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2 day Religious trip to Solapur Gangapur Akkalkot Pandharpur & Tuljapur, ex Mumbai: 9th.& 10th. June 2013

Hello friends. This time I would like to share my experiences on the 2 dayreligious trip to Solapur. I happened to check the train availability and

fortunately there were just 3 tickets available in the 1st

.class coach ofSiddheshwar express which leaves Mumbai at 10.45pm. I was fortunate toget confirmed return tickets in the same class. My boss Mr. GM Bhuvan,backed up my travel plans by providing me the necessary information forhotel stay & to arrange a taxi driver for the local sightseeing in and aroundSolapur. I called up the taxi driver & the hotel & both of them confirmedtheir availability on the phone without even a penny advance. All thisplanning took place just 2 days ago and I set off on this journey on 8 th. June2013.The train arrived at Solapur by 7am on Sunday9th. June 2013. TheTavera taxi guy was prompt on time to pick us up from Solapur station anddrop us at Lotus hotel.

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This hotel is considered to be the best hotel in Solapur at a cost ofRs.2500/- per night on a 24 hour basis check in check out time. We werepleasantly welcomed at the hotel, the rooms were very nice and clean. Theinteriors were simply great. The complimentary unlimited breakfastcomprised of a dosa, uttappam, idli, bread butter jam toast & poha whichwere all very tasty. Tea served was really good too. By 9am we headedtowards our first destination Gangapur.

GANGAPUR:

Later did I realize that Gangapur was actually in the state of Karnataka.The roads were in a pathetic condition for half the time of our journey. Ourtaxi driverMr. Sanjiv (9767471113) was extremely helpful and guided usthroughout the journey. Mr. Sanjiv is a very good driver and he was verycaring. He maintained his vehicle meticulously clean and never drove

beyond 80km/hr. Of course on the way to Gangapur the speed nevercrossed 40km/hr due to the bad state of roads.

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We reached Gangapur by 12noon, paid Rs.251 for special darshan and yetit took us around an hour and half. The Paduka darshan at Karma Sthantakes place between 3am to 2pm only. There are three places of religiousimportance in Gangapur and it seems the trip isnt complete without visitingthese places. They are:

1) Bhakti Sthan: Bhima Amarja Sangam, Audumber, Sangameshwar & ShreeAnugan Sthan

2) Karma Sthan: Datta temple& Nirgun paduka pooja3) Mukti Sthan: Kaleshwar temple, Panchmukhi Gajanan, Swayambhu

Shaneshwar & Saptanik Navgraha Durga Parvati ShivalayAll these three places are within a radius of 2 km.

*) For further details please refer tohttp://www.shreeswami.org/gangapur-sangam.htmBy 2.30pm all of us were really hungry and wanted to taste some authenticlocal food but most of the restaurants were running out of food by then. Wewere actually lucky to get some real tasty food in a roadside eatery namedGolden Star family restaurant.

http://www.shreeswami.org/gangapur-sangam.htmhttp://www.shreeswami.org/gangapur-sangam.htmhttp://www.shreeswami.org/gangapur-sangam.htmhttp://www.shreeswami.org/gangapur-sangam.htmhttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zy0Oxq1y2Z8/UbbrL4ysmuI/AAAAAAAAAk4/Tux1VuwXhSY/s1600/09062013155.jpghttp://www.shreeswami.org/gangapur-sangam.htmhttp://www.shreeswami.org/gangapur-sangam.htm

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We ordered for Mix Veg. Chana Masala & Dal Fry along with fresh hottandoori rotis. The taste of all the dishes was awesome and came at a

cheap price of just Rs.250, a.i.We resumed our return journey from Gangapur to Solapur by 3.30pm. Onour way back we visited the Akkalkot temple by 5.30pm.

AKKALKOT:

It again took us close to 2 hours for the darshan. We left from Akkalkot by7.30pm and reached back to our hotel in Solapur by 8.30pm.

*) Please visithttp://swamisamarthofakkalkot.org/for further details onAkkalkot.

http://swamisamarthofakkalkot.org/http://swamisamarthofakkalkot.org/http://swamisamarthofakkalkot.org/http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lGM_yU5TNso/UbbsAhno_QI/AAAAAAAAAlU/xqVnezllKuk/s1600/09062013169.jpghttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VeS0GPBDNLg/UbbsAXX4ubI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/lGALEjEHe7Q/s1600/09062013167.jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8SvwW_6S3BY/Ubbrx352jeI/AAAAAAAAAlI/x4RpehzmRko/s1600/09062013160.jpghttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lGM_yU5TNso/UbbsAhno_QI/AAAAAAAAAlU/xqVnezllKuk/s1600/09062013169.jpghttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VeS0GPBDNLg/UbbsAXX4ubI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/lGALEjEHe7Q/s1600/09062013167.jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8SvwW_6S3BY/Ubbrx352jeI/AAAAAAAAAlI/x4RpehzmRko/s1600/09062013160.jpghttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lGM_yU5TNso/UbbsAhno_QI/AAAAAAAAAlU/xqVnezllKuk/s1600/09062013169.jpghttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VeS0GPBDNLg/UbbsAXX4ubI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/lGALEjEHe7Q/s1600/09062013167.jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8SvwW_6S3BY/Ubbrx352jeI/AAAAAAAAAlI/x4RpehzmRko/s1600/09062013160.jpghttp://swamisamarthofakkalkot.org/

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We were quite tired due to the day long journey and ordered for some basicdinner meals in the room itself. I must say that the food at Lotus hotel isindeed very very tasty. Even the dahi kadi & khichdi tasted yum.A nice good night sleep at Lotus hotel and we were all set to embark on our2ndday trip to Pandharpur & Tuljapur.

PANDHARPUR:

After having breakfast at the hotel, we checked out from the hotel by9.30am. The hotel manager was generous enough to allow us to use theroom for two hours without any extra charge. This time the roads were inexcellent condition and we reached Pandharpur by 11.00am. Please notethat carrying mobile phones is strictly prohibited in the temple premises. Asexpected there was a big rush of devotees at the temple and we too placedourselves in the long que. We managed to get darshan after 2 hours. One

thing which hurt me the most was that all the priests at the temple extractmoney out of your pockets in the name of doing a pooja or by means ofgiving Prasad etc. After taking blessings, we proceeded towards Tuljapur.

On the way we stopped by for lunch at a road side restaurant which is wellknown for serving local delicacies.

This was the fastest ever thali served to me till date. The service staff wasvery courteous and prompt. They somehow knew exactly our preference oftaste buds. The restaurant was huge with two sections for family people

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and another for single walk in customers. We ordered for a thali whichcomprised of jwari bhakri (Sorghum flour bread), potato brinjal vegetable,pithla (preparation made from besan (chickpea flour), a spicy lady fingerpreparation, shengdana (peanut) chutney (traditional favorite) with curd, abig bottle of sweet buttermilk, rice, dal & to end up a big long kulfi(traditional Indian ice cream).*) For further details please refertohttp://solapur.gov.in/htmldocs/rpandharpur.pdf

TULJAPUR:

We were done with our lunch by 3.00pm and proceeded to Tuljapur wherewe reached by around 4.30pm.

There was a huge line of devotees here as well and we preferred to payRs.251 and take the express way route. Still it took us an hour. If you payadditional Rs.100 or so the priests at the temple do a special chanting ofmantras and you are allowed to stand in front of the Gods idol for at least aminute. Else just a glimpse and thats the end of your darshan. *) For further details please refer tohttp://www.tuljabhavanimandir.org/We left from Tuljapur by around 6pm and visited Pulgam textiles in the cityof Solapur.

http://solapur.gov.in/htmldocs/rpandharpur.pdfhttp://solapur.gov.in/htmldocs/rpandharpur.pdfhttp://solapur.gov.in/htmldocs/rpandharpur.pdfhttp://www.tuljabhavanimandir.org/http://www.tuljabhavanimandir.org/http://www.tuljabhavanimandir.org/http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Nknm4Tfhzsk/Ubbvl-WdiJI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/VvedAWbsBWI/s1600/10062013194.jpghttp://www.tuljabhavanimandir.org/http://solapur.gov.in/htmldocs/rpandharpur.pdf

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We purchased the famous Solapur bedsheets here and this shop is quitebig with people shopping in huge numbers. From here we visited the

famous Siddheswar temple of Lord Shiva in Solapur. We reached thetemple by around 8pm.

This location is very scenic as there is a lake around the temple. Luckilythere were not too many people here and the darshan took place within 10minutes. We opted to have the free Prasad for dinner and believe me I hadthe tastiest sheera (semolina based sweet dish) ever of my life. The Prasadconsisted of chapati, cabbage vegetable preparation, dal, rice & sheera.

We all ate to our hearts content and then offered a donation of Rs.251/- tothe temple trust as a heartfelt thanks to all the cooks who prepared such adelicious meal.Then it was time to bid adieu to Solapur and we headed back to Solapurrailway station. Our train was scheduled to leave by 10.45pm and itreached an hour late though back in Mumbai the next day morning by 7am.

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Overall a very hectic two day religious trip but time well spent with thefamily. A few tips though: kindly carry enough cash as there are very fewatms in other places except Solapur. Also please carry change which helpsalways. Children do get bored and a bit sick of travel, especially duringsuch religious tripsso ensure you have some source of entertainment forthem. No food available in Siddheswar express so please carry dryeatables/ fruits, just in caseBe aware of duplicate similar namedpackaged drinking water bottles such as Oxycool instead of Oxyrich,Paileys instead of Baileys & Pisleri instead of Bisleri. I am glad that Imanaged to do this trip at this age of mine (39)probably it would be toughto travel the same route 10 years down the line due to the rough roads &dusty weather. Most of the devotees are from below poverty linebackgrounds and it is difficult for a Mumbaikar like to me to adjust in suchsurroundings for more than a few hours. There are beggars everywhere

and to find basic clean public toilets is a challenge in this entire circuit. Thepriests at all the temples meant money in the name of God which trulyhurts.

All said and done, a good experience overall. Travel teaches one, manythings which one cant learn from a book or in school. Hope you like thisblog which is a small attempt to help all the Mumbaikars who are always onthe hunt for a weekend destination.