the last one Ganga Theertham. 

This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is a popular pilgrimage site for Shaivites, Vaishnavites and Smarthas. The Temple is also one of the 12 Jyothirlinga temples, where God Shiva is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlingam meaning "pillar of light". Another story goes that in Ramayana, Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu payed to Lord Shiva here to absolve any sins that he might have committed during his war against the demon king Ravana in Sri Lanka. In order to worship Lord Shiva, Rama wanted a large Shivalingam. He instructed Lord Hanuman to bring the Lingam from Himalayas. But since it took very long, Rama built a smaller one here which is the main idol worshipped till date.  

A beauty of this temple is that it has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in the entire country!! And it is beautiful. As you walk along, you will see pillars on either side with intricate carvings and bright colours. Infact, if you are not sure of where you are going, you just might lose your way! Which did happen to us, one group was at the main gate where we had entered and the other was lost. God bless helpful Samaritans, if not for them we would have gone around in circles looking for each other!! 

  

And today is Rama Navami-  a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Rama to King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya of Ayodhya. Lord Rama is also said to be the 7th incarnation of the Lord Vishnu in the Dasavataram. Today at home gramma makes panagam, neer mor and offers special prayers to Lord Rama & Sita... 

To know more about this temple, visit here

SriLanka- Accommodation - Colombo Haven, Kollupitiya

We came to know of this place through our cab driver and were we glad he did! We checked in the day before we were to fly out of Colombo back home. The place is tucked away in a narrow lane behind Carnival Ice cream. Once you enter, you feel as if you were home. Our room was in the basement and it was one large room- there were 2 large beds, a TV, modem with wi-fi, a huge bathroom with the works! there was also a kettle to make your own cup of tea or coffee in the room. There were 3 lights, an AC that kept us happy in the warm summer day. 

The room we stayed in is called "Banyan Den"

The front, near the entrance

Our room

 

The bathroom

 Elaborate breakfast they served us the morning we flew out

Upon mentioning we were vegetarians, John & his wife served up a feast for us- each of the dishes were divine and we ate away greedily! The room was priced at $60 dollars including breakfast and for dinner they charged $5 only. The couple were warm, caring and made our stay a memorable one. The place is about 20mins from Galle Face beach and is on the main road, so there is easy access to banks, stores, restaurants and everything else you could desire! 

I highly recco this place to anyone travelling to Colombo, Sri lanka!

Address:

# 263/6 Galle Rd, Colombo 9, 

Sri Lanka

[In the lane behind Carnival Ice cream] 

Ph: +94 11 2 301672

Website: http://www.colombohaven.com/

Srilanka- The departure

So, now that we were done with the Planning and Research, we had our ticket and our bags were packed. Since we were flying out of Madurai, both of us left our resp destinations the prev night and reached Madurai morning 6ish. We met, had some breakfast, freshened up and hailed an auto to go visit the Temple. The auto driver offered to wait, and drop us at the airport for Rs300. We agreed, esp since it gave us peace of mind regarding our luggage [ we were wondering if we had to lug it around] and we had a ride to the airport [12-15kms away]. 

He patiently waited the hour while we did the Temple Darshan and dropped us off at Madurai airport. We were early, we had reached by 9.15 when the gates were opening only at 10. We sat and waited in the lounge. At 10am, we checked in our bags,  and were asked to fill out Immigration form - it contained fields where you had to fill in- Name, nationality, city of residence, date of travel, passport number, issue & expiry date and the address we were headed to [make sure to mention city name if not the entire address]. Once this was done, we once again had to wait for a while for the Immigration counter to open.  A man checked out passport and the form, and put a stamp and sent us on our way.  

Always carry your passport and a copy of the ticket/visa along with you!!

{yes I clicked this selfie after the stamping]

We made our way upstairs and waited few minutes before security check in. Once that was done we were off to the gate to wait for Boarding call. 

Ta da.. we were all set to hop on the shuttle and get into our flight. Lo Behold, I noticed that our flight was a small one, a Spicejet "Laung" Bombardier Q400. Our seats were in the 18th row and so we had a short walk to our seats.! Buckled in, we were all set to take off.. 

And this began our Sri Lanka Holiday....................... :-)) 

Srilanka- The Hotel Research

Now that you are done with Planning the trip, it is time to do some research and get some information on the country, places to see, things to do, and other little matters. 

While my friend continued to speak to the contact she had in SL, I did some research through friends and the good ol internet as well. I gathered itineraries from friends who had visited, from a travel company nearby and even checked out quite a few blogs. There were a few places that all of them recommended, and some were extra, which left me with a lot of thoughts. My friend and I went to and fro on Whatsapp talking about the list of places to see, where to stay and local transport, etc.. It was mind boggling, but amazes me now that we managed to pull off a trip entirely via Whatsapp.. :D 

Some sites to refer for 

Hotel options:

http://www.agoda.com/en-in/country/sri-lanka.html

http://www.booking.com/country/lk.html

http://www.tripadvisor.in/Hotels-g293961-Sri_Lanka-Hotels.html

B & B's

http://www.tripadvisor.in/Hotels-g293961-c2-Sri_Lanka-Hotels.html

http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/sri-lanka.html

http://www.bedandbreakfastworld.com/sri-lanka/asia

On our 1st night in Colombo, the one thing we both wanted was to stay at a place that had the Ocean view. And for this, we chose "Lafala Hotel and Service Apartment". It was a brilliant place, the room was lovely, balcony doors opened to the view of the ocean. There was a large palatial bathroom, with a huge bathtub and a view of the ocean as well. The entire road Welawatte beach road was a pleasure to walk on. The ocean on one side, rambling trains nearby and buildings/hotels on the other side.  The one thing I noticed that most hotels here had was "free wi-fi" [It was such a blessing as I had work and friend was able to skype/whatsapp her family as well]

You can book a room here via Ctrip or Agoda. The room costed us $54 and they threw in Breakfast for one person complementary, the other we paid for. 

In other places we stayed sheerly based on inky pinky ponky, and ofcourse whatever looked impressive [good yet affordable]  :- ) But if you know exactly where you are headed, you can book ahead and save a few dollars here and there!! 

More to come in the next post..