More on the tours

Remember the mini van that we took for the tour? Since the space was limited, our 4 pieces of luggage were put on the roof of the van. I was very nervous about the luggage flying away. Checked with the conductor frequently. The bus stopped at a small Temple on the highway. The driver etc. must have stopped for a cup of tea. Nirmala and I checked out for rest rooms. One can release behind a wall (that was the maximum privacy that could be provided there), but due to the scarcity of water, we could not do the job. For men, in India, it is easy. The bus did not stop for lunch and hence made it to Somnath on time. Again, the stop was a little away from the station. Rao had to crossed the main road to fetch an Auto.
The Auto as well as the driver looked old. But the service was wonderful.We paid him only 150 rupees. he gave us lot of good advice and dropped us off at Krishna Hotel who charged only 450 rupees and it was excellent. Early in the morning by 5:30, we finished bath and went to have darsan at the Old Shiva Temple. Rao, with his navigational expertise, took us to the Temples. We had abhishekam done at the old Temple. here also, as usual we saw beautiful moon rise and sun set. By 7 a.m. we were at the new Somanath Temple.
Somanath Temple is awe inspiring. Not only it was huge, but also the cleanest Shiva Temple I have seen. It brought back the information we got from high school days about how this Temple was invaded by Muslims many times.We witnessed the 7 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. aarati. The auto driver being very punctual, we went on our mini tour and visited Krishna Niryanam place(where Krishna left the mortal body), Shankara Matham, Triveni(I forgot the names of the 3 rivers that met here) and the Laksminarayana Temple, which was huge, quiet and very peaceful.
I just have to mention that this part of Gujarat was very dirty. Flies everywhere including on the food being sold. No good toilet fecilities, foul smell everywhere. Being the sea coast and with fisheries industry, added smell was there.
But, with devotees of all ages around you, these little things were not annoyances at all. We had wonderful time.