Night at Jammu

I become shopaholic at times. Neha is aware of it. She ensured we don't spend more time in market. It was must to reach Jammu. It was almost 8.00 pm now. Chandan took us to the main square of katra town. We booked a car for Jammu there from Royal Travels. After bargaining we got car in rs. 900/-. We found a roadside cart selling fried items nearby. The smell was inviting. I ordered for "Mirchi Bhaji" (Green chilly dipped in batter and deep fried) , followed by tea. I offered Chandan money for all the help he extended here in Katra, which he refused politely. We said good bye to Chandan and sat in the car. Car Started, we looked back, at the hills bright lights were visible. We once again bowed down in that direction. With blessings of mother (Vaishnodevi) we completed a pilgrimage of Trikuta hills successfully. With hearts filled with satisfaction our journey towards Jammu began.

Distance between Jammu and Katra is about 45-50 kilometers. As this road is hilly, it has many turns and bends. It was night with very little light around. Enjoying the nature was out of question due to this condition. Many shocks and vibrations were giving us idea of road condition. This road is close to Pakistan border, which used by lakhs of devotees and army too. How come road conditions can be so bad? This question came to my mind number of times. Owing to traffic and road condition our journey was slow. We took over an our and half to reach Jammu. Our car stopped outside "Saraswati Dham" , where we have booked our room. We were hungry, sleepy and it was must for us to get up at 4.40 am in the morning to catch a bus for Amritsar.

In front of us was a six floored tall, snow white impressive building.  Three, four such hotels are built by shrine board in Jammu. They are close to railway station for convenience of pilgrims.  It was having a mice garden outside. At this hour we never got a chance to see its beauty. We entered and shown our booking at reception. We were allocated a room on first floor. It was 10.30 pm. Receptionist told us the canteen time is only till 11.00 pm. So we went directly to canteen from there. Here rates were same as we found at Vaishnodevi, however more items were available.  Post dinner we went to our room. There was an elevator in the building, which came as a relief. Our room was very clean, well maintained and cozy. Cleanliness of bathroom and toilet was very good. I always feel this is a measure of cleanliness for any hotel. Room was air-conditioned to our satisfaction.  We changed and went to bed immediately. 

Alarm at 4.30 am woke us up. As our stay here was just for few hours we hardly had any packing to do. Both of us have a habit of taking bath before leaving the house or room, however early it is. After bath we left the room, deposited keys at reception and left this hotel called Saraswati Dham. We felt we shall be back sometime later here and enjoy a longer stay. We hired a three Wheeler outside for bus stand. In these wee hours he charged us Rs.150/- for a short distance of 5-6 kilometers.  We reached bus station in less than 15 minutes through empty early morning roads. It was cold outside.  Our bus was yet to come to bus station. We decided to have a tea and biscuits at nearby stall. By the time we finished our tea, bus reached platform. 

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