My dad is not so fond of going on family trips but for this trip he was really interested and excited about. So my family was particularly too eager to make this trip and made all the arrangements. It was just a one day trip but, that single day gave me the solace that I was really in need of.
Rameswaram is a very well known pilgrim centre but, that is not just that. It is a place for people who love tranquility , like me. Indeed, its a place for seaside lovers
Rameswaram is surrounded by sea on all the sides which is what is more exciting. It is more connected with the epic 'Ramayana' which most of us are aware of. The temples and places we visited all along the way were related to Ramayana. Some of the chapters or stories are believed to be happened in this beautiful place.
Starting with a holy dip in the waveless Bay of Bengal with a shining sun above your head, it was a moment of excitement; then continuing with the holy darshan of Lord Shiva at Sri Ramanathaswamy temple and then went on visit to the other nearby temples.
After lunch, we planned to go to the seventh heaven, Dhanushkodi, an old cyclone hit and abandoned town, which is about half an hour travel from Rameswaram. We hired a jeep for the trip. Along the way, we could see the abandoned railway tracks and buildings which were destroyed due to the cyclone. We came to know from the jeep driver that, only jeeps were used to Dhanushkodi point earlier as there were no proper roads to reach and recently they have laid tar roads, so now the travel is possible in 30 mins.
Once you get down at the farthest point of the country, you can only see the sea before you. You can see the waveless Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean side by side. This is the moment of innocent joy and tranquility, where you are entirely disconnected from the outside world, the moment you would have waited all your life. Suddenly, received an sms to my phone and it was from a Srilankan telecom network :O. Srilanka is just 18 miles away from Dhanushkodi point.
Leaving the place with a heavy heart, we headed back to the hotel. After a short rest, we went on to visit our beloved Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam's memorial, constructed in honour of our missile man. The memorial is filled with photographs from his early life till the belongings he had with him in the last moment of his death.
Next, we headed to the legendary Pamban bridge. Indeed, it was a moment of wonder to see both the Pamban rail and road bridge. The Pamban rail bridge is opened only once or twice in a year to let ships pass through it. It was due to my sister that we could capture all those moments, plus family selfies. Just when were basking in the moment, a train was passing through the long bridge. We waved to the people in the train and they happily waved back :)
Came back to the hotel, packed our bags and went back to the railway station to catch the last train from Rameswaram. While our train was crossing the rail bridge, we could see the sea water gleaming in the moonlight. Slowly the train progressed into the mainland.
About the travel: There are plenty of autorickshaws to take you on a tour of the nearby places and a good number of hotels. It is also a good idea to visit the place on a road trip as you can spend more time on the seaside.