To Dhanushkodi and Back ....

 Road Trip! 1700 km, 7 days, 3 destinations, lots of pit stops, lots of food, and lots of fun...
Perhaps one of the best road trips I have been to in a really long time. It was the perfect 40th Birthday; Celebrating 4 decades of existence on this beautiful planet, doing the one thing I am so passionate about
So, the plan was Bangalore - Madurai - Kanyakumari- Rameshwaram - Dhanushkodi and back. And boy was it an experience! It was a food and culture-filled experience...

After much deliberation on flying, taking the train, bus, etc... we zeroed in on driving. Since I do not drive and my husband was the only person driving the entire trip, I had to plan extensively on our pitt stops and breaks.

Why did we choose Tamil Nadu as our first long road trip? Good question ... it was just the food. My daughter is very picky about what she eats and she is a tiffin person ( Idli, dosa any time of the day). So considering this, Tamil Nadu was the perfect first long road trip that would ensure she is eating properly and keep me at peace and allow me to enjoy the entire trip. 

There are multiple routes for road trips across Tamil Nadu. Each route covers some of the most culturally magnificent places. 

Thus began the much-awaited Road trip through beautiful Tamil Nadu. 

First Stop - Madurai ... 

Madurai is about 8 hours from Bangalore. We took our first big break in Salem and then smaller breaks for coffee on the way. Reached Madurai by late evening. 

We had a 2 day plan in Madurai mainly to see the Meenaskshi Amman Temple and Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal. 

And of course to taste the much-talked-about Jigarthanda. This was definitely on my list as I had no clue what it was which made it more intriguing. 

Meenakshi Amman Temple is a UNESCO world heritage site. Calling it magnificent is an understatement! We spent close to 2 -3 hours inside the temple, walking around and looking at the beautiful architecture. 

Inside the main temple hall, there is the 'Aayiram Kaal Mantapam' ( 1000 leg hall literally translated from Tamil to English ) a huge hall with 1000 pillars. Too bad they did not allow me to take pictures. But it is so fresh in my mind; The intricate art and symmetry of the pillars and the sculptures are mind-blowing. 

Also do not miss the museum inside the temple, there are some beautiful statues and some scriptures which is displayed. There is a huge Nataraja statue along with a hall, apparently, this hall was used by students of Bharatanatyam for their Arangetrams. 

Once out of the Temple you enter the main street of Madurai, the heart of Madurai. There are eateries, shops, and just lots of people around. We had a lovely lunch and headed back to the hotel to rest . 

The next agenda was to go to the light and sound show in Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal. 

There are 2 shows that happen in the evening, one in Tamil and one in English. 

Thirumalai Nayakar was a King who ruled Madhurai in the 16th century. This palace is well maintained and the light and sound show is a must-do. Very nicely orchestrated, the storytelling is good and you will be involved throughout the show. 

Our show was done by 7.30 PM and we wanted to go have dinner in a 100-year-old Iyengar mess in Madurai. There is this place called Gopu Iyengar Tiffin Center which is a pure veg eatery. It is a tiny little place about 200 sq ft with just about 5 tables inside and a cash counter. There was a list of menus outside and as per my research, their Vellaiappam and Kathrikai bajji is to die for. Unfortunately, we were too late for the specials as we took a while to find the place. 

Just about 5 mins from Meenakshi Amman temple, one can easily miss this place if you are new. It is situated at a corner and you won't spot it till you stand right in front of the eatery. 

So, with all their signature dishes off the menu, we were left with Plain dosa and Idli. But that was equally yummy. 

I must talk about food in Madurai...

Like I said it is a foodies paradise. The very famous Murugan Idli shop should be on your list for amazing food any time of the day. We pretty much ate at least 1 meal there as it was a unanimous favorite, especially my Daughter's favorite ghee dosa. 

And before we left Madurai I finally tasted the coveted Madurai Jigarthanda... It is a sweet drink with milk, almond resin, khoya, fruits, and custard in layers ... It is a sweet tooth's delight, but for someone like me who is not a big fan of sweets, I got high after drinking it!

Fun Fact: As you might notice, Jigarthanda is not a Tamil word for a drink that is claimed to have originated in Madurai. Jigar and Thanda are not Tamil words, it means cooling the heart. This was invented by the Mughals and was brought to Madurai in the 17th century. Since this was something very new, it became an instant hit in Madurai. Hence the famous Madurai Jigarthanda. It is just a far-off cousin of the Falooda that you get in the Northern parts of India. 

Back in our hotel, we had to be well-rested for the next day's drive. 

Next stop Kanyakumari ......

Madurai to Kanyakumari is about 4 hours...  the roads are lovely so we enjoyed our drive ...

As we drove through the windmill farm

Just as we were glad that we reached before time, the roads were barricaded and we were stopped.

Our hotel was just 2 km ahead and even on requesting that we had a kid, our car was not allowed to go past the barricade - reason, the President of India had come to visit the Vivekananda rock and inaugurate some monument. 

The entire place was blocked from 12 PM in the afternoon, tourists were stuck in cars and busses with elderly people and with small kids. 

All tourist activity was suspended, and boating to Vivekananda rock was stopped. All the shopkeepers were asked to close their smaller stalls. It was chaos and for what, just because the President had to unveil some monument. 

It was very disappointing that the Government was more worried about unveiling stuff than thinking of the daily wages of people there who lost 1-day business during peak tourist season. It was a very poorly planned Government agenda at the cost of common working-class citizens 

We parked our car in the shade and waited for the barricades to be opened. And trust me I was so glad I had a mini supermarket in the car with fruits, juice, biscuit, and even bread and jam. This was our lifesaver as we waited till about 4 PM in the car. We were eventually allowed to go by 4.30 PM and the max we could do that day was walk to the beach and check out the sunset. 

Sunset at Kanyakumari

We forgot the bad day we had when we stood at the southernmost tip of the Indian Sub Continent and watched the mesmerizing sunset and also realized that all the 3 oceans ( Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea ) meet at this point. 

There is something about every sunset I have seen to date, be it the ocean or mountains or just from my terrace. It always feels like I am seeing it for the first time and gives me goosebumps. And I just stand and gaze at it till the sun goes down the horizon. Every single time in all these years! 

We lost our 1 day in Kanyakumari and missed the Vivekananda rock boat trip. Well, what can I say, this is something you got to be prepared for when you travel. You might not be able to see every single thing in a place. If you are traveling with a cast-in-stone agenda to see all places, you will stress yourself out in that process. Instead, you just go with the flow. It's okay to miss seeing something in a place. 

Chothavilai Beach 

Daddy Daughter time 

So overnight we made a plan B, since the beach was super crowded and our boating plan flopped too, we planned to drive to Chothavilai beach in Nagarcoil which was about 2 hours away. And we sure were glad we made this detour. We reached the beach at about 4 PM and we had the entire beach to ourselves. Beautiful clean beach and I settled down finally with my camera while Daddy and Daughter played in the water. 

Beach to ourselves 

We waited, watched the sunset, and with a happy heart drove back to the hotel. We had a long trip ahead the next day hence calling it a day early. 

Off to Rameshwaram 

Muppandal Windmill Farm 

This was a 6-hour drive. And what surprised me was that, all this while we did not experience bad roads anywhere. Both the National and State highways of Tamil Nadu are very well maintained.            

So now we were on the last leg of our road trip. Again very beautiful scenic drive with beautiful windmill farms on both sides and salt flats. The Muppandal Windmill farm in Kanyakumari is the largest in India and 3rd largest in the world and generates 1500 MW of power.                                                                          

Paramakudi tea stall

We took a couple of pit stops for chai and snacks. 

One of them was an interesting stop and we deliberately stopped here to take a picture - it was Paramakudi. 

For the unversed, Paramakudi is the hometown of the very famous Kamal Haasan. So it was more of a fan girl moment for me to stop at a small tea stall and take a selfie in Paramakudi. I call these my cheap thrills! 

And finally, here we were, driving over the beautiful man-made marvel - Pamban Bridge. This bridge connects the town of Mandapam with Pamban island and Rameshwaram. This was India's first sea bridge opened on 24 February 1914 and was the longest sea bridge in India until the Bandra - Worli Sealink opened in 2010.   

The Pamban Bridge

                                                                                                                                                                                              

All tourists stop and take a pick on the bridge and you will get some of the 'Meh' looks from the locals.Nevertheless, I had to get a selfie on the Pamban bridge, since there is no parking on the bridge, I quickly got off took my pic and got back before blocking the traffic. The crosswinds are very strong, so be very careful when you are standing on the bridge. 

In Rameshwaram, we did one day of local sightseeing. We went to some temples where they had the pumice rocks suspended in water and the Poojaris were using it to lure tourists claiming that this was the stone touched by Lord Rama to build the bridge and because of the touch, it floats. 

This is one thing that annoys me the most, deliberate ignorance and distorting scientific facts and posing them as a religious miracle. 

Me being me, I ensured that my Daughter got the right information. I ignored the Poojari and explained the entire scientific reason why a pumice rock floats. There were 2 very strong reactions around me at that moment - A super annoyed Poojari who lost a lot of his 'devotees' who came closer and listened to my explanation and my super excited Daughter who actually saw the floating stone and tried to push it inside the water and experienced something new. Ignoring the sulking Poojari, we got out of the temple. 

We then headed towards the actual Temple which housed one of the greatest scientific minds of our time, the house of Dr. Abdul Kalaam. What I did not like was that the government had not put even the basic effort into fixing the road leading to this great Man's house. There was an open gutter that we had to cross to reach the house. The least that could be done was to lay just about 100 meters of the road leading to the house and just fix an open gutter right outside the house of a man who had contributed to putting India on the global map. It was not some multicrore statue project!  

We headed back for a quick bite and a break as we had another short drive in the evening. Literally the final leg of the trip ... The last land of India

Dhanushkodi, Land's end ...... 

We drove for about an hour and a half from Rameshwaram to reach Dhanushkodi. My recommendation is to head out early so that you can reach there by about 4 PM max so that you get a parking spot. The place is chaos after 5 PM and you won't get to enjoy anything if you go late. So plan it well.

Ruins of the Ghost Town

You have to park your car towards the entrance of the road and then you have to walk. It's a lovely walk. You have the Indian Ocean on one side and the Bay of Bengal on the other side. It truly is a very humbling feeling when you see the huge water bodies on both sides and you are walking on one small strip of land in between.

 You will see the ghost town with some walls still standing which survived the 1964 Cyclone. The entire town was abandoned after the cyclone of 1964 when a Tsunami with 23 feet high waves hit the coast destroying the entire village. 

There are small stalls set up near the viewpoint where they sell trinkets and shells and snacks. These shopkeepers come here and set up their stalls every day and head back home to the mainland every evening. 

View from the tip of Dhanushkodi

You have a beautiful viewpoint where you can stand and look at the ocean.  On a clear sunny day, you will be able to see the point where the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal meet with one side being darker than the other. This is because of the difference in density of water in both these oceans and how light reflects off it. Giving the scientific fact upfront before anyone gives any more religious connotations to this natural phenomenon 😃. 

One thing I would urge you to do is, make sure you walk on both the shoreline, but be very very careful, the water current is very strong and so is the wind. You can get down from the viewpoint and get closer to the Bay of Bengal on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other side. You will notice the number of waves hitting the shore is different on both sides, the strength of the waves hitting the shore and also one ocean is warmer than the other. Try it! 

When I was walking along the shoreline of the Indian Ocean, there was this pitted feeling in my stomach. The vast ocean can be really intimidating and makes you feel so puny and it was scary. My Daughter on the other hand was so excited to see the vast ocean she was running all over the place and I had to hold her tight to ensure she was safe. This is the girl who hates to get into a swimming pool and refuses to learn to swim, but you take her to a beach or the ocean side and she just doesn't want to get out of the water! 

There were a lot of seaweeds washed away to the shore and I also noticed a lot of plastic bottles, chips packets, and worst of all diapers, for heaven's sake! 

We, humans, are actually a very insignificant part of this planet, we are causing more harm to the ecosystem than good. So one thing we all have to remember is that, if the water and the plants and the environment are destroyed by us, we will eventually cease to exist. And maybe once human beings are completely extinct the earth will flourish again! So remember the planet has the ability to resurrect, we all are just on a suicidal mission with our ignorance and arrogance of being on top of the food chain! 

Customary Vacation Selfie - Dhanushkodi

Anyways, we waited for the sunset and it was so beautiful and just like that within seconds the light was gone, it was like someone switched off the lights in a room. Time for us to head back to the hotel. 

We were heading back home the next day, December 29th. I think it was a perfect ending to the year 2019. 

The 7-day road trip took a toll on us once we were back home. We realised how tired we were and actually glad that we were back to sleeping on our cosy bed. 

After a week of rest and getting back to normal, I started my research for the next big road trip, Karnataka!

 Until then - Work, Save, Travel, Repeat !