To the western tip of India….Dwarka, Gujarat….

It was 31 Jan 2011, when my boss told me that i had to go to Surat and Ahmadabad for work. I had never visited Gujarat before, so my instant reaction was “When” and the reply was even more surprising “tomorrow” i.e. 1 Feb 2011. So my next 1 hour was spent on looking for trains to Surat. As there were no seats available, i consulted my colleague in Surat and he told me to check for trains till Vadodara and from there on a journey by bus as distance from Vadodara to Surat was only 140 km. I looked for the trains and booked a wait-listed ticket in Gujarat Sampark Kranti, as it was only 2. So, i was sure of getting at least a RAC seat.

Dwarka Temple, Gujarat

I went home in the evening and my entire night was spent reading about Surat, Ahmadabad and the places nearby. My schedule was pretty tight and the only free time i could think of was on 4th evening (Friday). I told Adhiraaj the same and he gave me the idea of visiting Dwarka temple. I checked the distance from Ahmadabad to Dwarka and it was 450 km. It was very far for a weekend travel as on Monday i had to be back in the office.

1 Feb 2011

I packed my bags and went to the Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, New Delhi as my train was scheduled for a 2 pm departure. The train was right on time and i boarded what i could also refer to as my second home. Those days i was hooked to the famous t.v series ‘Friends’, so i opened by laptop and spent the entire journey watching season 7 of Friends. Only once i got off the train, Ratlam Jn at 11.45 pm as i was feeling hungry and badly wanted something to eat. I got something but in the end i had to catch the train running. Phew!

Outside Dwarka Temple, Gujarat

The train was right on time and at 4 am i reached Vadodara. I went to the bus stand nearby and got a bus to Surat.

It was 3 Feb 2011 (Thursday), when i was at Surat that i decided to give Dwarka a try. After a lot of reading and browsing i booked a ticket in Jamnagar Intercity for 4 Feb 2011 (Friday) which would take me upto Jamnagar. As the distance from Jamnagar to Dwarka was roughly 120 km. And i booked a tatkal ticket in the only train running from Porbandar to Delhi for 5 Feb 2011 (Saturday) – S R express scheduled for a 3 pm departure.

Note : Distance between Dwarka and Porbandar is 100 km.

Outside Dwarka Temple, Gujarat

My first half of 3 Feb 2011 (Thursday) was spent working and the second traveling from Surat to Ahmadabad in Saurashtra  Express. It was around 8pm when i reached Ahmadabad and went straight to the hotel.

4 Feb 2011

The day i was waiting for had arrived. My entire day was spent working in the Ahmadabad office, so i had no time to get around Ahmadabad city.  My train to Jamnagar was scheduled at 6 pm, so i took an auto to Ahmadabad Railway Station and that was the only time i had a look around the city and what got me  impressed was the cleanliness in the City.

Precisely at 11.55 pm, i reached Jamnagar railway station and inquired about any connecting train to Dwarka. As told one train was scheduled to come at 1 am, so i bought the ticket and went back to the platform. Minutes passed and my clock was showing 3 am and still their was no sign of the train. If i am correct, Exactly after 12 hours i had to catch a train from Porbandar and i was running out of time. So i inquired from the locals and went to the Jamnagar bus stand. It was 4 a.m and i got a seat in the tata sumo and was off to Dwarka.

Dwarka Temple, Gujarat

It was the only time that i got some sleep. As i woke up i could see the rising sun on one side and windmills on the other. Soon i read the welcome sign to the Dwarka city and was happy that finally i made it. The clock was showing 7.30 am, as the driver dropped me near Teen Batti roundabout. I went straight to the Dwarka Temple and found that the Darshan in main temple was closed after the morning aarti and now it would open at 9 am. I was tired and was feeling sleepy, i badly needed a shower to freshen things up. So i checked into a hotel, got fresh, had a bath and checked out marking my shortest ever stay in a hotel. I told the manager of the hotel to keep my luggage and went straight to the temple.

Dwarka Temple, Gujarat

After having a great darshan, i came out of the temple, opened my camera for the first time on the tour and clicked some pics. Then i went to a shop nearby to buy sweets and asked the shopkeeper if he could tell me the bus timings from Dwarka to Okha and Dwarka to Porbandar. He directed me to a travel agent shop in Teen Batti roundabout and asked me to inquire right away as the service is very limited. I rushed to that travel agent shop and he told me that the bus would leave at 1 pm and ‘ll reach Porbandar by 4 pm. That gave me a scare as my train was scheduled for 3 pm departure from Porbandar. It was 9.50 am, he told me that my only chance to reach Porbandar on time was that if i could catch the roadways bus from Dwarka Bus Stand  scheduled for 10.15 am departure. My plan to visit Bet Dwarka was out of equation now.

Dwarka Temple, Gujarat

Market, Dwarka

I thanked him for helping me out and hired an auto which was parked nearby. I told him the situation and after collecting luggage from the hotel, i reached Dwarka Bus Stand at 10.10 am. I rushed straight to the inquiry counter and the person sitting their told he that the bus is yet to arrive, giving me a sense of relief.

Dwarka Bus Stand

Windmills along the sea

Porbandar Railway Station

I reached Porbandar in time and boarded the train back to Delhi. As we all know that the Char Dham are  the most sacred and important sites for Hindus that have to be visited in one’s lifetime. I was happy that, early in my life i had the opportunity of visiting 3 of them. ‘Dec 2009 – Jagannath Puri, Sep 2010 – Badrinath and Feb 2011 – Dwarka’ leaving me with Rameshwaram alone…..

The End….