"I am packing lunch, keep some clothes in your bag and get ready in a jiffy", I told my mother-in-law and my husband. My father-in-law was taking a bath, so we decided when he comes out of the bathroom we will tell him, in the meanwhile, we were all ready to go to Vrindavan!!! We three were excited and when my father-in-law came out of the washroom he was clueless!
We covered 112km in almost 4 hours, thanks to the heavy traffic jam in Palwal and yes, the Chai-Snacks Break we took somewhere on the highway. We set off for a spiritual unplanned road trip playing devotional songs to 90s songs to the Journey song and keeping our spirits High!
We booked our stay while we were on our way-Shri Radha Nikunj Vrindavan, we were pleasantly surprised to see that our Hotel was just opposite to the beautiful 'Prem Mandir' and can see the changing lights and temple from the Hotel itself. Per day stay for a King room with balcony costed us around INR 1800, no breakfast included but you will have an open kitchen in your room and balcony. Location was excellent. We reached at around 7pm, freshened up and went to see 'Prem Mandir', the presiding deity of the temple is Shri Radha Krishna and Shri Ram Sita. It is an architectural marvel- grand and beautiful. Lights of different colours fall over the main temple at night and they keep changing, making it look breathtakingly beautiful. We were running short of time as the temple was about to close for the day, as soon as we finished our darshan and came out, the lights were put out, signaling that the temple will close now and we were lucky enough to have made it on time. The temple as I have mentioned is 'Grand' and displays the various stories of Radha Krishna in details and is a must visit for people coming here.
Remember, that if you are coming by private vehicle you might have to take a diversion as private vehicles are allowed in the night only after 9pm to manage traffic and you might have to park your vehicle in multi-level parking and take a battery rickshaw to reach the temple.
In the night, go out for a stroll and enjoy hot milk with Malai (cream) served in a Kulhad (earthen cup). Vendors selling hot milk is a common sight in Vrindavan and they start as early as 6:00am in the morning and I have seen them till 10:30pm in the night so they might be available till late night.
The next day, we went to Banke Bihari temple, thanks to Corona, the process of visiting the main temple has become better, with people standing in proper queue, wearing masks and not pushing around. People are sanitized as soon as they enter the temple, it is like a divine shower and then proceed to see the main deity- Krishna (Banke Bihari).
Beware of the monkeys though, my mother-in-law's spectacle was snatched by one monkey who refused to trade the spectacle even for a fruit or bread. Later, we came to know they like Frooti( a mango drink) but it was too late, he already had chewed the frames.
Later, in the afternoon we went to Nidhivan, which is said to come alive in the evening, not a single soul, be it humans, birds or even monkeys, stay there after sunset. The story is interesting and people have immense faith in it. It is said that people who have tried to sneak in and experience it, either died or went insane. It is really interesting to note that all the trees are entangled and have dry roots but are completely green on the top. I guess, humans can never have all the answers, not yet.
We finally left for Faridabad in the evening, happy but not contented and already planning in our head for a longer visit. Sudden trips are always the best ones, because planned trips, especially for me take longer to materialize.
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