Sometimes smallest of places bring the best out of you. Baroda is a city where you find cows more than humans and the city is adorned by small temples every km, a peaceful retreat to be at, especially after the hustle-bustle of a metro city.
Staying at my brother’s place who is posted at Sumandeep Vidyapeeth medical institute, situated on the outskirts of Vadodara added to my enriching experience. We boarded the train at Bandra Terminus and reached Baroda late evening, relaxing and gossiping with my mother and sister-in-law, sleep caught us late.
The next morning, we headed to Statute of Unity (SoU), around 60 km from the main city. We had made the reservations online for Rs 240 per person, where they had different packages to offer as per your interest. If only visiting the Vallabhbhai Patel statue is your aim you can go for ‘SoU Viewing gallery’ which includes the entry ticket to SoU and a lift entry that takes you to the top of the statue.
This mighty statute located on the Narmada river and facing Sardar Sarovar Dam is an awestruck figure. Something so well designed by an artist from Dhule and so well constructed by 250 L&T engineers in just 40 months!!
A must-try thing is the eco-friendly cycle tour, safaris, and helicopter ride. And if you are traveling from Ahmedabad, do take the SpiceJet seaplane from Sabarmati Riverfront which will take approx. 1 hour to reach SoU in Kevadia.
The next day we explored Alkapuri, one of the posh areas of Vadodara, eating at “22nd Parallel restaurant”, shopping at “Nutty Affair” for assorted dry fruits, “Chini Kum” for amazing varieties of mithais, and “Payal Farsan” for delicious theplas.
You can also try similar theplas in Jagdish Farshan, which has many outlets throughout the city. Must try in Jagadish is Lilo Chevdo, Bhakharwadi & fried Patra packets.
Shree Akshar Residency society in Waghodia, where we were staying was a mix of individual apartments & buildings. Down the street, is the entire market to shop for your household items. One of the shops for affordable and good quality kurtis & night suits is Rajanshi fashions. Also, you can relax by taking a massage in the salon downstairs.
The next day we headed to BAPS Shri Swaminarayan temple, a very peaceful place with intricate carvings. You can plan this on the same day as the Statue of Unity to save time but as visiting the statue was quite hectic for us, we skipped it that day. One can stay there till evening when the entire temple is lit up. Also, the temple is closed from 12:00 to 4:00 pm, hence plan the visit accordingly.
Away from the busyness of city life, people are actually living, they are actually breathing. After a very long time, I felt I was spending time with myself, I felt I could hear my inner voice and I felt I was measuring life with moments rather than with materialistic possession. Though my existence is in a Tier 1 city but would rate this Tier 2 city as No.1. Go for it!
