Trimbakeshwar From Hyderabad

The optimal way to visit Trimbakeshwar from Hyderabad it to take the Devagiri Express from Secunderabad station. The train reaches around 0300 am. This is a pretty good time. Simply walk out of the station towards platform # 1. There is a shared taxi stand and a bus stand right out side.

To Trimbakeshwar:

Shared Taxi:
The shared taxi (OMNI) accommodates 8 people and you may have to wait for some time while it becomes full. I the charge was around Rs 100 per person. It is a safe normally to take these. It takes about an hour to reach Trimbakeshwar and the road is pretty good. It is approximately 40 km from the Nashik road station.

Buses:
The buses are run by Maharashtra RTC and may not be very convenient.

At Trimbakeshwar:

The shared taxi will drop you right at the east gate of the temple. The best thing is as I said earlier are the timings. You are at the temple at around 0400 am. You have a lot of budget stay options nearby and some agents will be hanging around to take you to some of these. Bargain on the price.

In case you plan to perform any ceremonies like Rudra Abhishek, Maha Mrityunjaya jaap, or Kal Sarpa Yagna you should talk and book the priest in advance. Rudra abhishek can be done on the same day, normally and takes about 2 hrs. The priest can also ensure a fast track entry from the west gate.

The temple premise is closed for Rudra Abhishek post 0730 am so you should plan accordingly.

Other ceremonies are conducted outside the temple normally at the houses of the priest.

Gents are required to only wear a dhoti to be allowed entry into the main temple premise. Ladies are not allowed inside the main room where the Jyotirlinga is located however they can view the ceremonies on a large LCD TV. They have a replica of the Jyotirlinga outside the main temple on the right side for ladies.

IRCTC Andaman Tour Package Review

Andaman Package Tour Andaman's offer an exciting mix of nationalist history, adventure and captivating natural beauty. IRCTC offer's the package in two broad categories. One which includes air fare (typically there are ex-Chennai or ex-Kolkata) and another one in which you manage the air travel and they will manage everything from from receiving you at the Port Blair (Veer Savarkar) airport and dropping you back.

The duration can very from 3 days/2 nights to 5 days/4 nights and the coverage varies accordingly.

Package Details

Day 1: Arrive at Port Blair

If you are arriving early in the morning before 10 am and are not too tired you may want to cover the following places on day 1. 

Port Blair has a hot and humid climate generally so plan you itinerary with that in mind. Specially the Cellular Jail should be visited either early in the morning or in the evening if you wish to avoid the sun. However, you will have to re-visit the Jail in the evening for the Light and Sound show. It is a must see. One good option is to cover the Museums, then visit the Cellular Jail post lunch then head for the Corbyn's cove beach and return to the Jail for the light and sound show.

- Samudrika Marine Museum: A must watch given the sheer variety of corals that are on display. Budget for between 45 min to 1 hr. There is an entry fee but it is very reasonable. It also has some exhibits on the local anthropology so if you are not too keen on the anthropological aspects you may as well skip the anthropological museum. This may not be part of the package.

- Anthropological Museum: Provides a good details on the native people of the islands. A lot of things would be enlightening. This may not be part of your package. 

- Cellular Jail/Museum and Light and Sound Show: The cellular jail (Kalapani) is a massive complex with a small museum at the entrance. There are separate tickets for entry and the light and sound show. Normally the IRCTC representative will guide you on what needs to be done and arrange for the light and sound show which happens both in Hindi and English. You can advise him about your preferences. If you are interested in the nationalist history you will easily take 2-3 hours to cover the entire complex. Ensure that you climb the central watch tower. It gives a excellent panoramic view of Port Blair. If it is only evening your representative might advise you to head for the beach which is a good option. If you are too tired have a the tender coconut milk right outside the complex. It is really refreshing and the size and sweetness of these coconuts is much better than what we normally get on the mainland.

The light and sound show is conducted in the evening. Pick a seat based on your convenience. Since it is open air, it advisable to have covered legs or use mosquito repellent creams.

- Corbyn's Cove Beach: The beach is clean and not very crowded. There are quite a few water sport activities available like the speed boat ride, banana ride etc. Changing rooms are also available. From a scenic beauty perspective there is nothing extra ordinary about this beach and if necessary you may even consider skipping it.

Important: The standard tour gives you an option of Ross or North Bay Island however you will have sufficient time to cover both on day2 and you must if you interested align with what is mentioned below. You just have to pay little extra and the representative will arrange the ticket for both destinations for you. We did this. The guide be booking the ferry ticket for you accordingly the next day so you can save some time if you discuss on your plan upfront.

Day 2: Ross Island or North Bay Island

Ross Island:  This island was the capital of Andaman's during the British rule and used to be referred as the Paris of the east as it had all the modern amenities of that period. The island is maintained by the Indian Navy and you will also see some bunkers from the second world war here, Most of the building are in a dilapidated state now but it gives a very interesting feeling with scenes of nature reclaiming what was her. 

If you like hiking then you can spend the entire day on the island as well. There are at least two trails that you can explore. However if you plan on scuba then you can only cover one trail. 

This island also protected Port Blair during the 2004 tsunami as it bore the brunt of the it.

Based on your booking the ferry will either take you back to Port Blair to the North Bay island (a must if you would like to try scuba diving).

North Bay Island (Coral Island): On the way to this island you will see a light house which appears on the Rs 20 INR note. The main attraction of the island are the corals and the glass bottom boat ride/scuba/snorkeling.

I would recommend that you go for glass bottom boat ride and scuba. One call out though. The marine life in this area is rather limited because of the rampant commercial activities but for a first timer scuba is a must do. If you are going to go to Jolly Buoy which offers a much better under water expereince you may skip this altogether but that is not part of the IRCTC package normally and requires some prior permission from the forest department.

The instructor will go along with you to a underwater for the scuba dive and relax these guys are professionals. It was a wonderful experience. Read the disclaimer carefully though as in certain medical conditions scuba may not be advisable.

Next day you will be taken on a bigger boat to Havelock/Neil-Havlock on a bigger boat.

Day 3 and 4: Havelock

It will be afternoon or evening by the time one reaches Havelock depending on the itinerary. Havelock is a very small town and the food options are rather limited. The day to arrive will be your free time. If your resort is on the beach then enjoy the beach. Observe the high/low tides. The water advances by 300 meters between high and low tides as the beaches are quite shallow here.

The USP of the island is its pristine beaches and the resorts which are on the beaches. There are some very good treks as well. The famous Radhanagar beach is located on this island and is really beautiful and pristine. The beach also offers an elephant ride in the nearby jungle.

Normally you will be taken to Radhanagar beach on the second day morning. Spend time as per your leisure. There are some cottages on this beach itself but these need to be booked in advance from some place at Port Blair. It may be a good expereince to try this as well. If you are planning to take a dip in the sea bring along extra pair of clothes.

The cab can get your belongings from the resort and then will directly take you to the jetty for the return journey to Port Blair

If you have a lot of energy then you may try some of the treks as well. There are quite a few scuba diving options as well. You could also choose to explore the island by bicycle.

Remember to try the tender coconut. It is amazing.

Day 5: Port Blair
Normally there is nothing planned as part of the package for day 5. If you have time you could explore more of Port Blair else they will arrange for the drop back to the airport.

Accommodation: 

- Port Blair: We were three adults and got suite at Port Blair. The hotel was a decent one with basic facilities and served the purpose.

- Havelock: The resort had a decent location and was ok. One glitch was the that we had to argue  on getting an extra mattress. Later on we did realize that one can get better rooms as well if you get into more arguements but then it is one night and you may not run into these issues if you are travelling as a couple.

Food: Package includes breakfast which is quite basic so have your expectations accordingly.

- Port Blair: The hotel folks were much more accommodative and you could swap the time of the breakfast items. They served Idly, Omelette and some other items.

- Havelock: The food here was again basic with Poori Sabji and bread butter jam being offered.

If you are into sea food then you could try the local cuisine. Strict vegetarian options are also available but may be rather limited.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Summary: If you do not want to get into the hassle of managing everything on your own and adventurous stuff like (diving at Jolly Buoy and treks at Havelock) are not a must have then go for the package else you could go on your own or keep a buffer of one day for Jolly Buoy. Talk to the operator at Port Blair and they may be able to accommodate some changes for extra charges.

Bangalore New Delhi Rajdhani Express

The reason for this blog is the limited or outdated information available about travel by Rajdhani.

This was my first trip on a Rajdhani, Bangalore to Nizamuddin Rajdhani(22691) to be precise. We boarded the train from Secunderabad.

Normally, the train arrives/departs from Platform # 10 of the Secunderabad station. However to be more certain you can check it out by dialing 139.

Complimentary food is served on-board this Rajdhani and I suppose on all the other Rajdhani and Shatabdi's. There are a lot of bad reviews about the food quality on the net but I feel things have changed for the better since then. This journey was in Oct-2014.

Only branded items are now served on-board the train and the food quality and the overall. catering service was good.

They start serving the breakfast right after the Train departs from Secunderabad.

Bangalore to Secunderabad

Did the Bangalore to Secunderabad leg of the journey as well. The train departs from SBC Bangalore (also known as KSR Bangalore). There are 4 stations in Bangalore so check it out in case you are new to Bangalore.

Reaching KSR:  The station is connected by the purple metro line. So this may be a cost effective way to reach the station however, not advisable if you are having heavy luggage or with elderly as there are no lift/escalators between the metro and the railway station. No porters available either. So you need carry the heavy luggage over the foot over bridge on your own.

Food: A three course dinner is served on the train. Starting with a tomato soup with bread sticks, the main course (Veg option has chapati, rice, dal, one curry and curd) and followed by a dessert (normally an Amul ice-cream). The quality is decent however they take too long to serve the items.