Alright on to part 2 :D You may wanna read Part 1 of my trip experience.
Post our lunch in Shirdi we had to leave for a village called Tryambakeshwar, which is 100 km away from the city of Nashik. Now like I mentioned earlier, my Dad is the worst trip planner ever. So he had no arrangements on how to get there. Since it is only a couple of hours drive, he thought we would just hire a cab from Shirdi and it would all be good. But heck, what misery! We got ready and out with the luggage and Dad has said he already spoke to a cab driver who would pick us up and I have no idea how, but we landed in a local bus heading towards Nashik. It all happened so fast! And in his quest to save some moolah on the expensive cab fare, we ended up actually paying more for the bus ride. Great going, Dad! No, it does not end there. While the cab was supposed to take us directly to Tryambakeshwar, the bus left us half way in the city of Nashik and there we were dead tired and looking for another cab in the middle of a rather polluted city to go to Tryambakeshwar. We had left our hotel at 1500 hrs and we were still looking for a fucking cab by 1830 hrs. Finally we ended up shelling some more big bucks for the "half an hour" (in the words of Dad) drive which lasted an eternity - 1 hour and 30 minutes.
There was no hotel arrangement in Tryambakeshwar. I should elaborate more about this. The reason we went to the village was because there is this historical temple out there and the Pandits out there conduct pooja's for people who have some problems in their astrological charts. Long story short, I seem to have a snake like constellation in my chart which seems to delay whatever good things are about to happen to me, and expedite the things that would cause me more harm. It's mostly bull. I do believe in astrology and stuff but only till it says good things about me. But I love my parents too much to have a fight over this and tarnish our relationship forever. So me and Leo do not argue and get done with all this.
Like I said, there was no hotel accommodation. The stay was arranged by the Pandit who was to conduct the pooja. I bet he makes more money than many people in India coz believe me guys, he was sitting with a bucket full of cash next to him and all of them were bills of 20$ and above, of course converted to Indian Rupees. So well he had a BUILDING of his own where he made the guests stay. I was shocked to know that we were not the only people in for the pooja. There were 16 other families. No kidding. Anyway we were so tired with all the travel and then they served us all dinner, somewhat in this fashion:
After this we went to our rooms and slept off coz we had to wake up early next morning for the pooja.
We woke up at 0600 hrs and had a bath, and then headed over to the temple. It was a 5 minute walk. Tryambakeshwar is scenic and beautiful. It is also pleasant in the mornings whereas it gets pretty hot in the afternoons. It was amazing. I took a lot of pictures.
Then we had to try the local street food! This place we found was street food but at the same time was hygienic and clean. We decided to order a little bit of everything so that we could have a taste of everything made fresh.
The hotel guys were so sweet, they were ecstatic about having city people visit their small eating joint. The guy who served us was pretty knowledgeable for a teenager from a village. It was nice.
Now the pooja that me and Leo were going to be a part of was scheduled to start at 0930 hrs and we were done with the temple and breakfast by 0800 so we had time to relax and get ready. The pooja required us to be in white attire after which we have to donate all those clothes to the homeless and needy. It was quite the experience but cameras were not allowed!
The first half of it was spent in praying to various gods and serenading them with flowers and milk. The next half was spent praying some more to deities made of gold and in front of a fire where a huge group of Pandits chanted mantras and we were required to pour ghee (clarified butter) into the fire whenever they asked us to. Quite an experience! We were so tired sitting on the floor cross legged for so long, I wanted to pass out. But we only had an hour before we left back for Nashik station to board a train back to Mumbai. So we had our lunch, and while me and Leo were in the pooja, Dad booked another cab to take us back to the station. Needless to say it was one of the most horrible cabs ever, coz the seats were facing the back. Like I had my back towards the driver :| I was suffering from motion sickness the whole way and I almost threw up couple of times. I get very sick if I smell fuel+smoke and this happens a lot on long journeys. Thankfully we got to the station at the right time and boarded the train back for Mumbai, and on reaching Mumbai we learn that the public transportation is on strike! Great. Luckily for us we found one vehicle who was unaware of the strike and dropped us back home.
And this is how # 39 and # 40 got stricken off My List :)
I have been trying to publish this freaking blog post for like 10 hours now but my pc is being all stupid. I could not make a collage of the pics so I just uploaded them as they were :)
Hope you guys have a great day!
Love,
Apfel
xoxo
Post our lunch in Shirdi we had to leave for a village called Tryambakeshwar, which is 100 km away from the city of Nashik. Now like I mentioned earlier, my Dad is the worst trip planner ever. So he had no arrangements on how to get there. Since it is only a couple of hours drive, he thought we would just hire a cab from Shirdi and it would all be good. But heck, what misery! We got ready and out with the luggage and Dad has said he already spoke to a cab driver who would pick us up and I have no idea how, but we landed in a local bus heading towards Nashik. It all happened so fast! And in his quest to save some moolah on the expensive cab fare, we ended up actually paying more for the bus ride. Great going, Dad! No, it does not end there. While the cab was supposed to take us directly to Tryambakeshwar, the bus left us half way in the city of Nashik and there we were dead tired and looking for another cab in the middle of a rather polluted city to go to Tryambakeshwar. We had left our hotel at 1500 hrs and we were still looking for a fucking cab by 1830 hrs. Finally we ended up shelling some more big bucks for the "half an hour" (in the words of Dad) drive which lasted an eternity - 1 hour and 30 minutes.
 |
| From the Bus |
There was no hotel arrangement in Tryambakeshwar. I should elaborate more about this. The reason we went to the village was because there is this historical temple out there and the Pandits out there conduct pooja's for people who have some problems in their astrological charts. Long story short, I seem to have a snake like constellation in my chart which seems to delay whatever good things are about to happen to me, and expedite the things that would cause me more harm. It's mostly bull. I do believe in astrology and stuff but only till it says good things about me. But I love my parents too much to have a fight over this and tarnish our relationship forever. So me and Leo do not argue and get done with all this.
 |
| The drive from Nashik to Tryambakeshwar |
Like I said, there was no hotel accommodation. The stay was arranged by the Pandit who was to conduct the pooja. I bet he makes more money than many people in India coz believe me guys, he was sitting with a bucket full of cash next to him and all of them were bills of 20$ and above, of course converted to Indian Rupees. So well he had a BUILDING of his own where he made the guests stay. I was shocked to know that we were not the only people in for the pooja. There were 16 other families. No kidding. Anyway we were so tired with all the travel and then they served us all dinner, somewhat in this fashion:
 |
| This pic is from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Ours was the same except it was on a much smaller scale. |
After this we went to our rooms and slept off coz we had to wake up early next morning for the pooja.
We woke up at 0600 hrs and had a bath, and then headed over to the temple. It was a 5 minute walk. Tryambakeshwar is scenic and beautiful. It is also pleasant in the mornings whereas it gets pretty hot in the afternoons. It was amazing. I took a lot of pictures.
 |
| An empty Kettle on an empty cart on the road |
 |
| A small temple outside someone's house |
 |
| Check out the hills at the back and the narrow streets of the small village :) |
 |
| Moo-point :P |
 |
| A mosque in the same locality as the temple |
 |
| A common sight in India. Clothes drying out in the balcony. We do not have air dryers here! |
 |
| On our way to the temple |
 |
| Flower Lady selling flowers and coconuts for the temple visit :) |
 |
| These beads hold some significance which I know not of, I just find them super stylish on some outfits! |
 |
| Cows rule the roads here! |
 |
| Photography was prohibited still I managed to get a few snaps! Look at the art work I wish I could take a zoomed in shot! |
 |
| From the entrance :) |
 |
| The largest piece of horse crap I have laid my eyes on. |
 |
| I told you! Cows Rule! |
 |
| This one was such a darling! |
 |
| Beads and strings and fancy stuff |
 |
| Some more beads! |
 |
| I don't know if you guys can spot it but it is a baby Ganesha keychain. Ganesha is the Elephant Headed God. |
Then we had to try the local street food! This place we found was street food but at the same time was hygienic and clean. We decided to order a little bit of everything so that we could have a taste of everything made fresh.
 |
| Spinach Bhajiya - Like Fritters! |
 |
| Batata Wada - Potato, Turmeric, Cumin and Chili filling inside this cover of gram flour served with fried chilies and Chutney! |
 |
| Fried Sandwich |
 |
| A mug full of Sample. |
 |
| Cutting Chai - it basically means half cup of tea. It is best served in these glasses! |
 |
| I should explain Sample here. This is a huge container of Sample which is always on the simmer. It's like a really really hot and spicy gravy, basically consisting of all sorts of chilies mixed together and boiled to death. Then they pour it over some boiled sprouts, and dress it with scallions and cilantro and some crisps like chips, and dip bread in it. |
The hotel guys were so sweet, they were ecstatic about having city people visit their small eating joint. The guy who served us was pretty knowledgeable for a teenager from a village. It was nice.
 |
| Guy getting ready to fry the Batata Wada |
 |
| Early morning tea stall! |
 |
| Does this look inviting enough? |
 |
| Some more flower ladies on the street |
Now the pooja that me and Leo were going to be a part of was scheduled to start at 0930 hrs and we were done with the temple and breakfast by 0800 so we had time to relax and get ready. The pooja required us to be in white attire after which we have to donate all those clothes to the homeless and needy. It was quite the experience but cameras were not allowed!
 |
| Found this one on Google. It was exactly like this! |
The first half of it was spent in praying to various gods and serenading them with flowers and milk. The next half was spent praying some more to deities made of gold and in front of a fire where a huge group of Pandits chanted mantras and we were required to pour ghee (clarified butter) into the fire whenever they asked us to. Quite an experience! We were so tired sitting on the floor cross legged for so long, I wanted to pass out. But we only had an hour before we left back for Nashik station to board a train back to Mumbai. So we had our lunch, and while me and Leo were in the pooja, Dad booked another cab to take us back to the station. Needless to say it was one of the most horrible cabs ever, coz the seats were facing the back. Like I had my back towards the driver :| I was suffering from motion sickness the whole way and I almost threw up couple of times. I get very sick if I smell fuel+smoke and this happens a lot on long journeys. Thankfully we got to the station at the right time and boarded the train back for Mumbai, and on reaching Mumbai we learn that the public transportation is on strike! Great. Luckily for us we found one vehicle who was unaware of the strike and dropped us back home.
And this is how # 39 and # 40 got stricken off My List :)
I have been trying to publish this freaking blog post for like 10 hours now but my pc is being all stupid. I could not make a collage of the pics so I just uploaded them as they were :)
Hope you guys have a great day!
Love,
Apfel
xoxo
8 comments:
It sounds like a miracle that you made it there and back home in one piece, I love spicy Indian food. Could you send me some Sample?
I'm glad you finally got to post this. I feel like I haven't gotten to talk to you in forever! Miss you.
♥
You bet Ryan! Sample is definitely worth a try! I will send some across to you. This one is strictly found in villages, not even in the restaurants in the cities!
I miss you too busy woman!
This is coming from me who has not been able to stay online consistently :P Love you lots!
Oooo...I love the beads. Beads and food! Oooo.
LOL @ "moo-point." Haha. That was so freaking cute. I really have an urge to pet the cow. Damn.
"I do believe in astrology and stuff but only till it says good things about me." <--- LOL. Me too. Whenever it's good, I'm like yay. Whenever it's bad, I'm like psssht whatever.
Thank you for sharing your trip! :)
You're most welcome Bella :) Glad you liked it. I love beads too!
Gorgeous pics!
I wish someone could fiddle around with my chart and expedite good things :P
I also get carsick. Also, one of the most nauseating smells that promptly gets me in barfing mode: the smell of a freshly lit cigarette inside of a moving car. My parents did it for the first 15 years of my life, blech.
Chris!
Yeah let me be a live example of if these things do work out :D Oh same here with the smell of cigarettes! Aww poor you :( I can totally feel you!! I remember I used to gulp down pills called Avomine which made me feel instantly better during road trips. I wonder if it is psychological!
Post a Comment