A Blessed Trip to Shirdi & the Wonderful Sharda Inn

It is said that no one can go to Shirdi without Baba's calling. And we, 7 of us, inclusive of one child and an infant had the blessing to be there this August. The experience has changed all of us, the wonders of Shirdi had seeped into our souls, leaving us redefined...

I want to take this opportunity to share with you about Shirdi, how to get there, where to stay and other info, so if any of you intend to go, you are all prepared.

The sacred abode of Shri Sai Baba at Shirdi is easily accessible from all the corners of India and even from all the major cities of the world.  For us Malaysians, it is best to travel to Mumbai, and then via road, go to Shirdi. Shirdi is about 250km from Mumbai. We travelled by the Tempo which can accommodate 12 people. It was very, very comfortable, and the the 6 hours journey felt so smooth and not tiring at all.

Above are some of the beautiful scenery that we saw along our journey. It was a cool and serene ride to Shirdi, filled with anticipation on all 7 of us.

The best place to stay, by all means is Sharda Inn. This hotel was so divinely amazing with its peaceful atmosphere. It was very clean and rooms were very comfortable. Each room had a photo of Baba, and for me that was the icing on the cake. The hotel provides shuttle service 24X7 to the temple, so we did not have to worry about getting to the temple. The staff were ever so helpful and obliging. The food was great! We were blessed to book this hotel.

Finally about the temple, you can get VIP passes on weekdays for the darshan and aarti, but I don't think you can get aarti passes on weekends. VIP passes are to be obtained at the PRO office which is at Gate 1. You can ask the hotel and they will tell you how to get them.You will get darshan passes there and then, but for the aarti passes, you will need to follow the schedule. Simply produce your passport for the passes.

We took the general queue for the morning aarti on both Saturday and Sunday. Despite the long queue which took about three hours,  it was smooth sailing and definitely fruitful wait for each of us.

We had a miraculous time in Shirdi.....To those you wants to go to Shirdi, please don't hesitate to contact me. I would be most happy to guide you...

One more joyful event, my aunt celebrated her birthday in Shirdi, and I think she is definitely one in a million to get such an opportunity. Bless you Aunty Radha!!