My Longest Ride…Yet! (Pt.3)

Part 3

The Journey Back Home

We covered over 800 kilometres and was coming back from Rameswaram to Madurai. If you haven’t seen part 2 of this post, please check it out below!

My Longest Ride…Yet! (Part 2)

It was still the second day of our journey. We reached Madurai City and went directly to our hotel room and freshened up before going out. We only took one bike as it was easier to navigate through the city. We took the Dominar and I decided to be the navigator. I set our destination as Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple and set out.

The famous Vandiyur Mariamman Temple and Mariamman Teppakulam(Temple Pond) was on our way. This pond was 1 or 2 kilometers from Madurai Meenakshi Temple. To talk about the speciality of this place is that this is the biggest pond in Tamil Nadu. No other temples in Tamil Nadu have a larger temple pond. The pond is connected to Vaigai River through a system of underground Channels. So it gets water from the river. It has long stairs (steps) made of granite on all four sides. The temple, as well as the stairs, was built by the King Thirumalai Nayak.

In the centre of the tank, there is a Mandapam called Maiya Mandapam (Central Mandapam) with Vinayakar temple and garden. We stopped there and spent some time there. Since the pond was full of water we were not able to go to the centre. So we went and took a timewarp video of the pond by going around it on the bike. Check it out below!

After a short ride, we reached the Meenakshi Temple at around 6 p.m. We saw the Temple Towers (Gopurams) standing tall amidst the city of Madurai. I have to say; The Towers are a magnificent sight to see! There are about 14 towers and the taller ones being on the outer walls of the temple. These Towers were built by different Rulers at different times. You can learn more about them from the internet, so I am just stopping the description here.

But the temple and its structure are out of this world. I couldn’t believe that they were built by people without the types of building equipment available now. There were a lot of stone art and sculptures from the bottom of the tower all the way up to the top. The structure was painted recently so it was vibrant and colourful. The four towers on the outer walls of the temple allow devotees and pilgrims to enter the complex from all four directions.

I couldn’t believe that they were built by people without the types of building equipment available now.

People are not allowed to carry anything inside the temple. Locker facility was available at the entrance and we kept our belongings and footwear there. After that, we took a stroll around the temple and decided to go inside. When we got inside the temple premises we came across two long queues. These two queues were for the people who wanted to go inside the temple for darshan. We didn’t know that only one of these was for ‘free darshan’ and the other one was for ‘express darshan’. 

We stood behind one queue and after some time got to know that the queue we followed was to express darshan and needed ticket. We switched to the other queue and waited. It was a long wait as it took about 2 hours for us to get inside the temple. It started to get boring but since there were two of us, we bickered about things and the time went by. While waiting, they closed the doors for darshan (nada adachu) and we heard from somebody at the back that they will open after half an hour. By this time we were already inside the temple.

Only after getting inside we saw the difference between express darshan and free darshan. The line for express darshan directly led to the ‘prathishta’ (deity) while the free darshan line went around the inside of the temple. It was long. But the atmosphere inside the temple was entirely different from the outside. The air was cool and since the temple was well ventilated it was not suffocating for the people considering the number of people inside. We couldn’t take any photos because everything including our phones and cameras were kept in the locker since they were prohibited inside.

Inside the temple, we were dumbfounded by the architecture of the temple and the stone arts. The pillars were huge and were constructed from a single rock. The side walls were built with large blocks of rocks. We couldn’t believe that these were built by people before that age of machines like excavators and cranes. The stone sculptures on the pillars were breathtakingly beautiful and the stone arts on the roof were spectacular. Most of them were repainted and the insides of the temple were well maintained. After some waiting, the line began moving and we were ready to head back after seeing the Deity.

We came back to our rooms at after having food and since we were really tired we went to bed early.

The next day we woke up early and had breakfast. This was the third day of our journey. This day was just a ride back home. We had covered about 800 km already. We were at our hotel in Madurai city. The return journey was a solo ride home for both of us. It was because I decided to take another route home via Munnar. This was my first solo ride. But to be fair, this trip was actually my first road trip on my motorcycle.

After setting up our motorcycles, we rode into town and reached a junction. This was where we were supposed to part. And from there, my friend turned left and I went right. We waved our hands as goodbyes and like that we parted ways. The return journey was not very eventful. I rode past Theni town onto Theni-Munnar highway. I was heading towards a place called Munthal. From Munthal the route was through Bodi Hills Reserve Forest. This was the best part of my return journey just because of the roads and the views all around and joy in riding my motorcycle through there!

The road through Bodi Hills Reserve Forest was full of curves and sharp turns all the way up the mountain. This was an unforgettable experience for a biker like me. The roads were smooth and the views were spectacular…I was enjoying the ride until I crossed Kerala-Tamil Nadu border towards Poopara and Munnar. Like I said in my first post, the roads in Tamil Nadu are the best. Just after entering Kerala the roads changed. I didn’t know that the National Highway widening was being carried out on Theni-Munnar Highway. After Poopara the road was under construction up to Munnar.

The roads were rough and this really took a toll on me as they got worse. It became really dusty where the roads were unpaved. And to top it all, came cars and busses behind me honking to make me go faster. The problem was that if I go faster I had to overtake other vehicles and since the road was narrow and unpaved it was really difficult to overtake. And if I didn’t overtake, then I had to drive through the dirt and dust coming from the vehicle in front. You all have heard the term ‘Eat My Dust’ right? This was literally just like that and I started to hate my decision to take this route as it became really difficult for me to ride through.

The problem was that if I go faster I had to overtake other vehicles and since the road was narrow and unpaved it was really difficult to overtake. And if i didn’t overtake, then I had to drive through the dirt and dust coming from the vehicle in front.

I started to hate my decision to take this route as it became really difficult for me to ride through.

As I got closer to the town the roads became slightly better. I stopped somewhere to take a look at myself. I looked orange. My jacket and helmet had orange stripes on them, but now they were fully orange in colour. Even my pants and shoes. I stood there and dusted down my jacket and pants and was ready to get moving. I reached Munnar town after 3 p.m. Man, it took a lot of time to reach Munnar!

I had my lunch at Munnar and continued on towards my home. It was a long ride home and I reached my home at night. This return journey from Madurai took more time that My entire Journey on my first day from my home to Rameswaram!

Thank you for reading. Will be back with another story soon… 

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My Longest Ride….Yet! (Pt.2)

Part 2

Dhanushkodi Heaven..

This is the record of the second day of our journey. We covered over 500 kilometres and was at Rameswaram at the end of Day 1. If you haven’t seen the part 1 of this post, please check it out!

Part 1 of My Longest Ride…Yet!

Day 2…

It was 4 in the morning when the alarm went off and songs from my Spotify Playlist woke us up. We freshened up and got ready for our Big Day. We decided earlier that we will not be returning to the hotel after visiting Dhanushkodi. So we got down to the reception and checked out of the hotel. We loaded up our bags on our motorcycles and decided to head out. The time was a little over 5 O’ Clock in the morning.

The roads were empty and we couldn’t see a single soul around anywhere. When we left the town limits we were welcomed by a long free straight stretch of road with a lot of trees on both sides and after some time it was the sea on both sides of the road. It was still dark, so we couldn’t see anything except what was straight ahead with the help of our motorcycle headlights. The road had reflectors which made it easier to ride as we were traveling pretty fast! But the thing is that insects, bugs and every other thing that flies will find a way to tag you at a 100kmph, and if you are not dressed properly, it will hurt! But we had our riding gears on and so this was not a big issue, but it became difficult as flies hit and splattered across our helmet visors, making it difficult for us to see properly.

But the thing is that insects, bugs and every other thing that flies will find a way to tag you at a 100kmph, and if you are not dressed properly, it will hurt!

It was still dark when we reached the Sea Bridge. Even though we were the only ones on the road till here, many others in buses, cars and motorcycles were already here. There was a blockade at this place and we found out that tourists were only allowed after 6 in the morning. The Dhanushkodi Beach Point (Ram Sethu) was still about 9 kilometres away. The time was only 5:45 and so we waited. We noticed the daybreak and was excited to leave when the blockade was removed at 6 O’ Clock. Since we were on motorcycles, it was easy for us to head out immediately when the boom barrier across the road was lifted.

The sky lit up gradually, and slowly we could see the sea and beach on both sides of the road. There was a steel tower on the side of the road, which was pretty tall. I don’t know if it is for communication or some other purpose. Since it was tall and near the sea, it was supported by cables. We were heading towards our destination on the smooth, straight road all the while enjoying the cold breeze and the spectacular view of the sky, the ocean and the beach all around us!

We reached the end of the road, where there is a roundabout with a pillar at its centre. The pillar embodies the Lion Capital of Asoka Sculpture on its top. We were the first ones to reach there, so we decided to take some photos before everybody else arrived, and parked our motorcycles at the front of the pillar. It was time for sunrise, but the skies were cloudy and we couldn’t watch the sunrise as we expected. But this was not a big issue because the sunrise was not the main attraction here. The view of the sunrise must be unique at a place like this, but what stands out here the most is the beach in the middle and the sea on both its sides!

The view of the sunrise must be unique at a place like this, but what stands out the most here at Dhanushkodi is the beach in the middle and the sea on both its sides!

And at certain times its seems like people are walking on water when the tide is high enough to cover the land formations where the two seas meet

Some 15-20 minutes later, the place was filled with tourists. People were walking here and there, enjoying the beach and the feeling that they were at the Legendary Ram Sethu. We walked on the shoreline and were amazed by the phenomenon here-A calm sea, with no waves on one side and a sea with waves on the other. We walked further south when we got Srilankan mobile carrier signals on our phones and received welcome messages and informed us that we were on roaming. We reached a point where we couldn’t walk any further because of the discontinuous land and water formation. So we walked back and got into the water at a safe place, wandered here and there on the beach taking photos and recording videos until finally, it was time for us to leave the beach and explore more of Dhanushkodi. We went back to the road and took one last look at the spectacular land formation, before getting on our motorcycles and rode out.

The best thing is the journey itself. Riding motorcycle on a road passing between two seas was a great experience for us. I can’t say for other people, but for us it was an extraordinary time, cruising along the road taking in all the beauty around us. After covering some distance, we stopped at a less busy place to take some photographs. We parked our motorcycles on the side of the road and walked towards the beach there. It was all the same but it was different. The sun was already up and was shining brightly above us. The time was around 8 am when we set off again after our photography session.

We stopped at the remains of an old church. This was one of the main attraction. When I visited here with my brother, the area surrounding the church was empty. But now it was full of shops with handicrafts, dresses and other items. We went around the church, took some photos and went towards the beach behind the church and spent some time there.

The ruins of the old railway station were nearby the church ruins. So we headed there next. Since it was close by we didn’t take our motorcycles and went on foot. We walked over the dunes and the dry grass on the beach and reached there. We noticed that some of the old structure remained intact. We didn’t spend much time there and returned to our motorcycles and rode to our next destination, which was The Kothandaramaswamy Temple.

Okay…So this temple is an important one, not only because of its history with Lord Rama and his legend but also due to the fact that this was the only structure that withstood the massive 1964 Rameswaram Cyclone which destroyed the entire Dhanushkodi Town. This temple is surrounded by the sea and deities Rama, Lakshmana, Sita, Hanuman and Vibhishana is worshipped here. The Temple is believed to be more than 1000 years old. The walls of the temple have captivating paintings representing the instances from Hindu sacred text Ramayana on its walls. The history of the temple is also depicted on the temple walls. Images of Goddess Sita, Lord Rama, Lord Lakshmana, Lord Hanuman and Vibhishana can be seen at the temple.

The Kothandaramaswamy Temple was the only structure that withstood the massive 1964 Rameswaram Cyclone which destroyed the entire Dhanushkodi Town.

The Temple is believed to be more than 1000 years old.

According to the legend, this temple is believed to be the place where Vibhishana, the younger brother of Ravana, asked Rama and his vanara army for refuge after he fled from Lanka. It is also believed that after slaying Ravana, Lord Rama performed Pattabhishekam for Vibhishana at this place. The story is depicted in paintings across the walls inside the shrine. The sea in front of the temple is also a place for last rites rituals.

After spending some time at the temple, we decided to head back into town and have breakfast. On our way back into town, we visited the house of our former president, hon’ble Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam. The house was now a museum, where we can see many of his belongings and his achievements were displayed for us to see and get inspired. We then went back into town and had breakfast from the same restaurant we went the previous day.

Our next stop was the Rameswaram temple itself. Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple is undoubtedly the most important part of a Rameshwaram tour. The temple is famous for its monumental works and magnificent towers and the corridors of this temple is a fine example of architectural excellence. This temple has 22 theerthams, bathing in which is believed to atone sins of devotees. Also it is told that the taste of the water in each of these theerthams is unique. Sri Ramanathaswamy temple is regarded with high significance even in the holy scripture of Hindu religion. It is associated with Lord Rama and his successful rescue of Sita after killing demon Ravana and on their way back to Ayodhya, it is here that Lord Rama had worshipped Lord Shiva. There is a lot of history about the temple, from legends about Lord Rama to the architecture of the temple. There are many articles on the web if you want to know more about Rameswaram Temple.

As for us, we reached the temple after 10 in the morning. Temple is open on all days for worship and the timings are from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m, while in the evening it opens for darshan from 3 a.m. to 9 p.m. We visited the 22 Theerthams. According to the legend, after Lord Rama killed Ravana, he decided to seek atonement by worshipping Lord Shiva. In order to offer prayers, Lord Rama had asked Hanuman to get lingam from The Himalayas. However, as it took a lot of time Goddess Sita created a lingam herself. Lord Rama then worshipped Lord Shiva at the pre-decided auspicious moment. Pleased, Lord Shiva blessed Lord Rama and upon his request also manifested himself in the lingam. It is believed that the same lingam is now present in the sanctum of the temple. Also, the lingam brought by Hanuman from Kailash has been kept in the temple. The lingam is known as Viswalingam or Hanuman lingam. As per the instructions of Lord Rama, prayers are offered at Hanuman lingam first before offering prayers to the Lord Ramanathaswamy.

Since Photography was prohibited, we couldn’t snap any pictures. After spending our time inside for about an hour we came back out and decided to leave Rameswaram and head back to Madurai, which was our next destination, where we had booked a room to stay, before heading back home the next day. On our way out of Rameswaram Town, we decided to stop at Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Memorial situated on the outskirts of the town. We parked our motorcycles and went to the entrance, and came to know that bags, helmets and our jackets were not allowed inside. Since we had no safe storage on our motorcycles we sweet-talked the security lady and requested her to keep them in her cabin, to which she agreed and we went inside.

The Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam National Memorial was built by the DRDO, who invested about 120 crores and the project was completed in 9 months. Spread over 2.11 acres of land, the memorial is constructed on the gravesite of Dr Kalam, where his mortal remnants were put to rest on July 27, 2015. The entrance of the memorial depicts the India Gate, with a Chettinad door that resembles the entrance door of the Brihadeeswara Temple in Thanjavur. Also, the main dome of the structure is a replica of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The main attraction about the monument is the fact that the materials used to construct the monument were obtained from places all over India, representing Dr Kalam’s dream of United India.

The main attraction about the monument is the fact that the materials used to construct the monument were obtained from places all over India, representing Dr. Kalam’s dream of United India.

In the interiors of the memorial, four halls that reflect the various angles of Dr Kalam’s life, like the Pokhran nuclear test. Also displayed are the replicas of rockets and missiles that the late scientist worked on, to celebrate his contribution to space science. A bronze life-size statue of Abdul Kalam is installed behind the memorial which was inaugurated in 2016. There is a garden created around the memorial, which has the resemblance of the Mughal Gardens. The plants were brought from Bangalore, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. And also the garden was adorned with the handpicked flowers, keeping in mind the taste of Dr Kalam. Also, there is a replica of Agni ae02 missile installed behind the memorial building near to the bronze statue. We walked around the entire memorial taking in all it had to offer.

The time we spent here was worth every second and after about an hour, we felt it was time for us to leave. It was about 12:30 in the noon when we got on our Motorcycle and headed towards the Pamban bridge. The bridge was congested with all the tourists coming in and out of the island and due to many of them stopping on the bridge for enjoying the views. We didn’t stop anywhere this time and headed towards Madurai City. As we were not hungry we decided to eat lunch at the same restaurant we had lunch the previous day.

The weather was clear and the roads were empty, and we cruised along the Madurai Highway at high speeds. We didn’t stop anywhere on our way back. So we reached the restaurant by 3 pm. We had lunch and drank a lot of water and took rest for some time at the restaurant. Then we rode into the city towards our hotel room. We checked in and freshened up. After this we planned our evening at Madurai. Since we didn’t have much time to spend, we decided to only visit the famous Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple.

Here are some photos from my first trip to Dhanushkodi. You can see that this place has become much busier with tourists than 2 years back

Thank you for spending time on my post. In my next update, we will continue on my visit to Madurai Temple and my return Journey Home.

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My Longest Ride…Yet!

Part 1

On My Way to Dhanushkodi..

Dhanushkodi….The first time I heard about this place was from my cousin brother. He told me that he’ll take me to this Wonderful place someday and told me many things about it. This got my attention and I got interested and wanted to know more about Dhanushkodi; its geography, history and about the people there. I found out that not many people live in this town anymore and the town is a Ghost town. And after a year my brother took me on a road trip there, along with 2 of his friends and this was a new experience for me, because i have never done a road trip before . But this record is not about my first visit to Dhanushkodi. This is about my second visit!

Before that, here is an overview about the place.

Dhanushkodi is a ghost town, located in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is about 20 kilometres from Rameswaram town, located in the Pamban Island. The town was destroyed in the 1964 Rameswaram Cyclone. It destroyed everything, and what remains now is the ruins dating back to those days. Dhanushkodi is also the only land border between India and Sri Lanka, which is only 45 metres in length. Before 2016 there were no roads built up to Dhanushkodi, which was only reachable by foot along the shoreline or by jeeps. But now people can take their vehicles to reach the Dhanushkodi beach tip.

The Legend of Dhanushkodi

The name Dhanushkodi means ‘End of Bow’, and YES!…We are talking about Lord Rama’s Bow. The Legend is that Dhanushkodi is the place where Lord Rama and his army built the Ram Setu (also known as Adam’s Bridge) across the sea connecting Rameswaram and Sri Lanka, to rescue Sita from the Demon king Ravana. Dhanushkodi was marked by Lord Rama as the Start point of the Bridge using his Bow and hence the name-Dhanushkodi. Also after rescuing Sita, Lord Rama destroyed the bridge using his Bow and Arrows.

The legend also says that Lord Rama threatened the seas to calm down for him to build Ram Setu. You can experience this certain phenomenon at Dhanushkodi. People who visited Dhanushkodi might have noticed this; The sea on the left side is very calm, but the sea on the right is fierce and the winds are strong.

The Plan…

Like every trip planning, our Dhanushkodi ride was also planned like a huge event with many of my friends signing up, saying that they are ready for anything. But when the time came, it was just the two of us. Since the two of us were from 2 different districts, Palakkad and Alappuzha, we decided to meet up at Pollachi. Our Route included places like Palani, Dindigul, Madurai and Ramanathapuram.

My Incredible Journey

It was 5 in the morning. I loaded my bag on my motorcycle, put on my Riding gear and set out from my home in Aroor to Pollachi, which was the meeting point that we decided since my companion was from Palakkad. Since it was early in the morning, there was no traffic on the roads. By the time I got to Trissur, the sun was already up and was shining bright.

NH 544 towards Kuthiran. On my way to Pollachi, Sun rising over the horizon…

I contacted my friend ‘N’ and told him to set off from Palakkad. As the roads got busier my average speed started to fall. My route was through many different small and big towns, which were even busier than the outskirts as expected and also most of the roads were bad until I crossed the Kerala border into Tamil Nadu. I reached Pollachi town at around 10 am and met with N, who was already there waiting for me, at a fuel station. We refueled our motorcycles and set out from there towards Palani. I’ve got to say this….”The roads in Tamil Nadu are the best!” You cannot find any bad roads there, at least I have never seen one. Even small towns had better roads than most Kerala towns.

“The roads in Tamil Nadu are the best! “

You cannot find any bad roads here, at least I have never seen one. Even small towns had better roads than most Kerala towns.

We rode together to Palani. The view all around us was striking; windmills, barren lands, small towns and a spectacular road through them. Since there was no traffic, we were able to enjoy our rides to the fullest all the while enjoying the views. All these were also being recorded on our mounted camera. It took us a little more than one hour to reach Palani town. We could see Palani Temple a long way before we were near Palani town. We didn’t go into the town as we knew that it will eat into our precious time and took a new bypass road which avoided the town. We stopped somewhere and took some photos of the Palani temple on the hill.

My friend asked me to check the route on the map and set the navigation, and for this reason, I removed my right-hand glove to check my phone and put it on my friend’s motorcycle. He didn’t notice this, and after understanding the route, he took off with my glove on his back seat. It was only then, when I got on my motorcycle, that I realized that my gloves were not on my hand. I called him to tell him to stop, but he didn’t pick up. So I set off to catch up with him, and after some distance, I saw him waiting for me, and i told him about the misfortune. We went searching on the roadsides for my glove together but we could not find it. There was no other way but to leave it and move on since time was limited. We had already lost more than half an hour in the search. We had to reach Rameswaram before sunset. And note this; this was the only mishap that happened for this entire journey-my glove getting lost, and me having to ride the entire journey with a single glove on my left hand. Luckily, the skies were clear the entire time!

The only mishap that happened for this entire trip was my glove getting lost, and me having to ride the entire journey with a single glove, on my left hand.

We started, after our small set back, towards Madurai. After Palani the route only included highways. We were on NH 83 up to Dindigul and after that, it was NH 44 up to Madurai. The roads were wide and smooth, and with less traffic, we were able to make up for our lost time. We were cruising at high speeds taking in all the amazing and breathtaking views around us. Most of the roads and areas were deserted, just plain grassland all around. It was only when were near Madurai City, that we started seeing more and more small towns and people. We reached Madurai at around 1:30 pm. We didn’t stop at Madurai, because it was already decided that we will visit Madurai City on our way back from Dhanushkodi. We rode through the city full of people and I came across some familiar places that I saw when I visited Madurai during my last trip with my brother and i was saying “Yeah I remember this place!”

We came across the Vaigai River that flows through the city and for some distance until we exited the city limits, we were traveling alongside the river. We could see that the river was polluted and since it was not monsoon, there were only small puddles of water here and there. There were cattle grazing on the dried up riverbeds, people washing clothes, bathing, living their life and we rode through the city watching all these happening around us!

We realized that it was way past lunchtime and we were starting to get hungry. So the next step was finding a restaurant. And we found one, after some distance, on the outskirts of the city. It was called Velammal’s Annam Bhavan. It was a new and fairly good restaurant with ample parking space and a good seating capacity. The food was also nice. Since it was a vegetarian restaurant we ordered Thaali Meals and after having food, we took rest for about 15 minutes, set our navigation to Rameswaram and set out. The time was around 3 in the afternoon.

Have you heard about Asian Highways? Just so you know, The National Highway 44 and 85 on which we were traveling on, shares some of its portions and NH 87 shares most of its portions with Asian Highway 43 (AH43). This Asian Highway connects Agra to Mantara in Sri Lanka. So the rest of our journey after Madurai was on AH43. This highway briefly ends at Rameswaram before starting at Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka. The total length of AH43 is 3024 kilometres. There are other highways of the Asian Highway Network, passing through India like the AH42 which connects India to Nepal and China.

The National Highway 44 and 85 on which we were traveling on, shares some of its parts and NH 87 shares most of its parts with Asian Highway 43 (AH43)

So like the entire journey before, we were cruising along the AH43 towards Rameswaram, passing through towns like Manamadurai, Ariyanendal and Thiruvadi. The experience was all the same. “The Highway cutting through a vast area of grassland with small towns here and there.” People were only seen in these small towns, other than that the only people we saw were the people traveling on the roads like us. We could see cows, goats grazing on the fields and grassland. There were some rivers and lakes along the way and also we saw some overhead canals passing alongside the roads.

The Road cutting Through the Beautiful Landscapes….
  • A Small Break
  • 90 kms to go but only 70 for now, 20 for the next day
  • Grasslands all around…
  • Waypoint
  • My Ride
  • We stopped at a tea shop in Ramanathapuram

At around 4 in the evening, we reached the town of Ramanathapuram. We parked our motorcycles and had tea from one of the shops there and left for Rameswaram. It was after this place that we started noticing the change in the scenery around us!

The fields and grasslands changed into waterlogged areas and we started seeing swamps on both sides. There were trees on both sides of the road. And then, we once again were traveling alongside Vaigai River, but in this area, it had water flowing through it. And after some time, at about 5 O’ clock, we were passing through a place called Mandapam, after which the view of the sea appeared on both sides. We realized that we were close to the famous Pamban Bridge!

The landscapes changed from green grasslands to waterlogged fields and swamps as we got closer to the sea

As we continued further, the sea became closer to the road on both sides and the Pamban bridge became visible. I remembered the time when I came here last time with my brother. It was not as crowded then, as it was now, I recall. During that trip, we stopped our car on the bridge to look at the landscape and the rail bridge. But now the bridge was very busy with tourists.

We rode across the bridge slowly on our motorcycles and came to a stop on the other side of the bridge, where we parked our rides and decided to go on a walk on the bridge. We were just in time for the Sunset and this was a spectacular view, watching the sun go down the horizon. During our walk on the bridge, we noticed that all the tourists were stopping their vehicles on the bridge itself to view the mesmerizing views of the Pamban Rail Bridge and the Scenic Beauty all around. Police were patrolling on the bridge to control the tourists and the traffic. They were trying to stop tourists from stopping their vehicles on the bridge. Although we did the same thing when we were here last time, in my opinion, this patrolling was needed, because if they were not there, there will not be any place on the bridge to travel! You can see this in the video below, which contains the complete footage of me and my friend riding across the bridge. Keep in mind that the video is not edited, so wind noise will be there.

Crossing the Pamban Road Bridge which is 2km long

We walked on the bridge for some time and were able to see the part of the Pamban Rail Bridge which can be lifted for boats to cross. From there we could also see the Sunset and also below the bridge, on the south side, there were many boats tied up in the sea below. After watching the sunset, we walked back to our motorcycles. By this time it was already dark all around and lights from shops and houses illuminated the streets.

The View from the Top of Pamban Road Bridge after the Sunset
  • Fishing boats
  • Fishing boats tied up on the shores of the sea
  • The view of the Pamban bridge after the sunset, seen from the Pamban island
  • boat tied up under the bridge
  • A Sunset view from the top of the bridge
  • The old railway line towards Dhanushkodi. Now it’s only till Rameswaram. This passes under the Pamban road bridge

We started out towards our hotel as we were really tired and just wanted to rest our heads. It was a 12-kilometre ride to the hotel. We got there in about 20 minutes. The hotel was near the famous Ramanathaswamy Temple. We parked our bikes and checked into the hotel and freshened up. Then plugged in our power banks and cameras and left the room to have food. We went to Sri Saravana Bhavan near the west street of the temple. It was a good restaurant, and I had been here before when I came with my brother. After having food and wandering around for some time, we returned to our room.

We were tired from our journey and we had to leave for Dhanushkodi early next morning, we decided to call it a day and drifted off.

Tomorrow “was” a Big Day..

Dhanushkodi experience will be continued on my next post. Thanks for your support!

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This is me…

Hey there everyone....So, this is it basically. Going to different places, travelling alone or with my friends is the one real goal of my life. So this is the reason why i created this blog to record my travel experiences, thus bringing the two things i love, together -travel and computer…and also share my experiences with you!

Why this Blog ? ?

  • Well… As i said before, i want to share my life experiences with you guys especially my travel experiences among other things, and may be, give you information or ideas about things that may matter someday.
  • This blog is also a record of all the things that i enjoyed doing in my life.

These are some sneak peaks of my travels….I’ll tell you guys all my stories, my past ones and all my future ones in the coming days

So lets start this journey together. Happy blogging…

  1. Abhil Mohan's avatar

    Good luck! Keep going!!

  2. Unknown's avatar

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