MP Diaries : Bhopal to Ujjain

We had slept pretty late last night, and were not sure what was in store for us today... so the mood was lazy, and the conversations slow..

but at the back of our minds we knew there was much to see, and much to go to... so we kinda picked up some pace and go ready around 1130 hrs and had our breakfast at a Haldiram types restaurant just outside our hotel !!!

Oh, yes ! I am back to finishing off my MP travelogue :)

Here are the first few parts if you have missed them :

Delhi - Kanha
Kanha and around
Kanha to Bhopal

We wanted to go to Bhojpur, had heard nice things about it, a 1000 year old incomplete temple, world's tallest Shivling etc etc and we also wanted to go to Ujjain... ok I wanted to go to Ujjain (I feel some connection with Shiva and hence all the Jyotirlings come into the list of places I feel good about; and the Shivling @ Ujjain happens to be called MahaKaal too)

Talked to a few people and found out that there was an intercity express to Ujjain from Bhopal at 1700 hrs and will take 4 hours to reach Ujjain...

Now this made perfect sense, we could take an auto, go to Bhojpur come back, pack our bags and leave for Ujjain... come back to Bhopal tomorrow and take it from there... super..

So after talking to a few Autowallahs, and doing some bit of not to successfull bargaining we agreed to give the guy 270 bucks to take us to Bhojpur ( around 25 kms away from Bhopal) and bring us back...

The drive was fine, the sun not too strong and once we were out of the city between the farms it actually became must pleasent !!! I realised how much Wheat MP must be producing looking at the wast span of the golden fields all around !!! lovely view it was... Did stop at a few places to enjoy the calm and finally reached Bhojpur...

The Sprinklers for Wheat Fields...

The temple is massive, and was my second stop next to the river Betwa (The first being Orccha), and we were surprised at the size of the Shivling too... no wonder !

A Kiddo who was there with his parents for a Pooja...

Renovation work in progress at the Bhojpur Temple...

We spent a good couple of hours at the temple before we decided to move back to Bhopal and catch the train !!!

Aro at Bhojpur

A Local Musician at Bhojpur...

The return journey was equally nice and we did manage to reach the station on time too, rather before time... I remember buying the tickets and then coming out of the station to eat something... how could we not...

So this time... we had rasmalai, some other local mithai, some tea, and some cold drinks, not in this order though :)

Soon enough the train journey started again, this time a different flavor... General Coach, Wooden Benches, not too crowded though :)

A Passenger in the Intercity Express from Bhopal to Ujjain

did take us close to about 4 hours, but enjoyed every minute of it... talked to people, took pictures, got a small lesson on gun management from a Railway Policeman too :)

Catching Hope :)

Sunset from the Train...

We reached Ujjain around 2100 hrs and checked into a hotel near the station only... Learnt that the Bhasm Aarti starts at 0500 hrs in the morning and we should be in the temple by 0400 hrs to get a decent view !!!

Arobindo in the train...

The General Compartment we were in...

Now this meant a quick dinner and sleeping without much talking !!! And that happened too !!!

More to follow...

B/W Newspaper Colorful News :)

Some Data now..

Bhopal - Bhojpur : 25 kms
Auto fare : about 250-350 bucks depending on how you bargain...
What to do in Bhojpur : Nothing :) just sit back and relax
Train for Ujjain from Bhopal : Intercity Express @ 1700 hrs everyday
Fare : 50 rs. for the General Class, You can take that ticket and enter the reserved compartment too where the ticket can be upgraded for about Rs. 17 for that coach... the difference is better seats only !!!