I have been thinking of going on a trip alone for some time. So I decided to go straight to Madurai after the exam. There is a bit of opposition at home due to the safety issue that arises when traveling alone. And when the extra responsibility of relatives came to me too, it was complete !. So my brother and sister accompanied me. And no matter what, the journey with our brothers is different. So I took a ticket for Punalur-Madurai passenger from Kollam railway station. Ticket charge is Rs. 70 / – per person. The train is at 6:10 pm. But when the train arrived it was 7:00 pm. I got a seat as soon as I got on the train as there was no rush at all. Despite the presence of the Ananthapuri Express, this train was chosen to avoid overnight delays.
The train passed through several stations but when it reached Kuzhithura (Kulithura) railway station, some seats in the train were filled with passengers. My younger sister was sleeping soundly. My brother and I sat and watched the sights. A huge tower when the light that fell on my face occasionally through the window and opened my eyes.There was a Huge tower, suddenly I felt scared but as a civil engineer I realized that it was a cement factory. The train has stopped. I could not see the station, so I looked at a Google map and saw that it was Shankar Town. Then sleep did not come. We could see a lot of windmills there. My brother bought 4 for 10 rupees. It tastes like sweet idli. The woman got off at the next station. The time was about 2 p.m. Slowly we fell asleep again.
Arrived in Madurai at 6:20 am. It was supposed to arrive at 6:45 am (arrived 25 minutes earlier). When I got off at the station, I heard an announcement.Three of us became so happy because we learned that the Madurai-Rameshwaram train would leave from the fifth platform at 6:50 am. 35 / – per person for a Madurai-Rameshwaram train ticket. The train already came there. Special care should be taken while boarding this train. The front will go to Chennai as you will have to board the back compartment of the train. Journey begins, and then there were the desolate areas. Rare houses. Palms everywhere. The walls of most of the houses are neatly lined with palm leafs. When a woman from a nearby Tamil family asked us, “where are you from?”, I replied that we are from Kerala near Pandalam. Her face lit up with wonder and a devotion while knowing the fact that we were from God Ayyappan’s place. When I asked them, I understood that next train was going to cross the Pamban Bridge,Then I came to the window seat. .
The Pamban Bridge is about 2.3km long. The train slowed down. It was a moment when the train crossed the bridge and the force of the wind and the waves were a little frightening and at the same time I felt a little proud to walk across the Pamban bridge. I did not forget to take selfies while camera eyes blinking continuously. Thus we reached Rameshwaram station. Went to the railway waiting room to freshen upp. It was kept very clean. There is also a facility to charge a mobile phone from there. 
After that I looked straight at the road to Dr Abdul Kalam House with the help of Google map. It is about 500 meters. So I walked over there. As we approached the front of Dr Abdul Kalam House, an old man showed us the way up. This house is now a museum. Dr Abdul Kalam Sir’s honors, certificates, formal attire he used, and photographs taken while on important missions were among the many sights in the museum. It was a business located on the 2nd floor targeting tourists. Most were objects made of coastal materials. We left very quickly as the price was too high. It was hot and sunny then. The hunger was unbearable so I searched the nearest hotel. Went to Chola Hotel and ordered Biryani (Rs. 130 / – Per person). It was a an average meal. When the meal was over, When the hotel owner inquired about the bus to Dhanushkodi after the meal, he was told to board bus number 3 from the same junction. So we got on the bus and took ticket to Dhanushkodi (Rs. 22 / -) Per person) The bus was well crowded. The bus turned into a deserted road. Some went down in the middle of the journey, but there were no houses or buildings nearby. On the Dhanushkodi bus, there will always be two policemen. This service is provided because it is a risk zone.
Gradually the sea began to appear on both sides of the road. And houses made of coconut leafs. In front of some houses the fish are put to dry. The ruins of buildings and railway tracks destroyed in the 1964 storm brought the devastating storm in my mind. We reached Dhanushkodi in about an hour. The road ends here. We walked towards Dhanushkodi Cape, and the wind calmed the heat. Many tourists have already arrived here. In general, there were less Malayalees in it. Most are from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. We walked to the Dhanushkodi Cape (Dead End). The roar of the seas on both sides. To the right is the blue Indian Ocean, and to the left is the calm Bay of Bengal. As soon as we arrived we were looking to see if we could see Sri Lanka from here. It is still doubtful whether it was Sri Lanka or the waves that you saw as a small white line in the distance. When we reach Dhanushkodi, we really feel like we are standing in the middle of the sea.
It would have been a real loss if I had not gone to Dhanushkodi after listening to my friend Jibu. Spent some time there. I wanted to spend the whole evening but got on the next bus as I had to catch the last train back. On the way to Rameshwaram from Dhanushkodi, you can see a tower in the distance. This tower is located near the railway station. The Rameshwaram-Madurai passenger train at 6:00 pm was packed with people. But luckily we got a place to sit next to the three of us. The train left on time. The night journey across the Pamban Bridge added to the fear a bit. The sky is covered with black clouds. This is the first time I have seen so many black clouds. Afterwards he said goodbye to the outside views as the views were not clear. Arrived in Madurai at 10 pm. The Madurai – Punalur passenger will leave at 11:15 pm. As we were now going to Bangalore, we boarded the Nagercoil-Bangalore Express train at 11:50 pm and left the station for lunch. When I was looking for Madurai special food, I tapped on the jagardandi mentioned by my dear travelers. All the shops are active even at night. When he found out that Jagardandi was no longer available, he went to Madurai and inquired about a tea shop owner. He showed us a nearby shop. Nice clean hotel. I bought chicken Kothuporotta (Rs. 130), egg Kothu porotta (Rs. 80) and veg Kothu Porotta (Rs. 70) each. Everything looked the same but there was a difference in taste. The egg Kothu porotta was very tasty. After eating, We filled the bottles with hot water. This saved us the cost of our drinking water. When we got off after the meal and saw the women putting jasmine in many parts of the road and their behavior, we walked to the station as it seemed like we were no longer standing there much longer is not good. Since the train was about an hour late, I spent time looking at pictures taken from there to charge the power bank and mobile phones. The fare to and from Kollam railway station is only Rs. 254 per person. I really missed my mom and dad but it was a good trip that could have eased the fatigue at minimal cost.
