Roadtrip Day 16: the day I got charmed by the 'lost city'

While majority of the day went in getting my bike's disc brakes fixed, the part after that stole the show

I did not get a good night sleep the previous night. I am not sure why. I guess somewhere deep inside, I have started to get frustrated with the bike issues. It has also started showing up in my general enthu level. I had stopped doing my morning yoga sessions. The last I did was when I was in Surat. Anyway, by now, I had learnt an important lesson - bike issues can only get fixed post 10 AM as that is the time shop opens. So why worry before that :). There is also an optimistic feeling that most of the critical issues are getting unearthed after 3k kms. These were the bike’s weak points which are now becoming deal breaker. I was aware of engine & disc break issues earlier, just that, I decided to live with them. So once they are fixed, maybe, the bike is good for next 6-9k kms. Lets see how this pans out.

I was up at 6 AM & decided to complete my pending posts. Hotel Kavya where I was staying, had good 30 Mbps+ internet speed, which is both a rarity & luxury for me :). I decided to make good use of it & published both Day 14 & 15 posts. By 10 AM, I was ready to leave to get my bike repaired. I had pinged Jitu bhai from the New Chandra service center (the one in Khambalia where I had went to get the disc brake repaired) & he sent me contact of one Manish bhai . I could not connect to Manish bhai, so I decided to follow advice of my hotel staff & decided to go to their recommended mechanic.

It so turned out that both the recommendations were same. I had ended up at Manish bhai’s place. Manish bhai worked on my bike pretty intently. He also answered most of my questions & told me why/how my suggestion wont work.

While fixing disc brakes, we figured that disc brake oil was low. I felt bad. It made me feel that I have not prepared my bike well for the trip :(. I got some angry feeling for my bangalore mechanic too :).

The disc brake fixing dint happen in a smooth/straight forward way. Manish bhai kept trying various options but either the nuts were loose, or tightening them way too much lead to jammed wheel. I had seen the same thing previous day & when I was at my mechanic in Bangalore. It was lunch time & we have made some progress. I decided to head to a restaurant nearby for lunch while Manish bhai chose to stay on the job.

I headed to Hotel Grand Radhey primarily because it has AC dining hall & it was pretty hot outside. It looked empty but to my surprise, the Gujrati thali they served turned out to be pretty good for Rs 150. Their room tarrif of Rs 1k for a double AC room sounded pretty decent too. I took a few pics. I would recommend this place for stay. Food, you may, but it might be too far for folks who are staying in the city & there were equally good options there.

By the time I was back from lunch, Manish bhai had fixed the disc brakes. I guess he decided to optimize for robustness over efficiency. The nuts were held strong but the wheel wasn’t as free as it was before. The brake also felt a little ‘lose’. I did not crib much. I did ask him his opinion on the piston issue to which, after taking a ride, he suggested to get it replaced in Rajkot. It was a bit of let down but I am now considering doing that. It would also enable me to do the spiti trip on my bike.

Manish bhai also checked idling on my bike after noticing that it is low. He mentioned that low idling causes piston issues. He brought a device which shows idling value. I was surprised on seeing this device. So far, in my experience dealing with Royal Enfield, no one has ever shown me such a device. I had special respect for Manish bhai. I would recommend him for any bullet related work in Dwarka. He can be reached at 8866601323

Manish bhai is 2nd from left.

By 4 PM, I was ready with the bike. I decided to do the ride to Nageshwar temple which was 20 kms away, as it would mean testing the disc brake stability. It fared well. The temple was also decent, not much crowded because of evening. I meditated inside the hall, just to feel any special energy at the place. I cant say I felt something strong, but it was a good meditation. So maybe, there was some energy there.

I happen to see this cow in the temple parking area. Looking at this cow made me feel, why on earth we got Jersey cows from, I guess, US; when we had such nice herculean breeds of cow in India itself. My guess is that these cows are great at giving milk too.

I also went to Gopi Talav 5 kms away. Apparently this is the place where Lord Krishna bathed with Gopiyan. There was a small temple opposite it & the panditji there was happy to see me. Maybe, he wanted to have casual conversation although I did get this feeling that he might expect dakshina at the end. I guess, once he got to know that I am jobless, his expectation of dakshina also faded.

I did a quick meditation at the temple & then left the place after saying goodbye to the pujari ji, who was busy fixing fan of one of the rooms nearby.

On my way back, I stopped by at Nagesh Van. I entered the place & it felt like a dense garden to me. It has a room at the center which has historical data with respect to Dwarka. It was a good read. I rushed out fairly quickly because I had left my bag strapped on the bike. It was there as it is when I came out.

I did a bit of detour on my way back to Dwarka & took a longer route. It was nice village road with windmills etc. The road was also bad & it helped me test the stability of the disc brake assembly.

While on the way back, I got contact of Mr Rushiraj of InvincibleNgo . They had camping setup in Beyt Dwarka & I was trying to figure out if they have a DIY setup for me to put my tent at their place. Rushi bhai told me that their setup works only on weekends & directed me to Bhavin bhai of divine tent. Bhavin bhai agreed to let me use their campsite. So I would be staying at Beyt Dwarka tomorrow :).

I came back to my hotel, had tea & then headed out for Dwarakadhish temple visit. Outside the hotel, the hotel staff was sitting with a black pet dog. The dog reminded me of my friend’s Nishant dog Java (he is no more). Decided to pay a small tribute to Java by clicking this dog’s pic & putting it up here. The pic did not come that great though. Sorry.

I think what followed next, pretty much became the experience of the day for me. While visiting Dwarkadhish temple, I had to get into the city & the market. The burstling market had some kind of nice energy in it. It was also a great experience for someone who has been staying in tier 1 cities for a long time. The market completely changed my agenda & I was now exploring the street, watching shops. I somehow got a shopping list also popped in my mind. I remembered that I needed 5 ltr water can & a copper bottle (I forgot mine at Narara beach). I asked around & found shops to buy these. I was very tempted to try some local sweets but for some reason (maybe my inner voice wasn’t aligned), chose not to try. I was so mesmerized by the market that I did not even clicked pictures. I took a few at the end when I realized that it would be closing time of the temple.

For the first time I was about to enter, I was misguided by a lady police about leaving the phone outside. She said that it has to be left with shopkeeper. Later, I got to know that there is a govt counter to deposit phone, free of cost, which I did & entered again.

I was inside fairly quickly. There was not as much crowd as hotel folks had told me. I wanted to meditate but then there was no silence. Plus some kind of collective arti started & once it ended, I realized it was the closing arti of the day (or something like that). The police started to send devotees outside the temple. It was 9:30 PM at the time.

I headed out & then tried finding the way to ‘chappan seedhi’ . I was told that, similar to Sai baba mandir, there is a place where dinner is served for Rs 20 (it was free at Sai baba temple & was termed as prasadam dinner or something). Well, this dinner is something which most folks can skip IMO.

This place was close to Gomti ghat & I went there to have a closer look. Folks have been sleeping on the bank & it was very peaceful there. I meditated for some time & felt good.

I saw some folks sleeping on the bank & felt a bit envious. Well, I cudn’t do that because .. umm .. I have a room & I have belongings to worry about & .. well .. what would people say :).

On the way back, I had some nice experiences. I saw one guy roaming around with hay on his 2 wheeler & then throwing it on the road for the numerous cows & bulls to eat. I saw a very old building which is now a dharamshala kinds & their occupants playing badminton on the road. Looked like, they were local folks staying in it. I also saw a kund in middle of the city.

If I happen to visit Dwarka again, I would love to stay within the city, in one of those dharamshala or a humble hotel, to experience Dwarka’s life, which seemed pretty full of life. While temple visit seems like the major agenda for everyone, I would rather spend time being with local people & doing stuff they do.

I was back at the hotel by 11 AM & decided to do the blog post as I dont know what kind of internet connection I will have tomorrow at Beyt Dwarka :).