Gadi Sagar Lake Jaisalmer : Gadi Sagar Lake is one of the most popular tourist location situated in Jaisalmer. A beautiful lake in the middle of a dry land. The view was perfect for my camera. You can also reach this lake through camel ride that is what I did and believe it ill be fun.
From the Deshnok temple, we headed towards our next destination which was the famous Laxmi Nath temple, Bikaner. We knew that it was located in the outskirts of the city and accordingly had eaten some snacks before entering the temple. It was considered to be one of the oldest temples of Rajasthan. The foundation of the temple was done way back in the year 1488 A.D. by the then King named Rao Bikaji. The place played an important role in the history of Rajasthan and was considered to be one of the most special historical monuments which had a special identity of their own. The temple was designed by the then artisans and designers and we could see their brilliance through the designs that were still strong on the walls. It was famous for the deities of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi, who were worshipped there. The temple was an example of superb designs and beautiful inscriptions. We learnt that ever since it was established, the deities had witness an uncountable number of prayers from their followers for the last four and half centuries. The temple was further expanded during the time of Maharaja Ganga Singh and it was treated as one of the most fantastic destinations of Bikaner. We got to see many superb creations of art and traditional sculptures that were displayed in the complex. We were simple enchanted by the immense creativity of the sculptors who were given the credit of establishing the beautiful temple. The Laxmi Nath temple, Bikaner looked extremely new and in the beginning when we didn’t know about the original age of the temple, some of us had thought that it was constructed just some centuries before. We also saw some foreign visitors and from their conversation, we deciphered that they were seriously impressed as well. The temple truly depicted the magnificence of India. We learnt that many festivals were celebrated in the temple at different times of the year and people from various corners of Rajasthan used to come for attending each of them. Some people even come to celebrate special occasions and seek blessings from the goddess. We left that place quite early as we had planned to spend more time at our next destination which was the famous Jaisalmer Fort. Whenever I get a chance from my tough schedule, I managed to go out for some kind of excursion, tour or camp, as it rejuvenates my mind and body and I feel fresh and charged up again. I have always loved travelling and visiting historical places, which were rich in history and unique architectural designs. So during my winter vacation that year, I decided to visit Bikaner, which had a great reputation for a wide range of historical palaces, monuments, havelis and other significant structures. I had planned my entire journey with the help of an online travel agent and accordingly boarded the train travel from Agra fort (AF) to Bikaner junction (BKN) by HWH JU Express. The distance between the two stations was nearly 622 kilometres and I knew that it would take around 12 hours to reach my destination. I boarded the train at around 8 pm in the evening and accordingly took my seat, which was quite comfortable. I, along with some of my friends, had chosen the required number of berths in the third-tier AC compartment. After settling down in the train, we started gossiping for a while. At around 9 pm, the workers of the pantry car served each of us with a meal which was according to our order placed around one hour before. After we had finished our dinner, which was fairly good, we had decided to sort out the places we would prefer to visit on reaching Bikaner. At around 11 pm, I fell asleep and woke up at 6.30 the next morning with the noise of the hawkers serving tea and snacks. I had always been comfortable with train journeys though one of my friends could not sleep that night as he was travelling such a long distance for the first time. After all my friends were awake and brushed their teeth, we decided to have tea. As expected, the train reached Bikaner exactly at 8.10 am. I enjoyed each and every minute of my train travel from Agra fort (AF) to Bikaner junction (BKN) by HWH JU Express. I just hoped that my experience in Bikaner went well and we could visit all the places that we had planned. As the city was famous for a large number of forts, we decided to start with the Junagarh Fort, which was extremely famous in that part of the world. As a child, I was always fascinated towards buildings and its structures. My thoughts and ambition never changed even as I grew. Today I am proud to be an architect and working on some of the interesting projects in my hometown. Here is little guidance for architect aspirants; I am sharing my own experiences on how to become an architect: You must have at least 60% score in ten-plus two with subjects as physics, chemistry and mathematics.
You can choose to appear for any one of the four types of entrance exams which are:
After a fabulous morning Patan Devi mandir, it was time to go out and visit SriKrishna Science Center. It was at a distance of 5km from the hotel. We moved out and got into a rickshaw that dropped us in front of Sri Krishna Vigyan Kala Kendra. It is one of the institutions that offers great opportunities for the students of college and schools to explore and understand science and technology. It educates students, which would help in scientific innovations in future. It is located in West Gandhi maidan in Patna. It was already 11am. When we reached the location. It is a modern building and had an alluring surrounding. The science center is one of the institutions under the National Council of Science Museums. We moved in to see what was in store for us. Science and technology are my favorite subjects and I love to hear and know about innovations. We walked through the center. There are various sections like mirrors and images gallery, fun science gallery, evolution, Jurassic Park, Science Park and so on. The Fun Science Gallery is located in the ground floor and it exhibited excellent projects that simplify Math and Physics. I also was keen student during my school days; I was interested in making interesting science projects. I have also won prizes as couple of times. So, while watching the exhibits it was like refreshing my memory. On the first floor was the mirrors& images gallery, which displays interesting facts about science. Another section on the same floor was the 3D show. It is something, irrespective of age that people enjoy. We watched with excitement the objects on the screen that seemed real and coming towards us. I remember watching 3D movies; it was a feeling as such. Another interesting section was the Jurassic Park with huge models of dinosaurs. It is an ultimate fascination for all. It is like wild imagination of the gigantic creatures that lived on earth! The center also has all information about the famous Indian Scientists. By visiting the science center, I experienced the ocean of knowledge. It is truly Patna’s pride! We were winding our trip in Patna; our return journey was the next day. We enjoyed the trip and looking forward to visit another exotic location soon.
Padri Ki Haveli Patna : Padri ki haveli in Patna is amongst one of the oldest churches of Bihar. It is actual name is St. Mary’s Church. The church was initially built in 1713 but suffered many damages during India's independence struggle. An amazing fact related to this church is that our very own Mother Teresa received her training here.
As soon as we planned a journey to Patna for vacation, I had taken all the initiative in finding a suitable accommodation. My preference is always heritage hotels as it is a unique experience. I browsed through the web for a couple hours and came across the name of Hotel Buddha Heritage. The website had all information that one requires to know to have a comfortable stay. I found it reasonable for all the facilities it provided. I dialed the hotel to know about the bookings as well as additional facilities like customized local trips. The staff who spoke to me was very courteous and polite and gave me a good response. I was impressed and made an online reservation immediately. As we were four members, I had booked two Standard deluxe rooms. The car sent by the hotel to pick us at the railway station. We comfortably reached the hotel and were taken to a decent accommodation, which looked clean. It was an air-conditioned room, which had elegant decoration, tasteful furniture and all modern facilities. A satellite TV with multi-channels, direct dial telephone, coffee maker, mini bar, safe lockers and refrigerator were provided. Full time availability of hot and cold running water and room service was another advantage. Every guest at the hotel were offered complimentary breakfast during the stay as well unlimited use of Wi-Fi internet. The hotel offered excellent dining options at the Courtyard, Roof Terrace and In-room dining. Roof restaurant is the best place where you can have an amazing view of the entire Patna city. The restaurant offers both Indian and international cuisines. In the courtyard, it had a Coffee Shop, which was open day and night. It is the best place to hang around with family and friends. You can sip in your favorite drink and munch in tangy snacks. The hotel offers excellent facilities for business travelers. There is convenient meeting room and banquet hall, which can serve as a perfect venue for meetings, business events and private parties. All of us were happy with the choice. The hotel staff provided all the care and assistance to make our trip worthwhile. Thanks to Patna and Hotel Buddha Heritage for making our trip memorable!
From day one, I was enjoying my days in Patna. I had already visited most of the places and I am fascinated by seeing the sights at the historic city. Whether it is parks, historical monuments or temples, Patna has it all that adds charm to the city. Next visit was to an ancient and most popular temple in the city, which is known as Maa Patan Devi temple. I thought I could begin my day with a visit to the temple. It was almost 6 o’clock in the morning when all of us were ready to visit the temple. The hotel had arranged a cab to pick us all. Within half hour, we reached the location. The surroundings looked very divine as it had several shops and vendors selling flowers and other puja items that you can offer at the temple. Many devotees had gathered for the morning aarti. Beginning a day with prayers! What more could I ask for? I was experiencing divinity as well as peace and joy in mind when I entered the temple. There were many women and most of them dressed in traditional saris. Temples are one place where you can see the rich tradition and culture of a locality. Be it rich or the poor, all stand together in prayers chanting the same slokas. Many women were busy and involved so much in prayers. Some were reading the prayers from small books whereas many were closing their eyes and chanting slokas. As the temple has, a glorious history and locals have strong belief that anyone who visits Maa Patneshwari with sincere prayers will be answered and blessed. It is a different feeling that I have on hearing the temple bells ring, singing of prayers and the aarti. You can receive tremendous energy that can carry you fresh and fine for several days.
We spend about an hour in the temple and returned to the hotel. We had further plans to visit Srikrishna Science center after having breakfast. We went down to the in-house restaurant and placed an order for breakfast. All of us were busy discussing about the mandir visit while having hot parathas for breakfast. National Institute Of Technology Patna : We visited National institute of technology in Patna to surprise my cousin on his birthday. Since, this was my first visit to the institute and I was very excited when I entered the huge campus. I always want to get into this institute but failed to crack the entrance exam. This prestigious institution administered by the Indian Government along with some of the best facilities in India.
After the Gurudwara visit, we still had time to go around. We chose to visit Patna Museum, which was in the near vicinity. We hired a rickshaw and reached the place in about 20 minutes. Wow! The building looked superb. I began to take pictures of the fabulous exterior views. It has sprawling lush green lawns in the surroundings. It is an ancient building which was established in 1917. The building is colored in off-white and brick color. It looked stunning and as we moved into the campus, we saw a board that had timings and entry fee mentioned. A beautifully carved arc near the entrance is masterpiece of art. Intricate carvings of the ancient depict the skills of artisanship. I took several pictures of the arc from different angles. Museum would be open for public up to 4:30pm every day, so we had comfortable 2:30 hours to go around. I went and caught up to the queue at the ticket counter. There was a reasonable crowd there. I paid the entry fee, which is Rs.15 per person and for taking photos; I had to pay an additional amount. We entered to large halls with huge collection of antique collectibles. One of the major attractions in the museum is a tall statue of Didarganj Yakshi, which depicts the marvelous carvings of the Mauryan age. Statue of Avalokiteshwar is another talent of the ancient times. A well carved statue in stone took us back to forms of art that existed centuries ago. We moved on to a section that had various stone statues and carvings excavated by Nalanda University. I kept clicking pictures of the various art forms that were prevalent during the ancient period. Besides statues, there were sections that displayed a huge collection of coins. Made in different metals the coins referred to different ages in history. We were fortunate to see some of the classic paintings of the ancient era. We could assume many things about the early life through the pictures. Vast courtyard within the museum also had several statues on display. Satabdi smarak is a unique piece of architecture within the campus. We all enjoyed the museum visit and as we moved out there is a small building which has a Cafeteria and Souvenir shop. We spent about ten minutes there and it time for closure of the Museum. Finally, we clicked a few pictures with the Museum in the background. We journeyed back to the hotel after a fabulous day.
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About Me..
A big hello to everyone here... I am 'the' Geeta Sharma, a young, vibrant, and fun-loving girl from Agra. As a kid, tall buildings always inspired me and now as I type, I myself have attained a master’s degree in Architecture and am working on several projects in and around my city. Whenever I feel taxed of my job, I find a way out in the nature, my second habitat for obvious reasons! Meditation, camping, and photography are activities for which Mother Nature inspires me! On my way back, I also make it a point to get my mind and body relaxed at nearby spa centres. That is about me and you will find much more in detail with regular blogs and updates from me. So stay tuned and sit tight for new experiences every day!
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