First solo trip to India's end point

When my friends started to cancel the plans for short/long trips, I planned to start travelling solo. After a lot of research and exploring vlogs, I decided to start with a short trip. As I like to explore some unique places, I decided to go to the last land of India – Rameswaram. A place where lord Rama has built Setu to reach Lanka and also the famous Rameswaram temple – which is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas and one of the Char-Dham yatra.

I planned my Journey from Hyderabad to Madurai and then headed to Rameswaram.

I started my journey from Hyderabad and boarded a flight to Madurai and reached Madurai Airport at 06:10 pm. As I was travelling solo and it was a short trip, I had only check-in baggage, so I did not have to wait to collect any Cabin baggage. I straight-away headed to Exit and came out. To my surprise, the weather was pleasant. I tried to book Uber Auto but none of the Auto accepted my ride. There are only Uber Auto and Bike available in Madurai. So, I dropped the plan to book online and inquired to the security personnel about the ways to reach near Meenakshi temple. They advised me to book Airport cabs as they are the safest mode of travel. They have all the records of the trips, cabs and drivers with Airport security, and it is safe to travel, though it is costly. As I had no other option, I booked a cab and paid Rs. 700 (fixed rate) and reached near the temple. I had heard about Gujarati Samaj which is just 300 metres away from the Temple. I entered the Samaj and enquired about the rooms or dorms available. I booked a room @ Rs. 350 had Gujarati Thali as dinner for Rs 100 and called it a day.

The next morning, I woke up at 6, took a bath and straight away headed towards Meenakshi Temple. Mobile Phones/Camera are not allowed inside, so I left in my room itself. I walked to the temple which was 300 meters and entered from the South gate. There was some puja going on so I had to wait in the queue for 40 mins. Finally, I was able to do darshan after one and a half hours. I went to my room, packed stuff, had breakfast in the samaj itself and checked out from the room. As I had to catch the bus for Rameswaram from M.G.R Bus stand, I enquired the in-charge of Samaj to reach the bus stand. As per his direction, I walked 1 km and reached the Periyar bus stand. And upon enquiring Bus conductor I boarded a bus to MGR Bus stand. (Ticket Rs 8). I reached MGR in 20mins and searched for Rameswaram Bus. I got to know there are no AC buses available, so I boarded a non AC bus and boarded a window seat on the left-side. I was aware that I can get a nice view of Pamban Bridge, from the left side. Ticket Price Rs. 136. The bus started at 9 am and reached Rameswaram at around 1 pm. Upon getting down I boarded an Auto to reach near the temple and search for the Dharamshala or lodge. Auto took 100 Rs for 3 km distance. I found out the other day that there are bus services also available from the bus stand to the temple. I reached the temple and enquired a few dharamshala. But they don’t give rooms to single people. They have instruction from Police to not give rooms to single person as few years back someone has committed suicide. I somehow managed to get a room in a lodge (Siva lodge @ 1300ight for AC Room). It was scorching heat and I was also tired of the bus journey. Had some rest in the room and then walked out to explore nearby. I headed to a tea shop, took tea and opened google maps to check places which I had a list to explore apart from the main temple. To my surprise, all the places were at a distance within 2 kms only. I decided to start walking covered places like Agniteertham (100 mts), Abdul Kalam house (1.2 km), Ramar teertham, Panchmukhi Hanuman temple, Nataraj temple, Doordarshan tower all within 1 km. Just one place remained which was Ramar Padam (3 km). I enquired about many autos and after bargaining booked an auto @ Rs 250 to and fro Ramar Padam. There is foot step of lord Ram and also a mesmerizing view from the terrace. You can go to the 2nd floor and get a nice view of Rameswaram Island. It was time to sunset so I clicked a few pics, came down and headed towards the temple. Spent some time in Agniteertham, people were taking dip into the holy water and heading towards the temple. I had dinner at Gujarati Bhojanalaya and walked to my room for a good night's sleep.

I woke up at 5:30 next morning and walked to Agniteertham to enjoy the beautiful sunrise. I had a few shots in my mobile cam and returned to my room to leave my phone, shoes and all belongings. Just to Rs 25 for Kund snan and headed towards Agniteertham. As per the belief, you need to take a dip in Agniteertham and take holy snan from 22 kund (to wash all your sins) and then enter Rameswaram temple. I took a dip in Agniteertham sea water, and walked towards kund snan. Took a ticket of Rs 25 and entered on a general line. You have to walk towards the 22 wells and the person in-charge of the well will pour water on all the people from the well. After completing the snan, you have to change the clothes as you cannot enter the temple in wet clothes. There are a few locker rooms to change clothes, but as my room was nearby, I went to my room got changed and walked back towards the east gate of the temple. It was the only entry point to the temple. Encountered a long queue of 1 hour and finally had a nice darshan of Jyotirlinga. Walked out of the temple through Prakaram (corridor), as it is said to be the World’s longest temple corridor. I missed my mobile phone to capture the beautiful shot. I came out of the temple, had breakfast at Gujarati Bhojanalaya and went to my room. I took my phone, shoes and other stuff and went on exploring the last land of India Arichal Munai and Dhanushkodi. I enquired with local shopkeepers and got to know that I can get a bus to Dhanuskodi from the temple road only. If you book to and fro Auto, they will charge 1000 Rs and cabs will charge much higher. As I was solo, I waited for the bus and finally boarded. Tickets charge Rs 30 and after 30 mins I was amazed to see the beauty. The bus was running on a good small road and there were seas on both the sides. To my left, it was the calm Bay of Bengal and to my right it was the restless Indian Ocean. The bus reached the last stop Arichal Munai and I went down to experience the beautiful view. I walked to the last point of India, where the Bay of Bengal meets the Indian Ocean. The sun was glowing at its high, but the oceans were blowing the air with a sprinkle of droplets. I spent almost 2 hours there to enjoy the beautiful view. Local vendors were selling cut fruits, goli soda and ice cream. I had a cornetto and boarded the bus back. After the bus travelled 4 km, it reached Dhanushkodi which is basically known as Ghost town. None of the passengers were keen to get down so I went to the driver and asked to halt the bus near the light house. I went down and the bus went ahead. I reached the light house entrance and saw a board of lunch break. I had 15-20 mins of time to pass so I crossed the road and walked 5 mins to reach Church. Basically, Dhanushkodi is known as Ghost town because it was destroyed in a cyclone in 1964. Dhanushkodi has a church, Railway stations and houses to many people. But when the cyclone hit, it all vanished and it never got back to its original. You can still see the sign of Railway tracks and one wall of the destroyed church. There were few locals selling sea shells and other related products. After spending 15-20 mins I walked back to the light house, took a ticket for Rs 10 and reached the top of the light house via lift. The wind was blowing like anything, but the view from the top was breath-taking. You can see both the sea and ocean in the respective direction and a beautiful road in between. This was a life time experience. I got down after 15 mins and boarded the bus back to Rameswaram. I took a rest that day and had dinner at the same Bhojanalaya.