During my school days I went for a trip to Gujrat along with my friend and her mother. My friend was in at another city and she joined me and her mom midway. We started from Tamil Nadu and reached Rajkot first via Bombay. So my friend joined us at Bombay.
My friend is also from a middle class nuclear family.
All throughout the journey from Tamilnadu to Bombay me and Aunty did not purchase anything. We only ate what we took along with us from home.
We reached Rajkot in the evening and went a relative's place. She treated us well. She cooked dinner for us and offered us icecream. My friend wanted to go to a temple which belongs to their ancestors. We went a few kilometres away from Rajkot in a village the name of which I have forgotten. That village area was so blissful, those green trees, the flowing wind, the hospitality of the people of the village. We were also served lunch in the afternoon.
Later we went out for shopping. I purchased a few sarees, some artificial jewellery and of course had evening snacks and returned back to aunty's place. We had our train the next day and we left from Rajkot. They city was so calm and peaceful, I miss it.
We reached Dwarka the next day morning and were trying to find a hotel. Luckily we got a luxury hotel. After getting freshed up we took some rest and left for the temple visits. We visited the main temple of dwarkadeesh. The temple had a big crowd of people coming from many parts of India. Also there were a few foreigners. The deity of Lord Krishna was so mesmerizing that I couldn't take my eyes off. I prayed for all that I could. After the darshan we went for having some snacks. I said them that I wanted to purchase some clothes. I purchased a gown for my grandma which she wore for almost 2 years.
The next day morning we again left for other temple visits. We had our breakfast first and then fed some grass to a few cows. We were going to Beyt Dwarka via a boat. This is an island in the Arabian Sea. There an an old temple of dwarkadeesh at this place. Just nearby the temple was a Gurudwara. I went to the Gurudwara. I did an Ardas (sacred prayer) for me and my family. They offered some prasadam to me which I ate with all my heart in it. Then we left from there and near the river area were a few shops, I purchased a few decoration items for my home and left from there.
After reaching Dwarka I went for a camel ride. My friend refused to get onto the camel. There was a bridge there, we took a pics and and just went ahead. The next day morning we left and went to Somnath. The first Jyotirlinga was Somnath. I went for the darshan, later visited a museum. We got a bus which took us all around the city. The water in that place did not suit me. I landed up having a stomach upset. We are our food in the temple trust area. The food was very cheap as well as very tasty.
The next day we left for Ahmedabad. We booked a room and landed there. Got freshened, got ready and left for a visit to the late night market especially to have your dinner. The variety of food was tremendous, the taste of the food swas delicious and the cost of the food was so affordable for anyone going there. They served food with so much of love and a lot of cheese on almost all the variety of food items. The next day I asked my friend if she could take me to ISKCON. She agreed for it and that was the happiest day of the trip. We went to the temple and did Darshan of Krishna and Radha. The temple was very big and maintained really well. I was dumb struck looking at the deities and prayed for myself and my family.
The next day we left for Tamilnadu but before reaching the station I went a nearby vegetable market and purchased a rare vegetable which is not found in Tamil Nadu.
I still remember my train journey, there we 2 naughty kids who made us laugh all through the journey and we enjoyed the most.
This was the most memorable trip. We reached Tamil Nadu safely. My brother came to pick me and went home happily.