Kanyakumari-Kashmir Round trip - Day 25 - Sitarganj - Naimisaranyam - Rae Bareli

Day 25 - Sitarganj - Naimisaranyam - Rae Bareli (stay in NH 30 - Rae Bareli)

Kilometers covered - 450 KMs

Walking - 8000+ steps

The stay was horrible and we didn't get to sleep properly. However, the instant pre-mix masala chai (namaste brand) was really refreshing :) We had couple of cup noodles each for breakfast (thanks to the electric kettle and instant food we carried)

Checked out by 8 AM - Fuelled our vehicle at Radhe Indian Oil, Sitarganj with a plan to reach Prayagraj by night. However, half way through our plan got changed. We saw a sign board and decided to visit Naimisaranyam. Another CNG fill at Bareli - Highway Fuels IOCL pump

We decided to visit Chakra Theerth, Naimisaranyam for a dip. Within next few minutes, our vehicle's chakram (right side rear tyre) went flat :) what a conincidence. We tried to patch it ourselves, however the cut was on the edges and we realized that we can't use the tubeless tyre anymore and had to convert it to a tube one.

To our excitement, there was a punture shop 500 meters away. We inflated the tyre using our instant inflator and reached the shop. It was predominantly a 2 wheeler shop and he didn't have tools to remove our tyre. The spanner (Maruti genuine accessory) that was provided in the genuine kit couldn't perform the genuine job it was supposed to. It lost the grip on the edges and couldn't rotate properly, slipping often. The size of the cup in the spanner was small compared to the size of the wheel bolts. Every person passing through the shop tried their hands - however we couldn't remove the chakram - woww!!! Another cool fact - the temperature was soaring over 40 degrees - ROFL

Plan B - a proper 4 wheeler / truck tyre repair shop was 15 KMs away. We inflated the tyre and decided to drive 15 KMs with couple of air inflation on the go. We stopped after 7 KMs, 11 KMs for inflation and reached the spot without any major mishap. 

This man - very humble and gentle - saw our Maruti genuine accessory (forget trying) and said this won't work sir - ''is mein daanth (tooth) achha nahi hai, mera spanner lekar aavunga". He came with his tool, within seconds removed the wheel and fixed the issue with a new tube :) Atlast, chakram got fixed. It was a Sunday (we checked whether we can find a hardware shop to get a true genuine spanner coz we don't want to risk carrying the Maruti genuine anymore) He calmly said, "Mera spanner le lo sir - mere pass doosra hai" - he gave his spanner to us.

On reaching Naimisaranyam, we were awestruck looking at the crowd irrespective of 42+ degrees temperature. We would have gulped a minimum of 5 bottles of water apart from lemon sodas, sugarcane juice etc.., 

As always - Plan B - stopped the vehicle under a tree and caught hold of a tuk-tuk. We didn't plan what to visit coz this schedule was purely based on the sign board. We enquired with the tuk-tuk guide - he explained about 5 must visit places for Rs. 400. Without a second thought, we took the ride. 

Naimisaranya claims the distinction of being the first and most sacred of all Tirth Snans in India. It is equivalent to visiting all the Tirth Snans and the only place to find a mention in all important Hindu sacred texts. 

Chakra Teerth Snan & Chakrathaazhvar Darshan, River Gomati dip, Lakshmi Narayana Mandir, Vishnu Temple, Vyasa Gaddi, Hanuman Temple, Kaali Mata & Shri Lalita Devi Mandir. 

We did another CNG filling at Shwethank Petroleums, Lucknow - an IOCL pump

We realized that we wouldn't be reaching Prayagraj on time and decided to stay in Rae Bareli. On the outskirts of Lucknow - we had muttar samosa, rasgulla, pani poori and chai :) around 6.30 PM and skipped dinner. 

Stay at Sarada Lodge, NH 30, outskirts of Rae Bareli

Luv,

Krishna & Mahadevan

insta - viswanatkr01