Reaching Godowlia in Varanasi; Reaching Dasashwamedh in Varanasi
Having collected the luggage, it was time to see if a cosy ride could be accomplished by auto from Varanasi Airport. I could not spot any auto and the taxi fare from Airport to Godowlia, the place where one has to deboard for Kashi Vishwanath Temple stood at steep rs 800. Godowlia Crossing is a famous spot in Varanasi as one has to walk from here if one is wishing to visit Kashi Vishwanath Temple. As i came out of arrival lounge, i was promised a share ride in a vehicle to Godowlia. The man who acted as a middleman and guided me to the taxi was ill mannered. There were five men including driver in the vehicle and i would remain grateful to Mr Sanjay Singh who frequently prodded the driver to take me to a place from where i could access hotels with reasonable tariff.
There was one gentleman from Hyderabad who through his smartphone showed the delicacies of Kashi (Varanasi) and was eager to know from where he could get them. All along this Hyderabad gentleman was speaking in the car with his notings on delicacies of Kashi that he would like to try, the different ghats that he would like to visit and if possible take a boat ride as well. He wanted to explore the other famous spots of Varanasi city. Mind you the ride from Airport to Godowlia is roughly 35 kms and it takes over an hour to reach there.
I was dropped far away from Godowlia and the search for hotels was done on foot. With no success on hand i hailed a cycle rickshaw and asked the person concerned to take me to Godowlia. It was chilling cold and the weather format suggested that plains of the North were in grip of cold maelstrom. The city of Varanasi was much colder than city of Delhi. Those visiting Varanasi for the Temple should take a taxi ride to Godowlia and from there walk on foot as they can come across a large number of Guest Houses and hotels. The first lodge to be tried was Dasashwamedh Lodge in Dasashwamedh which showed no vacancy and here there was a boy going by the name Govind who assured me that he would get me the requisite lodge/guest house at reasonable rate.
From Dasashwamedh lodge we went to Sri Venkateshwar Lodge with Mr Mohan at the counter. I told Mr Mohan that i am an ardent devotee of Lord Govinda (Lord Venkateshwar of Tirumala) and i would be content to stay in his lodge. He asked me to come the next day as there was no spare room. From here we went to Maa Padmavathi Guest House with Mr Upendar Yadav at the counter who expressed his inability to dispense a room. The next place to be tried was Laxmi Venkatesh Atithi Grih with the room coming on the third floor. There was Mr Sunil Adichwal there who said for the time being he can spare a room with three bed on the third floor. Then we went to Bhuteshwar Gali and zeroed in on Luxmi Guest House where one Mr Tripathi was willing to lend room for two days. This Luxmi Guest House too was in Dasashwamedh. Later i walked all the way to Dawat restaurant in the vicinity of Godowlia Crossing and took dinner. The man who served went by the name Mr Manoj and the food a bit expensive was high in quality. Half an hour in the restaurant i decided to see if the Kashi Vishwanath temple was open. Visiting the temple one has to do away with the cell and pen. I was inside the temple but could not sight the Kashi Vishwanath Lingam as night Aarti was on. Post Aarti i left the place and came to my room.
The next morning which happened to be Sunday i visited Raja Tea Point where there was one Babloo serving tea. He was kind enough to dish out more than two sets of black tea. After getting ready i set out for Kashi Vishwanath Temple and i joined the queue. In under 20 minutes i was in sanctum sanctorum and sighted Kashi Vishwanath Lingam. I was thrilled to sight Lord Shiva's Lingam and even though it was a fleeting glimpse it was enough for me, The temple is squeaky clean and approach to the same is worth noting flanked by different vendors dispensing flowers, garlands, milk and prasadam to be offered to the Lord.
Having collected the luggage, it was time to see if a cosy ride could be accomplished by auto from Varanasi Airport. I could not spot any auto and the taxi fare from Airport to Godowlia, the place where one has to deboard for Kashi Vishwanath Temple stood at steep rs 800. Godowlia Crossing is a famous spot in Varanasi as one has to walk from here if one is wishing to visit Kashi Vishwanath Temple. As i came out of arrival lounge, i was promised a share ride in a vehicle to Godowlia. The man who acted as a middleman and guided me to the taxi was ill mannered. There were five men including driver in the vehicle and i would remain grateful to Mr Sanjay Singh who frequently prodded the driver to take me to a place from where i could access hotels with reasonable tariff.
There was one gentleman from Hyderabad who through his smartphone showed the delicacies of Kashi (Varanasi) and was eager to know from where he could get them. All along this Hyderabad gentleman was speaking in the car with his notings on delicacies of Kashi that he would like to try, the different ghats that he would like to visit and if possible take a boat ride as well. He wanted to explore the other famous spots of Varanasi city. Mind you the ride from Airport to Godowlia is roughly 35 kms and it takes over an hour to reach there.
I was dropped far away from Godowlia and the search for hotels was done on foot. With no success on hand i hailed a cycle rickshaw and asked the person concerned to take me to Godowlia. It was chilling cold and the weather format suggested that plains of the North were in grip of cold maelstrom. The city of Varanasi was much colder than city of Delhi. Those visiting Varanasi for the Temple should take a taxi ride to Godowlia and from there walk on foot as they can come across a large number of Guest Houses and hotels. The first lodge to be tried was Dasashwamedh Lodge in Dasashwamedh which showed no vacancy and here there was a boy going by the name Govind who assured me that he would get me the requisite lodge/guest house at reasonable rate.
From Dasashwamedh lodge we went to Sri Venkateshwar Lodge with Mr Mohan at the counter. I told Mr Mohan that i am an ardent devotee of Lord Govinda (Lord Venkateshwar of Tirumala) and i would be content to stay in his lodge. He asked me to come the next day as there was no spare room. From here we went to Maa Padmavathi Guest House with Mr Upendar Yadav at the counter who expressed his inability to dispense a room. The next place to be tried was Laxmi Venkatesh Atithi Grih with the room coming on the third floor. There was Mr Sunil Adichwal there who said for the time being he can spare a room with three bed on the third floor. Then we went to Bhuteshwar Gali and zeroed in on Luxmi Guest House where one Mr Tripathi was willing to lend room for two days. This Luxmi Guest House too was in Dasashwamedh. Later i walked all the way to Dawat restaurant in the vicinity of Godowlia Crossing and took dinner. The man who served went by the name Mr Manoj and the food a bit expensive was high in quality. Half an hour in the restaurant i decided to see if the Kashi Vishwanath temple was open. Visiting the temple one has to do away with the cell and pen. I was inside the temple but could not sight the Kashi Vishwanath Lingam as night Aarti was on. Post Aarti i left the place and came to my room.
The next morning which happened to be Sunday i visited Raja Tea Point where there was one Babloo serving tea. He was kind enough to dish out more than two sets of black tea. After getting ready i set out for Kashi Vishwanath Temple and i joined the queue. In under 20 minutes i was in sanctum sanctorum and sighted Kashi Vishwanath Lingam. I was thrilled to sight Lord Shiva's Lingam and even though it was a fleeting glimpse it was enough for me, The temple is squeaky clean and approach to the same is worth noting flanked by different vendors dispensing flowers, garlands, milk and prasadam to be offered to the Lord.
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