Yes, he was! Our taxi driver was very chatty and good-natured. The first stop was Dharmasthala, home to the famous Lord Manjunath Temple, which attracts large crowds of devotees. After a wonderful darshan, we returned to the taxi, ready to continue our journey. The first thing the driver asked us was if we had taken lunch at the temple. We said we skipped it because it was too crowded. "No way you can miss it," he insisted, practically escorting us to the dining hall.

The dining hall was massive—huge vessels of rasam and sambar being prepared, and enormous rice cookers hard at work. We were seated on a raised platform on the floor, and the food arrived in giant vessels, the likes of which we had never seen before. The serving was incredibly orderly, efficient, and unbelievably fast. We had to eat quickly, too, as each dish arrived in rapid succession. Though I don’t recall the exact number, there must have been about 1,000 people seated together. The meal was over quickly, and the next batch was ready for their turn. The taste was divine, truly out of this world, and the aroma seemed to linger even after we had washed our hands. Truly, Lord’s blessings.

The driver had a broad smile when we recounted our experience. He was satisfied. We then moved on to Udupi.

Booking hotels was not easy. We had to find a place after reaching Udupi, and the hotel we eventually chose looked big and had a decent ambience. Unfortunately, throughout the night, there was some kind of party going on, and we couldn’t sleep peacefully.

We spent some time exploring Udupi, which is a nice, calm place. Surprisingly, we couldn’t find any "Udupi" hotels there, despite the city being known for its food culture. Even finding a vegetarian restaurant was difficult. Eventually, we found Woodlands, which offered some tasty South Indian food. That evening, we had a blessed darshan of Lord Krishna. The temple is located by the sea, and like many temples in Karnataka, it serves food to devotees.

I don’t quite remember the exact order in which we visited the temples, but we went to Mookambika, where we had lunch, and Subramanya. I also can’t recall exactly where we concluded our taxi journey. After thanking the driver profusely for taking us to all the temples, we bid him goodbye and took a bus to Sringeri.

On the way, we passed the awe-inspiring statue of Lord Gomateswara on a hillock, which left a lasting impression. Sringeri was a small, peaceful place at that time. We didn’t know that rooms could be booked at the temple, so we settled for a lodge. Thankfully, food wasn’t an issue, as the temple served meals regularly. We visited the Shankaracharya Peetham, and we were lucky enough to receive blessings from Shankaracharya himself. Sringeri is located on a hill, with the temple by the side of a quietly flowing river. The boys had a great time feeding the fish in the river. Just being at the temple was a blissful experience.

After staying for a couple of days, we left for Mangalore.

And how was the return journey?

Continued in 165. Chow-chows And Wah-Wahs - Part 3