PART II
Hello folks!
Thank you for reading through my last post 🙂
As decided, my co-hostelier and I left from Zostel to catch a bus from Koyambedu bus stop (~25 mins Uber ride) at ~6.30 A.M. After a little while we realized we were narrating our travel experiences without even exchanging names; that’s how travel connects people.
After my heritage rich trip to Mahabalipuram, I was craving for more. So I decided to set foot in Kancheepuram, the town of 1,008 beautiful temples and the hub of Kanjeevaram (‘Pattu’/Silk) sarees.
Oops, I still didn’t introduce my travel partner for the day, Viral. As we spoke through our bus journey it seemed each of us was a little crazier than the other.
At the Kanchipuram bus-stop we were greeted by a number of auto annas who offered to give us a temple tour and drop us at the saree market. We avoided them as they seemed to only care about commission from the saree shops.
Kanchi is known for the famous Kamakshi Amman temple, the only Parvati/Shakti temple in town. It’s a popular belief to visit this temple before others in the vicinity so we decided to start our temple tour here. After a quick darshan, we indulged in some South-Indian breakfast outside the temple and headed to Ulagalanda Perumaal Temple (2 mins walk from Kamakshi temple). The stone image of Vishnu here is about 35 feet high and 24 feet wide; this place really left me awestruck! 
The other temples on our list were a little far away, (2-5 kms radius), we decided to take an auto to cover them.
Ekambareswar temple – It’s believed that Parvati worshipped Shiva in the form of a Prithivi Lingam under a mango tree in this temple. The tree is ~3000 years old with 4 branches bearing different types of mangoes in 4 seasons.
The Kailasanathar temple is entirely built out of sandstone with fifty-eight small shrines depicting Shiva in different poses. The main deity is a majestic Shivalinga in black granite with 16 edges.
Varadharaja Perumal temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. There’s a 100 pillared mandapam and a lizard temple within the premises. It’s believed that one will be relieved of all sins if one prays to Lord Varadaraja and touches the Lizard on their way out.
After our temple darshan, we were really hungry and Viral wanted to try the local cuisine. Our auto anna suggested Sakthi Ganapathi hotel (don’t go by the looks, they have an AC/family section as well) for yummy meals, served on a banana leaf.
After a sumptuous meal, we walked through the streets to explore the saree hub. We came across weavers weaving beautiful sarees and it was an indulgent experience.
As a South-Indian kid I heard of A.S. Babu Sha several times and was eager to see what this name really meant. The store was more like a Kanjeevaram mansion with glittering lights, bustling with people and shelves stacked with sarees. At this crazy sight, Viral’s expression was more like “Yeh kya hai?, log itne enthu kaise hai and itna paisa kaha see aata hai?” And I was like “Welcome to South India ;)”.
It was about 3.30 PM, we didn’t want to end our touristy trip so quickly in the day.
In a very sad tone, I asked if we should leave for Chennai 😦 And Viral said, “If there’s anything else we could do, I’m game”. Those were the golden words! I said, “Let’s go visit the Golden temple in Vellore?” And he immediately agreed!
So we took a bus from Kanchipuram à Vellore à Sripuram, it was a pretty comfortable ride; thanks to the amazing roads, the bus dropped us right outside the temple.
We felt lost as we had no idea about what to do and where to go. Our first disappointment came in when we saw multiple hoardings read “Phones/Cameras not allowed in the temple”. Thankfully, they have a facility to leave footwear, mobiles, luggage and charge a nominal amount for the custody of belongings.
We headed to the ticket counter to check if there was a paid darshan. Since we were unaware of the right ticket to be purchased we bought an INR 100 ticket, which lead us to joining the general line from a shorter route.
The Golden temple is in the shape of a star, spread across 100 acres, with beautiful gardens and inspirational quotes alongside the walkway. After a long walk* (almost 45 mins) we reached the main temple adorned in 1500 kgs of glittering gold and were spellbound by its beauty, elegance and magnificence! If you end up visiting the temple post sunset like we did, you will see a reflection of the temple in the surrounding water, leaving you mesmerized.
The general line and devotees with the INR 100 ticket merged into a common line to get a glimpse of the Goddess from the outer arena of the ‘golden’ temple. We were lucky to have purchased another ticket for INR 250 which allowed us to enter the temple and admire its beauty. As you exit you would have completed a 1.8km walk through the star!
We quickly collected our belongings and boarded a bus for our onward journey. Though it was a tiring day, it was culturally enriching. As the saying goes, “there’s always room for dessert”, we started planning our dessert tour for the next day. And I ended up convincing Viral to join me for breakfast at Murugan idly (my favourite in Chennai).
How to reach:
Chennai à Kanchipuram
Road – Kanchipuram is 65 kms from Chennai, you can follow Google maps for the route, (approx. time-2 hrs). The roads are pretty good, except for a small stretch in between. You can also take a bus (frequency- every 15 mins) from Koyambedu bus stand.
Nearest airport – Chennai
Nearest railway station – There are many trains from Chennai to Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram à Sri Lakshmi Narayani Golden Temple, Sri Puram, Vellore
Road – Sri Puram is ~85 kms from Kanchipuram, follow Google maps for the route (approx. time-2 hrs). The roads are extremely good, you can also take a bus from Kanchipuram or Koyambedu in Chennai (frequency- every 10-15 mins) to Vellore. In Vellore you will need to change over and take a bus to Sri Puram. Buses to and from Chennai run every 10-15 mins and they are easily available from Tirupati as well.
Nearest airport – Chennai or Tirupati
Nearest railway station – There are many trains from Chennai/ Kanchipuram/Tirupati to Vellore
Please note:
- All temples in Kanchipuram remain closed between 12.30 PM and 4.30 PM, plan your travel accordingly
- Foreigners are allowed into the temple premises but not into the sanctum sanctorum.
- The Golden Temple is open from 4 AM – 8 PM (we saw people entering post 8 as well)
- At the Golden temple, you can request a wheelchair if you are visiting with a senior citizen. They charge INR 50 per wheel chair and allow one guest to accompany the person availing the service.
- Time of Visit – Jan 2018
Trip cost – INR 2,245 (per person cost INR 1,122)
Love,
The Passionate Wanderer! 🙂
WandererChirala 
Lovely !! This was super helpful! I will quickly refer it when I visit Chennai !!
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