Railway – Spandan Backpacker

MayFair Hotel in Rourkela

MayFair Hotel in Rourkela | Image Resource : mayfairhotels.com

My official trip this time became a totally an unofficial trip as the manager who I was going to meet was a good old friend of mine. So this was a business trip where I had to travel from Mumbai to Rourkela for a particular deal and to my surprise when I reached there and saw this class mate of mine on the other side as the representative of the company that we were dealing with. So apart from the business meeting I could also hangout with him in some of the coolest places in Rourkela.

Whenever it’s a business trip then the amount of planning becomes double as here timing is very important as you cannot reach late for a business meet for sure. So I started of planning for my super-fast journey to Rourkela from Mumbai on the Gitanjali Express 12859 and booked my tickets in the 3tier AC coach and had a pleasing journey. I also had booked my room to stay in the MayFair Hotel in Rourkela to stay.

Try out these tips to plan for hotels

There are many ways by which you can plan for your trains now planning for train tickets and trains are two different things. When you plan for trains then it’s your needs and wants in the train matters more than the cost of the tickets. So here are some tips below that will make you train planning easy.

Make sure that the train you are travelling in stops at your destinations because there are some superfast trains with limited stoppages that may not stop in the station that you want to get down. Like here I first checked if the train was stopping at Rourkela Railway Station or not.

Look for the seat availability in different trains as per your choice, thanks to the modernized technology now you can choose your own seat while booking through online travel portals. Like when I booked my tickets on the Gitanjali Express 12859I wanted the side upper seat which I got as many people don’t prefer to travel on it.

Rourkela Railway Station

Rourkela Railway Station | Image Resource : panoramio.com

A pantry car is must for trains when your journey is a long one. At times you face problems when there is no pantry car in a train as buying food becomes a problem at times because vendors get on the train only in some stations.

Make sure that you note down the train timings as now the railways has become very punctual and is trying to maintain train timings.

Shopping in Rourkela Forum Galleria Mall and Ambagan

I booked Mayfair Rourkela hotel and the location of the hotel on the Panposh Road. As I said that I met a friend there I asked him to take me to the best places to buy things in the city of Rourkela. He took me fist to the Forum Galleria Mall which is on Y-6th, Civil Township road. I was overwhelmed by the beauty and elaborateness of the mall and could purchase each and everything that I actually wanted rather better things. Then we went to the Ambagan market where I could buy some electronics at very cheap and reasonable rates.

Railway Station | Image Resource : yourstory.com

We love vacationing in exotic locations and this time we opted for a holiday in Kanyakumari, after hearing so much about the beauty and spirituality of the place. I booked train tickets using the IRCTC website on the Himsagar Express.

Journey to Kanyakumari Was Smooth

The Himsagar Express runs from the Mata Vaishno Devi Temple in Jammu and Kashmir to Kanykumari covering an enormous 3710 kilometers. During the three day journey it has 67 halts out of which Vijayawada is one.

Our journey on the Himsagar Express was enjoyable. We were in the AC three tier compartments and during our journey, enjoyed snacks and a nice rest till the train stopped at the Kanyakumari Railway Station.

We Stayed In a Lovely Two-Star Hotel

Our place of stay was the majestic Hotel Sky Ark located in Vivekanada Kendra. Our rooms were spacious, well appointed and offering the latest guest comforts. The hotel’s restaurant served delicious multi cuisine food. After enjoying evening snacks, we set down to plan what we were going to do the next day and the place that we were going to visit.

Sightseeing Was Fabulous

We took the hotel cab and the first place that we visited was the majestic Vivekanada memorial, which mesmerized us. Located in Vavathurai, in kanyakumaru it was built to honor Swami Viekananda, as this was the place where he attained enlighten.

It is also said that this rock is the place where Goddess Kanyakumari performed sever austerities. What stunned me most was, many types of architectural styles incorporated into the memorial structure. I was particularly taken up with the Dhyana Mandapam which is attached to the memorial, where I sat down for a while meditating.

Kanyakumari Temple

Padmanabhapuram Palace | Image Resource : keralatourism.org

The next place that we visited was the Kanyakumari beach. The beauty of this beach is unmatched by others because of its lovely multi-colored sands. This is the perfect place to enjoy both the sunrise and the sunset. We could see kids playing here and some people indulging in surfing.

Mind you, the waves in this beach are huge and lash fast on the shoreline. Numerous small shops dot the beach selling shell craft and there are many eateries where you can enjoy sea food snacks.

Our next stop was the famous Baywatch Amusement Park. This is a fun and entertaining place for people who want to come with their families. They can enjoy a lovely time as there are so many rides to enjoy. You can enjoy short rides, water rides and well as different types of swing rides. There is a swimming pool for kids as well as one for adults.

With eateries and small food stalls inside the park, you can enjoy a lovely time playing with your kids, snacking, walking about, enjoying rides more than once etc. The park is open from 10 am in the morning till 6 pm in the evening. Adults are charged an entrance fee of Rs 300 while for kids it is Rs 250.

We also visited the beautiful kanyakumari temple and the Padmanabhapurma Palace, both of which enthralled us with their beauty and elegance. After some time shopping in local markets, we returned to the hotel to pack for our journey back home via train.

Category: Railway

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A Trip To Beautiful Kanyakumari For A Family Holiday Experience