Indore, Maheswar and Ujjain
A quick break took us to the cleanest city in India, Indore. It was an hours flight from Pune. A look-up suggested that we could visit the iconic temple towns of Maheswar, Omkareswar and Ujjain along with Indore. Being a three day trip, we settled for Maheswar and Ujjain. Our three-day itinerary shaped up like this:
Day 1: Early morning arrival at Indore. Spend the day at Indore.
Day 2: Day trip to Maheswar and return to Indore.
Day 3: Day trip to Ujjain. Board flight back to Pune, late evening
Day 1: Early morning arrival at Indore. Spend the day at Indore
We had an early morning flight which landed us at Indore in the early hours of the morning. We took an Uber to the hotel from the airport. We were booked at the WoW Hotel
Breakfast, followed by an early check-in, a bit of a nap and we well all set for a city tour.
Rajwada Palace
The main attraction of Indore is the iconic Rajwada Palace. It was the main palace of the Holkars built in the mid 18th century. The structure is very well maintained and lit up gloriously till late hours at night. This remarkable structure is placed in Khajuri Bazaar, right in the middle of the city. A short Uber ride from our hotel took us here.
Gandhi Town Hall
Our next stop would be the Chhapan Street Food market. An Uber would take us there. On the way we saw this beautiful structure which is the Gandhi Town Hall and dropped by to take a few pictures.
Chhappan Food Market
This is what people come to Indore for. For its street food. This is one of the most famous street food markets, the other being the Sarafa night market. While there were loads of vegetarian options in the form of dosa, chaat and sweets, the one non-veg joint I located is the Johny hot dog. Sure enough, I managed to have some amazing friend chicken wrapped in pav bun, turning it into a local version of a hot dog.
Sarafa Street Food Market
This is THE main attraction as far as street food is concerned. It only opens at around 9 PM and goes on till really late at night. We had to see it to believe it. At 11 PM there was hardly any place to walk, such was the crowd. The market is walking distance from the well lit-up Rajwada Palace. This was completely vegetarian and there was no type of street food that was not available here. After much deliberation I settled for a Chhole Kulche for my dinner. But some very unique items are available here. One was the Jaleba which was a larger version of our Jalebi. There were hundred types of sweets and something called a Tandoori chai.
Day 2: Day trip to Maheswar and return to Indore
A two-hour drive from Indore took us to this wonderful temple town of Maheswar on the banks of the river Narmada. The primary attaction is the Ahilya Fort complex. The fort was built by the iconic Holkar dynasty and inside in are located some of the most beautiful temples. One can enter the complex, walk through the residential areas and then through the temples on the banks of the river. Boat rides are available and we availed of one. The place is also famous for Maheswari sarees.
Day 3: Day trip to Ujjain. Board flight back to Pune, late evening
Ujjain is another famous temple town, just a one-hour drive from Indore. The place is most famous for the Mahakal Temple. An hour’s drive took us there. We had heard of a corridor that was opened to the public on the way to the temple and we duly visited that. This was beautifully done with the whole area consisting of various statues depicting the various stories of Hindu Mythology, the most famous being the churning of the ocean.
