The Most Awaited Destination
Good Day Peeps! Boots' longed to visit Tanjore Big temple for several months. At last, the day arrived.
It was 2AM when boots started the journey from Chennai and this time the pillion seat was vacant. Yes, Boots is gonna have a solo ride. "How will this journey be? I dint sleep properly last night" said Mr. Boots to...whom?Err it's himself. ROFL, He thought of drinking hot coffee in 99km coffee shop, yes the shop name itself is 99km because it is situated at 99th km from Chennai! Interesting isn't it! oops, it was closed! "Hot coffee at this time is good" thought Boots, sipping the coffee in the next-stop coffee shop.
The journey continued and the sun rose up. Boots decided to take the village routes instead of highways. He saw a bridge built across the river Kaveri near Trichy. Though the view wasn't good beneath the bridge, since the place was deserted without water, the sky didn't fail! Yes, the rays of the sun tore the clouds and shined! That was amazing. Paddyfields wherein the crops were dancing in the air, palm trees covering the roads is alike Goa roads, and the authentic tamarind trees providing shade as well as a cool breeze to the traveler were incredible! "I am treated well by the nature! I am today's guest isn't it!" thought Boots capturing nature's beauty.
The village roads were pleasant, green with river channel running parallel. At one of the bridge, the Kaveri river was beautifully flowing. He captured, recorded various pictures and videos. After a while of riding, he got down at a place surrounded by greens, fresh air, and relaxed for a while. The journey was pleasant but the destination is important, right? He wroomed the bike towards Tanjore Temple and err something went wrong. Obviously the google maps, it navigated him to somewhere else and thus he began asking the locals for a route. One of the fantastic landmarks provided by the locals was the Tanjore Big Temple's tower. The route was instructed like " straight, left and right wherein a temple tower can be seen. Follow the road towards it!" Awesome isn't it! But Mr. Boots wasn't able to find out the tower hence he relied on the locals again. He found out the destination and thought of having breakfast before he enters the stunning temple!
No hotels were found near the temple and so he went in search of restaurants in and around. Soon he found a small food center wherein puris and vadas were gulped. After a good breakfast, Mr.Boots rode the bike to his most awaited destination, the mighty Tanjore Big temple. Since there was no stand or token system for footwear, he removed his shoes and found out a safe place. Drones weren't allowed and thus he got checked by officials. "Dazzling Architecture," thought Mr.Boots.
The whole temple is made of granite!. Tanjore Big temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, when Boots thought of entering the shrine, he saw the mighty sacred Bull which was 13ft high and 16ft long, carved out of single stone! He raised his head to see the temple tower which is 216ft high! Extraordinary isn't it! Above the tower at the apex, a bulbous structure is placed which weighs nearly 80 tons which were also carved out of single stone. The Lord shiva inside the temple was 12 ft, where Boots offered his prayer. He came out and saw the inscriptions, sculptures carved on the temple's wall which tells the stories of the Chola period and Dravidian Architecture. When he was moving around the temple, he noticed two boys who were scribbling their names on the temple walls." Why are people brain acting so weird especially in such a valuable heritage site? "murmured Mr. Boots. He was capturing many pictures of the stunning architecture while a man interrupted him asking to take a snap of his family. They conversed for a few minutes and the man asked Mr.Boots to send the pictures via WhatsApp. After nodding yes to the stranger, Mr.Boots packed his backpack and left the temple with rendering his respect to the King Raja Raja Cholan who built this temple, and to the architect.
"How this temple was built?! How strong the inter-locking mechanism might have worked in absence of cement and other sticking materials to these rocks? How could this temple withstand all climatic changes from 1000 years ago to till date? Are there any secret tunnels from this temple to nearby King's palace?!" were the random thoughts running in Boots' mind when he got into his gears. While returning back, He noticed a small hill temple. He halted the bike and asked the route that leads to that hill to a man who crossed by. Later he came to know that bikes can't climb that hill, hence he continued his journey back to Chennai. Due to his sleepless nights, he wasn't able to explore many things on the way. He devoured his lunch at Star Biryani restaurant near a toll plaza.
Mr.Boots was at his sweet home by 8pm with a memory-filled heart. It was 17.5 hrs journey. He told all the adventures he experienced to Dora and fell asleep after having his supper.
Mr.Boots' mantra is, not only the destination matters, the journey is equally important. That is why he gets down from his bike when something throbs his heart. Nature never fails to showcase its beauty. Thus taking care of it is highly important.
Thank you all for traveling with us! Follow us on Instagram for regular updates.
Do check out www.dbexplorers@blogspot.com for adventurous stories of Mr.Boots and Ms.Dora.
With Love,
Dora and Boots
Journey Details
Journey Details
From: Chennai
To: Thanjavur Big Temple
Total km: 755 km
Total Petrol cost: Rs 2000( Dominor 400cc)
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