Japan 2025 - Perfect 9 day trip - Part 2

 

This is Part 2 of Kanishka and my Japan trip 2025. The first part covered what we liked and didn''t like about Japan.  In this blog, we will share our itinerary. 

Our itineraries are crafted to perfection. They have mix of things that we like - some museums, some local / cultural bits,  some outdoorsy, some touristy, some rustic - a unique blend of experiences that are chosen carefully.  

Day 1 - Our flight landed in Tokyo in the afternoon. Our first thing was to go from airport to Tokyo station, via the Narita express, and then take the train to Kanazawa. It was a daring plan, new country, different train systems and no idea how to switch trains etc. All in a short window to reach hotel by reasonable time. Our hotel in Kanazawa was carefully booked to be about 700m from the train station. 

Why go via all the hurry? Our visit coincided with the annual festival of Kanazawa . The next day, there was going to be an awesome parade as part of the festival itinerary. We wanted to attend it. 

Onboarding to Narita was simple but at the Tokyo station, it was a world of its own. Underground stations have markets, shops, a whole city in itself. At the ticket line to buy ticket to Kanazawa, the guy asked for our tickets that we had used to reach the Tokyo station, thankfully, we had not thrown them away. Still not sure why he asked for it. The train journey to Kanazawa was good. By the time we reached the hotel, it was 8ish pm. 

Our dinner was at Izakaya Musashi, a quaint Gastropub which had good veg options. Our first introduction to Izakaya was delicious, a little pricey though. At night, we strolled on the quite streets of Kanazawa - nicely lit by street lights.

Day 2 - Out hotel in Kanazawa was Hotel Forza Kanazawa. It had complimentary breakfast which we enjoyed each day. Forza kanawa was next to the local Omichi market. After breakfast, we did a quick stroll through the market. I had never seen a cleaner sabji-mandi/fish-market ever. Not even in US. Japan is another level in its cleanliness

Day 2 was busy. We walked to the local Kanazawa castle where they had all these stalls owing to their festival. It was a mela. The stalls were of nearby prefectures who were asking residents of Kanazawa and tourists like us to travel to their towns, selling their town tourism. To get traction, some of them had folks dressed as samurai, some had freebies. 

At Kanazawa castle information centre, we learnt that there is a volunteer led group which gives free english tours of their garden - Kenroku-en. We took their offer and a nice lady gave us a free 90 mins tour. Kenroku-en garden is amazing. It has a waterfall (manmade), a lake, beautiful trails and trees. It is not huge either.  There is also a residence home inside the garden. Each garden is like a king's summer retreat and has a place to stay/relax. The residence was now hosting a dolls exhibition which was good to explore. Post the garden, we also visited the Kanazawa shrine

After Kenroku-en, we walked our way down to the parade route. Along the way, we had cabbage hotdog kind of item on a stick with some very long french fries. The ice cream above  has god leaf covering - something which is unique to Kanazawa

The parade was grand, festive and full of local spirit. It had giesha, bands, boy scouts, ninja, dragon, fights and what not. Very local and cultural. Very Japanese - highly organized, clean and simple. 

After the parade, we rested for sometime at the hotel. Our day was far from being over. In the evening, there was a flute performance - a Geisha would play flute on a boat at the Kenroku-en lake, under the moonlight. It was too good to miss. so we went and saw that. The performance was good but only for 15 mins long. There was also the threatre performance of Noh at the castle. We attended the performance but found it to be too slow for our taste. hat 

After the performance, we went to have dinner. Most places were closed and we wanted to try local. We found one places and were lucky since another family had just got in, perhaps after closing hrs. Our local restaurant did not speak English. But our other family were kind enough to translate for us. We bonded over Google-translate :) 

Here is where we had the template for our Izakaya - soya sauce, sticky rice and vegetable tempura. Here they also gave us edmame

The day was not yet over. On the walk back to hotel, we saw a long night food market and when there is night market, we have to go check it out. We were full in stomach, tired, but we walked the length of market

Day 3 

Day 3 was meant to be light - we woke up cozily and had a sumptuous breakfast. We walked to see local houses os Samurai or other foot soldiers. Kanazawa is a castle town, so there were kings, samurais and soldiers in the old days. The Samurai house are a treat to visit - they have lovely architecture, simple interior decor and an amazing personal garden :) . Inside one of the Samurai houses, we had our first and only tea-tasting ceremony. A matcha tea which is okayish to drink but almost like a habit for locals. 

After the Samurai houses, it was time for some introspection and zen, So we went to D.T. Suzuki museum. Mr. D.T. Suzuki was a zen practitioner and a philosopher who had significant influence on Japanese culture. His museum was serene, and relaxing. we stopped there for a bit. On the way to museum, Kanishka briefly went to McDonalds and I clicked a picture. Right outside, the D.T. Suzuki museum was another Samurai garden, albeit a public one. It was amazingly beautiful. 

We walked down to checkout a museum of bowls. Similar to Berlin's museum island, Kanazawa has a section where there are 4-5 museums. We checked out one and then decided to walk back to hotel.  Our lunch was at this curry place which had chole with tofu curry. What more can we want

Our dinner was hotel-made, bought from local shops. Kanishka got soya sauce and some other items from nearby grocery store. 

Day 3 - Day 3 was departure from Kanazawa. But before I check out, I wanted to share this pic of their breakfast tray - a nice 6 bowl tray that we had used daily. 

Day 3 itinerary was to move from Kanazawa to Kaga - an onsen town. We had to take a train for this. 

Kaga for me was the best part of the trip. It is a village with a main downtown street, some temples etc. We ended up just strolling the entire village. Stopped at small restaurants and had local delicacies, one of them being Kuzu bar. Kaza also had a old traditional bathhouses and this was our first experience with a Japanese bathhouse. 

Japanese bathhouse, separate sections for men and women. You go in full naked into a hot water pool and relax there. After that, there are taps along-side the pool for you to apply soap/shampoo and have a bath. It is incredibly relaxing. In the old days, when soldiers would travel, then these bathhouses (onsen) were build for them for communal baths. Makes sense to conserve water. Also, there was procedures which makes sure that the hot water is clean. It is a unique and refreshing experience. It is a concept that we saw in Germany also. 

We had booked our stay at Rurikoh which is an onsen hotel. We ended up doing onsen hopping, first at the old and moden public bathouses and then later in the night at a private onsen.  The hot water is really hot. Rurikoh also gave us Yukata for free which we gladly wore and roamed around the streets there. 

This was also Kanishka's 40th birthday. We had a noodle dessert, known as Mont Blanc for cake cutting. Dinner was at a local Izakaya. There was a drum show at the hotel and in the night, we dipped our feet in hot water. 

Day 4

Day 4 morning - the Kaga experience continued. In the morning, we went to the public bath of Rurikoh and it was open air hot-spring. It was just surreal, pure natural hot water under an overcast sky. We were debating if we had enough of Onsens but this was a right decision. Onsens also freshens you up like anything. This was followed by a authentic Japanese breakfast buffet, served on the table. It was awesome. 

Rurikoh remains the best stay place and Kaga was the best destination for me. It was away from crowds, no itinerary, no frills. Perhaps, the closest glimpse of authentic Japanese culture. Our next stops were Kyoto and then Tokyo, and now we were getting into the touristy territory :) 

It is the small acts that make you remember the travel. One such act has been imprinted on me. We were at the Kaga station and had to take a train to Kyoto. There were no direct trains. We had to go to a station (forgot the name, lets say X) and change train. I was not sure if I should buy both Kaga to X and then go to X and then buy ticket to Kyoto or can I buy both here. It is a small village railway station with only one employee at the counter and she was dealing with a customer ahead of us and that took 5 mins. We were patiently waiting behind. She seemed very diligent about our job. When our turn came, we asked tickets to go to X,  then I paid for them and she printed those. Later, I asked her if I can buy tickets from X to Kyoto here as well, or should I buy this at X.  She realized that I can save money if I buy a direct ticket to Kyoto via X. She explained the math and it was pretty substantial saving(~30%).  She didn't had to do this since she had already printed one and the easiest would have been to print another one. She also didn't berate us by saying that yo should have told this earlier. She cancelled our current ticket, refunded the amount and then issued a new ticket. During all of this, we were communicating in broken English, with some google-translate thrown in.  The sense of duty and helping others is so much ingrained to them and it is just amazing. The pride-in-the-job concept is so powerful. I feel that if you have to build stronger nations, this is the key. When everyone does their job well, strong nations are built. 

Our Kyoto stay was at Hotel Tomiya with Ms, a Scandinavian decor hotel, close to station with no lobby. a machine an entrance but thankfully, they had help staff to guide us.  Our first stop in Kyoto sightseeing was Ninja museum and it was a very touristy experience. Meant to be insta-grammable. But still fun. We had dinner at a local vegan Ramen place  (Moon and back ramen bar).  Kanishka had booked a walking tour in the night but it was raining heavily. Like heavy heavy downpour. I was thinking that they would cancel the tour but that was not the case. There were 6 of us plus the tour guide and he conducted the entire tour in this heavy dowpour with umbrellas. The good thing was that streets were empty, so we had the place to ourselves. But, we were wet, our shoes, socks, feet were wet. But, it was an amazing experience. Kyoto still has an active Geisha culture and we learnt a lot about their world. 

Day 5

It was still raining on Day 5 morning. So, we decided to go to a museum, thinking it will be indoors and less crowded. But, boy was I wrong. I had never seen a more crowded museum before. Seemed like entire Kyoto was there. We spent couple of hrs learnings about the Japanese history. Even though the museum was crowded, the people were super chill about it. They would take their time to wait in lines to see the exhibits in order. Move slowly, take their time and were extremely patient about it. Again, a part of culture that shocked me.  We had lunch at a local vegan shop and it had a nice poster below

We walked a lot and then visited the handicraft museum. This is actually a local handicraft store, two buildings of local craft that they were selling. Like Delhi-haat or dastkar but in a fancy shop-like setting. Good experience. Mostly expensive items

From here, we walked to a cat-cafe. Japan has this culture of cat cafes where you can spend time with cats. You pay for time and drinks there. Buying drinks is mandatory. This cafe had healthy well-fed cats and it was fun to play with them for sometime. 

Post cat cafe, we were looking for dinner options and stumbled into Nijiya Kyoto - a hole in the wall joint which serves the best Vegana Izakaya. The place is so small that it can only seat 6 people at a time, at a bar-counter kind of setting. This food was perhaps the best food of the trip. There were two people serving the food and it was just amazing how much can be packed in such a small place.  

After food, we were full but craving for some nice ice creams. 

Day 6 

Today was checkout and take the train to Tokyo. Kyoto to Tokyo trains run as if they are local, every 5-6 mins. These two stations are 250+kms apart. We had no prior reservation, so we just walked and booked and had trouble finding seats - many trains were full. Trains in Japan are extremely comfortable. 

We had to change trains, walk a lot dragging our suitcase, but finally we were at our hotel. At Tokyo, we were staying at Ryokan asakusa Shigetsu . Ryokan means traditional Japanese inn. We picked this hotel because it had an onsen on top. You sleep on the ground, on  a mattress on top of bamboo chatai . It is an authentic experience. This place was also next to Tokyo's oldest temple and walkable to a train station. 

Near the oldest temple was a huge market, including a market which sells all the plastic food items. Plastic food items are also such a brilliant Japanese idea - instead of putting real food items on display where food will go waste, there are these plastic replicas which look exactly as the food. And then there is a market dedicated to it.  We just strolled in the market. 

In the evening, we went to the Museum of roadside art and I have never seen anything as bizarre as this one. It is so bizarre that it is cool. Walking with no expectations, it takes sometime to understand WTF is this. But, then the writings on the wall say - what is art - isn't it meant to challenge you . And this museum challenges in you in many many ways. The best part is that we had no idea before we walked in. Tokyo is known for its quirky museums but this one is a topper. I will highly recommend this, but it is not for faint hearted folks. 

Near Asakusa, there is a space needle which gives you a high-rise view of the city but it is expensive. The internet hack is that, nearby, there is a Asahi HQ building who have a beer joint on their top floor and you get equally good view of it. You get good beer and it is cheaper. We went to the Asahi place and enjoyed the lighted Tokyo city. 

Day 7

Day 7 started with a walking tour starting from Akihabara. The walking tour was okay-ish. Since, between Shogun and the Kyoto walking tour, and the Ninja museum, we knew the history. But Akihabara was awesome! 

Akihabara is an experience that again is quintessential Japanese. It is a world of its own. First, there are these massive figurines/manga shops. We decided to check one building which had 9 floors, each with a different aspect of this, full of people. Then there are these arcade game centers where you can just spend the whole day playing arcade games, claw machines etc. And then it has these maid-cafes; we went to maidcafe-athome which is the birthplace of moe moe kyun . Each experience in Akihabara was like something that one will never get outside. 

Day 7 was also the day we had Sushi. We went to a Sushi-bar . At a Sushi bar, you sit on a bar counter and on the other side, there is a chef making live-Sushi for you. It was like an everyday QSR restaurant, nothing fancy, but it had good Sushi. Day 7 dinner was at home (hotel). Japan sells curd, soya sauce satchets, cut cabbage etc and you can make salads at home. We also got Theplas from IN and it made a quirky dinner but delicious. 

Day 8 

Today was 14 June and it was my birthday. We had a great day planned ahead of us. But our first stop was visiting toilets. Tokyo hosted olympics and as part of that they had an art project to have designer toilets installed at various places. It was called the Toilet Project. Each one designed by a different art designer. One of them is designed that the toilet is transparent when not in use and then as soon as you lock in from inside, it changes color and becomes opaque. Just fascinating. We ended up visiting two of such installations

We were now just walking and our next stop was to see the Shibuya crossing. Known as the busiest crossing, we had time to just check it out. 15 year old me would have never gone there, saying that it is just an intersection where people cross roads,  but I am mellow-er now. Anyways, we want and it was okayish. Along the way, Kanishka clicked whole bunch of flower photos. 

Next two events were planned by Kanishka for my 40th. First one was lunch at a Michelin star restaurant - Daigo. This was going to be our first Michelin star restaurant. Food was good, small portions, multipe courses. Each item explained to us by the staff, setup in a cozy setting where we were only ones in the room and the room had a private garden. The food was good. I do not have the palette to understand what makes a Michelin star and what does not. So, I can not comment on that, but it was good. But, what we also remember, and probably will never forget, is that their dessert menu was a slice of watermelon. Japan, a place known for its desserts, a michelin-star restaurant known for its creativity, and we got watermelon slice for a dessert. We cannot forget this. 

We went home, slept for a while and our late-evening program was to visit TeamLabs Planets. Before TeamLabs, we were hungry and next to the planets venue, there is a open barbeque place and we had fries and sprouts there. A very Americanish experience in Japan :)  Team Labs was awesome. So much creativity, experiences packed in one place. we loved all the art installations. In another world, I would just go and spend a day here. The experiences are amazing and I think it is the feeling that  we carry more than anything else. 

Day 9 

This was the journey back day. But, we had a morning to ourselves. In a city with so many things to do, what do you pick up if you have 3 hrs. We decided to keep it simple and go back to basics - visit a garden. We visited the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden - it is one of those decisions which makes this itinerary a perfect one. It was raining mildly and the garden was in its prime green beauty. Plus, understanding the design of Japanese garden, it is simple but an awe-inspiring experience. Garden is paid entry, small-ish one but had all hallmarks - stone bridge, flower garden, ponds, waterfall - you name it.  This was a perfect way to end the trip! 

I do not think that I have experienced so many new things in one country as much as we experienced in Japan. From gardens, to onsen, to concept cafes - cats, maids, to teamLabs, to roadside art museum, to Izakayas, to Michelin-star restaurants, to samurais and parades. Japan has been a perfect way to spend our 40th birthdays. 

Thank you for reading. 

Life In 24 Mar to 31 Aug'24

 

No time to waste, so lets get down to the deets. In no particular order. 

Thindi Walk in Rajajinagar with Aarti. 

Thindi Walk

1. We started at a Chiblu idli van that is yet to be found on Google maps. Mandya Halaguru Chiblu Idli, Rajajinagara. -pillowy, fresh chiblu idlis, love rice bath items (pudina, puliyogare and chitranna), masal vadE. All good!
2. THE Ajji hotel with the sakkath khara kanninda neeru baruthe chutney, fantastic chitranna, idli and bondas.
3. Sri Guru raghavendra dosa and veg corner. Shavige bath, Kesari Bhat and vade
4. Siri coffee Mane for some fresh coffee
5. Manjunatha fast foods - Puri with Sunday special tarkari sagu (brilliant!), garlic chutney smeared masal dosE, soft thatte idlis with a dash of ghee
6. Davangere benne dosE angadi, open dosE, benne Khali, benne masalE
7. Lastly, we went to O.G. Varier bakery - a very famous one 

Restaurants explored - 

• Kampot Bellandur - Went with office colleagues for Kajal's farewell. Good Asian food. Not much crowded and no music.
• Biergarten Bellandur - Went with Rick and team. Good beer and near to office. It is a huge place inside. 
• Street 1522, Sarjarpur road with Masi - Good variety of food. Nice combination of food court and restaurant. 
• Multiple visits to Deck of brews from office
• Hotel Annapurna Tiffin Center - Nearby office. Took a cab once and had breakfast before going to office. 
• The Filter Coffee - Tried both Indiranagar (with Manas) and the Brookfiled one (with Rick)

Movies / TV Series

• Kill  - John Wick equivalent from India. Loved it. 3.5/5
• Amar Singh Chamkila - Biopic done well. I liked it a lot. 3.5/5 
• Barbie - 3/5
• Watched Oppenheimer again. I think it is just brilliant. 4.5/5
• Broadchurch - Season 1 & 2. 4/5 . Both David Tennant and Olivia Coleman are awesome! 
• The Bear season 3 - 3.5/5 Still has a lot of heart but story does not move that much forward. 
• Masala series - Tracker (2.5/5), Poker Face (3/5) 
• Masala movies - The Union, Twisters (2024), Twister(1996), Anyone but you. 
• Rewatched Ted Lasso during my Dengue time. 

Travels

1. Trip to Mussourie
2. Surya Top Trek with IndiaHikes
3. US trip - LA, Vegas and Grand Canyon. Details to come
4. Kathmandu + Vipassana  - Details to come. 

Books

Started a book club in office to read management books. 

• On Leadership - HBR's 10 best reads 
• No Rule Rules - Netflix and the culture of Reinvention by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer
• The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
• Siddartha by Herman Hesse
• The Art of Living - Vipassana meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka
• The devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino 

What Else

• Got Dengue - Was out for 2 weeks. Kanishka and mummy fed me lot of juices which helped me recover soon. 
• Did a fruit only detox diet from Team Sharan for a week.

Mussoorie 2024 - An Ideal itinerary

 

Mussoorie - 3 day itinerary (28-30 Apr)

At a time when rest of India, particularly Bangalore was dealing with dealing with ~40 deg weather, we were using room heaters in Mussoorie. It was truly a hill station experience in summers. 

Day 0 - Land in Dehradun

Dehradun is like Bangalore - a concrete jungle with lots and lots of restaurants and malls. Kanishka landed at around 330 pm. I was already in Dehradun back from my Surya top trek  . I had alerady packed a quick lunch from Chetan Swadisht Kachori. It was amazing - one of the food recommendations that does not disappoint. 

Next, we went to Buddha statue and Stupa. It is written that all your 'paap' will go away if you visit the Stupa. So, there you go, we are now again in net-zero. Stupa paintings were wonderful. Good place to visit. It started a heavy downpour while we were there. We could not visit the Mindrolling monastery which was just next to us. Our next stop was a quick stop at Ellora's Melting moments bakery - a very highly rated bakery in Dehradun which is now 60+ years old. We packed a few sandwiches for our trek tomorrow. Our dinner was at Orchard restaurant and on the way, we got to witness a BLR nostalgic traffic jam. Food was ok at Orchard but we were tired and full from the Pudis. They had a live band which played Local Train and Lucky Ali, so it was good. 

Day 1 - Benog Tibba hike, Landour

We hired a trek guide from Easy Prime Holidays to take us for a day hike to Benog Tibba (tibba means top) It was a ~7.5KM round trip hike. It was awesome, I loved it. The trail is very clean, easy to walk. Goes through a nice forest cover first and then opens to a ledge walk. Benog Tibba - from the top, you get to see Mussoorie and other mountains. There was no one else, so it was very peaceful to walk. Our guide also delighted us with local stories. We started from Dehradun at 7 am and reached the starting point at around 830 am. The weather was also good - not too sunny, not too hot either. All in all, a perfect day hike. 

From Benog Tibba, we visited the famous touristy spot of Company garden. It was past 1:30, so we were hungry. The local chana chat was yummy. COmpany garden is decent, small garden park, but it attracts lot of crowds. It is maintained well. Our lunch was a typical Garhwal food at Hill-e-ishq in Mussoorie, near to Landour. The food was good - a particluar delight is the saag from stinging nettle leaves . Rotis were made of bajra and we also got Pahadi Rajma, Stinging nettle kebabs, all was good. Place could use better hygiene though - it was very dusty.

Our car dropped us at our airbnb homestay which was right next to CharDukaan. It was a steep walk down but there was a guide to help us. Our homestay was a 1BHK so it had a kitchen too. In the evening, we walked to the famous Landour Bakehouse  where we had coffee and orange marmalade cake. We also packed some salad items, eggs and break for our breakfast the next day. 

Day 2 - Landour walk, Mall road

We did yet another walking tour in Landour on day 2 - Landour Infinity walk, again with Easy Prime travels. Landour Infinity walk is almost on a plain surface and covers the famous lal tibba, Bakehouse. Landour is a corner of Mussorie and is famous for being Ruskin Bond's place. It was also an old English settlement which has not been commercialized much. So, it is pretty good to walk. Our guide regaled with the history of Landour, who has houses there, took us to bakehouse (again), churches etc. This walking tour was a really good idea.

After the walk, we decided to have something at CharDukaan :) - Kanishka had ginger lemon tea and I had Chilli cheese sandwich. The walk started at 8 and ended at 11. We had salad and boiled eggs for lunch. Our plan in 2nd half was to walk down to Mall road (2.3 km walk to Picture Palace) and then do some shopping and do a food walk on the Mall road. 

The walk to Mall road is all downhill, so it makes sense to walk down and take a cab back. Transportation in Mussoorie is incredibly expensive. There is no Ola/Uber and you should call 3-4 vendors and negotitate the best price. People are good though. The drive from Mall road to our homestay, we heard rate of INR 800/INR1000 but eventually found a person that took only INR 500. 

Mall road runs from Picture Palace at one end to Library Chowk at the other. We walked from one end to another (almost till Library Chowk) and then turned back. Along the way, we did some shopping from Kashmiri sellers. In terms of food, we had - 

- Delhi style Suji golgappas - A food walk without golgappas is not possible. 

- Corn roasted on coal - It was a very sweet corn

- Jalebi with Rabdi at Kulhad Rabdi wala- a local delight 

- Amritsari Chole Kulche, street food vendor. The chole kulche were so good that I got it packed for next day breakfast. We had only Kulcha to taste it there so that we can save appetite. 

- Wood-fired pizza and beer at the Tavern  - Their pizza was decent. They had pizza named after interesting folks such as Tom Alter, we had the Bill Aitkens pizza and this is the first time I heard his name. Pretty amazin guy

We were pretty tired after the walk and the food, so we took the cab back. 

Day 3 - Museums and George Everest

We checked out from our Airbnb and our tonight's stay was at Everest base camp. Along the way, we stopped at the Soham Himalayan Centre - a private, family run museum that displays local arts. Run by a couple, the husband is a sculpturist and wife a painter. Their crafts depict local traditions. They also have a good collection of coins, stamps, manuscripts, old photos. A really good place to visit and know about the history. We got a local tour from them. 

After Soham, we headed to Everest Base Camp. This was a luxury stay, even though it was in a tent. Little at the outskirts but still a lovely one. After checking in, we decided to check out the George Everest cartography museum and hike up the George Everest mountain. 

George Everest was the surveyor general of India, responsible to map out the Indian terrain. It is the museum of cartography and a very well managed museum. One of the best museums that I have seen in India. We got to know that the Everest mountain is actually named after George Everest because it was under him that the right height of mountain was identified. Even though it was done by a guy called Sikandar who did the actual work. We also learn about other folks who played a key role in understanding the terrain, one example to know that how both Tsangpo and Brahmputra is the same river. Overall, I would highly recommend this place. 

After the museum, we hiked up to the George Everest hill. Pretty easy 1Km hike up. It is known for good views of sunrise and sunset. We were nearing the sunset time and had really good views from there. After coming down, we had maggi at a local shop :)

At dinner., we played Jaipur board game and had good. Night time temperature was ~5 deg. 

Next day was just drive down from Mussoorie to Dehradun, a brief stop at Ellora again to pack some goodies. When we landed in BLR, at around 8pm, BLR was nearing 37 degrees and it felt so hot. If I had known this, I may have stayed there for two more days :) 

Varanasi - 2023

Varanasi - 2023 - A business leisure trip 

What is a business leisure trip? When you travel for business but end up making a leisure trip out of it. 

Varanasi happened because of IIT-BHU hiring as part of my workplace. Stars had to align for this one because we do not typically visit BHU for hiring, this was happening for the first time as part of our campus expansion. Next, I was slated for a different campus but because the other campus was to happen over a weekend when I was not available, I was re-assigned and lo and behold, I am going to Varanasi - hometown of my better half and out of nowhere, we had a trip at our hands. 

Day 0 - Thu - Flight to Varanasi.

We flew on Thu because I wanted to attend some meetings on Fri, virtually. Thu 2nd half flight meant landing in Varanasi just in time for dinner. Kanishka in her last trip had showed pics of Baati Chokha and it had been in my list since then. We wasted no time and started dinner at Baati Chokha restaurant. I liked the food overall, also the ambience. 

Varanasi in July/Aug timeframe is hot and humid - kind of the worst season to travel. To top this, we are from Bengaluru where we are spoilt from weather point of view. Plus, this was Saavan season in Varanasi when crowds throng this holy city. So, it was people people everywhere. All this combination would have meant that I stay in my AC hotel room and do not venture out but then it is Varanasi. Even in its best of seasons, crowd goes down only by hairline :) So, the only way to enjoy the city is to embrace it, embrace the weather (wear antiwick shirts :) ) and then go out there. 

Day 1 - Friday. S

Day 1 started by visiting to Assi ghat to witness Subah-e-benares. Subah-e-benares is a morning 5 am Aarti at the Assi ghat. We woke up at 4 am to reach the ghats at 430 am. There is a daily morning ritual which includes Aarti, classical music, Yoga session and some prayers. We attended the Aarti and then took a boat ride. 

Our companions were two colleageus from workplace - Gnanavel who was with me at IIT-Bombay hiring event previous year and Bhagya, alumni of IIT BHU, acting as a campus ambassdor this year. For whatever reason, they were ok to trust the trip itinerary in my hands, and that meant in Kanishka's hands since it was her 'gadh', her backyard. But even Kanishka had not attended Subah-e-benares yet. While she discovered this event, I can claim credit for the event, atleast 50%. 

Subah-e-beanres was very good. The morning sunrise, the spiritual Aarti, bhajans in the morning, lesser crowds, all of it makes it a really good experience. Place was clean too. We followed the Aarti by taking a boat ride seeing all Ghats. Ganga level was quiet high so only motor boats were allowed. We were lucky since sometimes boat rides do not happen in monsoon season. 

What is Benares without the morning breakfast of Kachodis. While returning back from the boat-ride, a thela guy had already setup his breakfast joint and Kanishka had to try it. I too ate it and it was pretty good. Kachodis are small, stuffed with alus with a kala-chana gravy (for protein you know :) ) and some chutney on top with some more crunchy triangle namkeen. A good taste overall. 

I slept after this morning excursion to wake up to Bedmi Poodi and alu for breakfast. Kanishka had went out and got it packed along with famous lassi of Benaras. A perfect bedtime breakfast. We were staying at Vijaigarh Kothi - a recommeded place at a walking distance from Assi ghat. Room was really spacious with AC working :)  

Post breakfast, I attended my calls virtually and then travelled to BHU campus. The e-rickshaw guy dropped me just outside the Vishwanath temple and I had to walk at noon to the guest house 1.2 kms away, in that sun/humid condition. I was drenched. But I did stop at the Samosa place next to temple and had that INR 7 samosa, a highlight of this trip. They are really good. Rest of the evening went in campus hiring and work. Our dinner was at Cafe ROma which I felt was a much over-hyped place. 

Day 2 - Sat. Travel starts

Day 2 started by us changing accommodation from Vijaigarh Kothi to Shree Ganesha place at Girja Ghar. The morning plan was to take the offered candidates out for lunch. We took them to Taj Ganges a 5-star place where we were the only guests. Taj's service was really slow, food was also ok. On the way back we hit traffic and then asked us to be dropped down at the Bharat Mata ka Mandir. 

Bharat Mata ka mandir, as the name suggests, a temple dedicated to motherland India. It has a marble-made map of India in a temple like setting. It is an interesting concept but it needs something more to be made into a good place. Rest of the evening was planned - Kanishka had helped hire a local guide for us to do sightseeing. 

Bhawna from The Ghumakkads was our guide and she is really good (5/5). We covered Durga mata mandir,  Tulsi Manas Mandir, Sankat Mochan Mandir and then finally to Vishwanath temple inside BHU campus. Yes, it was a temple hopping tour :). Along the way, Bhawna shared history of each temple. Behind Durga Mata temple, due to the month of Saavn, a mela was going on and we walked through the mela as well. At Tulsi Manas Mandir, there were Jhaakis setup, a special once a year event that should be seen. 

Vishwanath temple was more peaceful. Mostly visited by students. Post the temple visit, we had the famous cold coffee and samosa from shops just outside. It did not disappoint which is a compliment. We also had Pehalwan ki lassi and then walked to Assi ghat for some coin shopping. Our plan was to see evening Aarti but that did not materialize since we were late. 

Dinner was at Deena Chat house. The pani-puri was good along with the Chats. Post dinner, we walked to a local thandai shop which serves bhaang flavored Thandai, legally. There are legal Govt. Bhaang shops as well, a unique thing about Varanasi. The bhaang thandai was shared by Kanishka, Gnan and myself. It had no effect on me, I just went to hotel and slept. 

Day 3 - Ghat walks

Day 3 morning was by another walking organizer - Mr. Aman from Varanasi Vibes. The idea was just to walk in the galis and ghats of Varanasi. This Ghat walk is an experience. It does not matter what you visit, you just have to see these galis and ghats on foot. The lanes are narrow, people going from here and there. Next to every turn is a temple, some small, some big. Walls are covered with painting, there are food-stalls on cycles, small shops, people living in their homes, hostels, guest houses, restaurants making malpuas, kachodis, and more temples, more shivlings. And then crowds, people going from here to there, on foot, on cycles, on bikes, whatever that can fit in these lanes. Then there are ghats, temples on ghats, cremation happening on ghats, there is the famous Vishwanath temple, with thousands of people standing in queue to visit the temple, there is the new corridor that govt has constructed, there is an entry to this temple that goes to the ghat, giant spaces and buildings, all newly built, sanwiched in between ghats which are centuries old. It is difficult to explain but one has to experience this. This is true Kashi - the oldest city, the holy city. 

My favorite of all places that we visited was the Nepali temple - a Shiv temple built by king of Nepal. It is situated at the river where the river turns slightly. So you get a beautiful view of the river. They have also carved out space to sit and enjoy the scenery. It had rained in the night so weather was good, bearable and enjoyable. The fact that amidst all the chaos of the city, there is a place just to enjoy the beauty is awesome. The opposite of Ganges is all trees and it makes a good sight. You could see how Tulsidas would have sat here and wrote Ramayan in Awadhi language. You could see why kings will visit this place, centuries ago and fall in love with this place. 

We saw all sort of temples - big, small, and underground. The one below was the unique of them all - The actual Shivling is down, 15 feet down and there is a hole on top to see it below. Unless you know that it is there, you will not know. Our guide knew. So bizarre of a temple.  Each temple has a caretaker, someone who lives near it, or within the premises. Temples can not be neglected. It is a full time job for them. 28,000 temples someone wrote a book too . A lot of temples are hidden, not underground, but hidden due to construction all around them. Some where purposefully hidden to prevent them from destruction years ago. 

There is no walk in Kashi without its food. We had Kachodis- both small one, the Poodi one, we had Malpuas, visited the iconic Blue lassi shop. We saw the flower market. Again, it is not the food that matters, it is the experience - having food while sitting 2 feet away where poodis are being fried. In that low roofed, small corner place. Same food brought home would be rated bad but at that time, in the middle this small gali, when the hot food is just served right from frying pan, it is lajawaab, tasty. You ask for one more serving even when you know that you are full, you do not want that another poodi, you want to immerse yourself one more time in that experience, spend more time in that den of a restaurant, on the uncomfortable chair but you have a place to sit now. 

Our walk took us to Manikarnika Ghat, to Vishwanath temple's gate that leads to the ghat, to Nepali temple, to Kedar ghat and some galis etc evenutally bring us back to our hotel. Folks were tired at the end of it. We retired to our rooms. Kanishka and I stepped out after an hr for some shopping. Our lunch was late at Kaashi chat bhandar, again walkable from our hotel. Varanasi is actually a very small city. its like HSR and Koramangala put together, maybe Domlur too :) But just like in BLR, distance is measured in time not in kms.  We had the evening flight back. 

I am not sure if I will ever go back to Varanasi. It is an experience lived but is it repeatable? I am not sure but I find the answer leaning more towards a yes than a no. It is surprising. I am not sure why is it so? Fundamentally, Kashi and its galis is the microcosm of India, you have to embrace the city just like you embrace this country. with all its positives and what nots. Who knows what future holds. Maybe there are more ghat walks.