From the temple town of Bengal, Bishnupur

It is not of any surprise in the land of 33 crore Gods, there would be temples all over. But it feels fascinating to stand in front of the temples built during 17th and 18th century. The temple town of West Bengal, Bishnupur, also called the Mallabhum was ruled by the Malla rulers. The Mallas' contribution to the classical style of Bengal architecture is reflected in the famous terracotta [type of fired clay] temples. Bishnupur is a town in Bankura district. It takes around three and half hours to reach from Kolkata by train. Lot of government and private buses from Esplanade [also known as Dharamtala] reaches Bishnupur in 4 to 5 hours  time. As it is well connected by train, so it is advisable to reach by train to save time and money.

We visited Bishnupur by train on the 30th August 2014. Aaranyak express (train number 12885) departs from Shalimar station at 7:45AM and reaches Bishnupur around 11:30AM. We had booked non ac chair car tickets in advance  and it was quite good for Rs 110 each. Some trains going to Bishnupur has AC chair car available for Rs 400+ each. Soon after you reach Bishnupur station and come out from the platform via over bridge you could see many rickshaw and auto (tuktuk). If you have already booked any hotel you can ask the rickshaw to drop you at the hotel. Bishnupur is a small town, so most of the hotels are near to each other. It shouldn't be more than Rs 40 to reach hotels from station. So dont hesitate to bargain if they are asking anything above Rs 50.

We had booking at Hotel Laxmi Park. This is the best place to stay after the government run hotel. The hotel has clean and spacious rooms. It offers spacious AC double bed rooms starting Rs 900 + 8% tax. Food at the restaurant is also nice. However, we didn't get Chinese foods as the cook was absent. The reception at the hotel is also helpful and they provided us some numbers to book a cab for our local trip. We hired a cab for Rs 500 to visit the temples. The cab charges could be at the higher end (Rs 650+) if you visit Bishnupur from September to February.

We first visited the oldest structure built in 1587, Rasmancha. It is advisable to start your trip from Rasmancha as you can buy entry tickets for three temples from here. The architecture of the Rasmancha is quite unique. The upper part is made of bricks and pyramidal shape.The base is of stone made. Everyday evening classical Bengali music is played and it looks amazing. 

Rasmancha

Inside the Rasmancha

Our next visit was to the temple of Shyamrai. It was built by the Malla king Raghunath singh in AD 1643. This is one of the famous Pancharatna type temple [Five Sikharas on a curved Bengal chala roof]. The terracota work on this temple is noteworthy. It narrates the story from Ramayana, Mahabharata and describes the religious, political and economical life of people.

Our next stop was at Jor Bangla Temple. The temple is a pair of hutshaped structure with sloping roofs. The excellent quality of art is one of the finest in Bengal. 

My next stop was at Radhashyam temple. This is an Ekratna south face temple stands in a large country yard enclosed by high boundary walls. 

My next stop was at Lalji Temple built by Bir Singha 2 in 1658 AD. This is another Ekratna temple of Radha Krishna. 

Next was Lalji Temple, Small Gate, Big Gate and stone chariot. Another interesting temple is the Temple of Kalachand, the laterite temple built by Malla King Raghunath Singh in 1656 AD. We also visited Lal Bandh, Acharya Jogeshchandra Archeological Museum, Nandalal Temple, Chhinnamasta Temple, Dalmadal Caman.

Stone Chariot

Next day we planned to visit the Pachmura village. Pachmura is not so famous but one must know that all the terracotta work we see from Bishnupur is made in this village. Most of the family members in the village is involved in making the famous Bankura Horse, Elephant and all other items. It takes around 45 minutes by car from Bankura town to reach Pachmura. The road condition is good except few places where it is muddy but the road through the village looks really nice. We had booking in Rupashi Bangla express from Bishnupur station, which reaches Bishnupur at 5:25PM and reaches Santragachi at 9PM.

Quick Reference
Location : Bishnupur, Bankura District
Duration : 1N/2Days
Get In : By Bus from Esplanade, By Train, By Road.
            By Train (Rupashi Bangla, Aaranyak Exp etc)
Sleep : Hotel Laxmi Park
Ph : 9474930666
Get Around : by Cab or Rickshaw
To Buy : Bankura Horse, Baluchuri Sarees
Tickets : Pay Parking fees total Rs 30
             Entry tickets are for only 3 places and tickets can be purchased from Rasmancha. Rs 5 per head.

## Feel free to drop me a note if you need any further information. Cheers !

Gokarna

Gokarna is around 12 hours from Bangalore. In northen Karnataka, on the way to Goa. From Bangalore to Goa it requires 16 hours by bus and Gokarna is 4 hours before Goa. Gokarna can be reached by train as well, the nearest railway station is Gokarna Road. You can take an auto to reach Gokarna town or if you want to save some money, just take a right at the road right infront of the train station. Once you hit the road, there is a bus stop where you can take a bus to reach Gokarna town for Rs 10.
One can spend a beautiful weekend at Gokarna. Gokarna can be holly place for you as it has famous shiva temple, it can be very good trekking place or it can be a very relaxing beach side for travelers like me.

We started for Gokarna from Bangalore at around 9PM in a sleeper coach bus. Bangalore - Gokarna fare will be max Rs 500 (@christmas) in a sleeper bus and sitting will be less than that. Fare will be more cheaper if you are visiting at off season. It took around 12-13 hours to reach Gokarna town.

There are three famous beaches of Gokarna - OM Beach (named bcoz of its shape), Kudle Beach and Gokarna Beach. But there are other small beaches like Paradise beach, Half moon Beach etc.

From Gokarna town to OM Beach you will get auto (6KMs - Rs100 fixed fare). The auto will drop you at the top of the hill, now you have to go down to the OM beach. This beach is very popular among tourists bcoz of its comparative easy accessibility. Because to reach Kudle you have trek atleast half KM. OM beach has lot of huts/hotels/cafe where you can stay. Basic rooms will not cost you more than Rs300. Lot of local tourists will be visiting this beach everyday.

We didnt get a room at OM Beach so we decided to try our luck at Kudle. One can walk to Kudle beach from OM beach. From the top of OM beach where the auto will drop you from there you can take a right turn to reach Kudle beach. Kudle cant be reached without trekking.

Its very popular beach among the forgein tourists because there will be no local tourists to stare them :) We finally got a very beautiful bamboo hut at "Dragon Cafe" just for Rs 300/day.

Kudle is very quite and calm beach. It has lot of forgein tourists who prefers coming here to take sun bath peacefully. The sea water is very clear here. These beaches are less crowded, clean till now, and has very good food. The food at Ganga cafe and the cafe run by some nepali guys are awesome. Roam around on beaches, swim, sit on the beach @ sunset and have wonderful food, thats what you can do here. If you are visiting India and planning to go to Goa/Bangalore do visit Gokarna. It will be an amazing trip of life time.

Do let me know if you need any detail info on this.