Mahabaleshwar - Strawberry land

The first sight of a strawberry garden always leaves an impression of delight & marvel. We’ve now visited M’war numerous times now, but the first visit is always the most cherished. Mahabaleshwar is one of Mumbai's favorite hill station.Its quite drive-able from Mumbai, around 350kms, close to Wai(Satara district). The place provides ample solace & for the first-timers, its best to hire the govt approved guides(found everywhere) & take a look at the various can be found all over the town to take you across numerous 'points'.

Must-do @ this place - Visit to the Venna lake, guzzle down fresh strawberry,raspberry & other milkshakes & take quiet walks/drives around the town, munch fresh turnips & baby carrots near the lake & do check out the PWD canteen nicely tucked away behind the MTDC resort-Mahad Naka(for authentic, simple Maharashtrian fare)..yumm!

Check out www.holidayiq.com/mahabaleshwar/search.php for list of options, reviews &other details.

Our stay - M'shwar is an old hill station which was discovered in the 1800’s by the Britishers. Its quite convenient to get across, with a map(available at any of the resort receptions/entry point to the town where you have to pay a toll for your vehicle) and go by yourselves. Some famous points and places which are worth a visit are Kate’s Point, Echo Point, Wilson Point, Lingmala waterfalls(no water in summer of course).Close to Venna lake is Pratapsingh garden which offers a nice view of the lake.I loved clicking flowers. Another 'touristy' thing is a visit to the Mapro gardens(now they have an open air cafetaria offering nice snacks & juices.We’ve stayed at Strawberry Country Resorts & MTDC. The latter is more convenient as well as spacious (though it lacks a swimming pool etc). MTDC rooms are large with a real fire-place, all are red-brick colonial type bungalows.While sipping your morning tea, its usual to encounter a bunch of locals selling chappals, jootis, shoes of all types and also vending strawberries in your room verandah. Everything is up for bargain. But the best strawberries are bought at farms – there are numerous along the main market, along the road leading to Metgutad and Panchgani, in the vicinity of the Venna lake. We stopped by at Madhur Garden for a mini strawberry feast, first it was strawberry+cream, then milkshake and finally we closed with strawberry ice-cream & then a stroll across their farm, picking up berries of our choice :))

Peace at Igatpuri

Igatpuri falls on the Mumbai-Nashik route and is approximately around 130+kms from Mumbai. Well known for the Vipassana centre, Igatpuri has also been getting promoted recently as a second-home or holiday home destination. There are a couple of good resorts, the most famous being Manas where we stayed for a weekend. We were a little dissapointed because when we got there, it was lunch time and the restaurant sounded as noisy as a Mumbai neighbourhood during peak 'rush hour'.....what have we got into was the first thought. The rooms however, were quite peaceful and comfortable and god bless the room service ! Atleast that kept us away from the noisy crowds. The hammocks in the front yard were quite convenient, what a way to lounge around in the early morning? The place has a decent pool, but beware - its decent only till around 9am, then it gets invaded by eager-to-learn-swimming-Mumbaikars, flaunting different wild shades of swimwear, plonking themselves in the pool and generally creating a ruckus as if pools are going to dry the very next hour! We found a couple of game rooms as well, to play badminton, table tennis, carrom etc.....but we decided to venture out to explore the town instead. The Golden Pagoda of Dhammagiri was shimmering at a distance and seemed to be inviting us. So straight we entered the famous Dhammagiri, founded by the Goenkaji, where millions come to learn the route to peace and happiness through Vipassana. The Golden pagoda is a picture of tranquility, with people peacefully going about their tasks, a silent retreat indeed. Quite fascinating, its a peace which is inexplicable. On the way back, we stopped by to watch at the various trains from an old bridge, on Kartik's insistence. He loves trains, of all colors, shapes, at all times.....that was enjoyable.

Bordi - Beach during low tide, laze around during high tide

A weekend at Bordi - Around 135 kms from Kandivili where I live, Bordi can be easily reached by a single no-break drive. A quiet fishing village on the Gujarat-Maharashtra border, with sparse population, quaint little lanes, a single market which buzzes only in the evening, it’s a nice place for a weekend. Once a predominantly Parsi hamlet, it now has Gujjus, Maharastrians and a lot of old palatial Parsi bungalows. A lot of them have been converted into tourist villas, hotels etc. Bordi and adjoining Golvad are famous for Chikoo farms. Of course, we were more keen to explore the tiny beach and watch the fishermen or simply laze around. Not too bothered to go around the chikoo farms. The MTDC resort, as expected is in a prize location, bang on the beach. They have ample number of rooms, tent accommodation as well as a few cottages. Reasonably priced, the main attraction is the proximity to the beach. Summers can get scorching here, so it’s a best to visit during the more pleasant parts of the year. A usual practice while vacationing, we are always up early and manage to get a glimpse of what local life looks like right from the morning. We weren’t disappointed at Bordi as well. WE managed to see local fishermen going about their catch, auctioning, selling the fish right at the beach. Also part of our sighting was a discarded puffer fish, from their nets, tiny baby crabs buzzing around everywhere and lot of tiny pinkish shrimps. Opposite the MTDC resort is Anandvan resort, here they sell great Guava juice and Aam ka panna. From the local market one can pick up the usual stuff, some guava juice, papads, masala etc…….its a good place to just watch the tide ebb and flow….spend time collecting shells, watching the waves create deep, dark sand patterns on the shore as the tide ebbs..

The Road to MurudHarnai

After hearing a lot about Murud beach, our intentions got a further fillip when we got a chance 3 day weekend. The objective was the same, enjoy the drive, discover new little joints specializing in tasty local food, discover something new about Murud, the town and rate the beach amongst the best/worst we’ve visited so far. We’ve realized trip after trip that the best way to start a drive is to begin early and watch the sun rise out of an orange sky, brightening it to a clear and beautiful blue. Roads are quiet, but for an odd trucker or two who tries to stretch and cover a couple of miles. Apart from the feel good things, the roads are all yours, you don’t have to down the gears and worry about uncivilized roadsters J Anyway, coming back to the Murud drive, with a single breakfast stop at Panvel (Dutta Guru gives you hot, yummy Maharastrian fare, poha, upma and the evergreen vada-pav with mirchi chatni and it all this is too spicy, there’s sweet sheera)…food..mmmm.We reached Murud Harnai, the place at around 230pm, after a 252km drive&6.5 hrs. There are, rather two places to stay when we visited, atleast what we found comfortable – Silver Sand Beach Resort with a direct access to the beach and a little far away was Kamat Resorts though we found rooms at both too congested. Nevertheless, it was so terribly hot and humid that one hardly wanted to stay inside the room, we would rather laze around the hammocks under the shade of the palms. The beach at Murud Harnai is clean, strewn all over with shells –mostly small and medium and of course there are those white, translucent, active baby crabs. Waves regularly deposit batches of fledgling crabs on the shore in hundreds and they keep trying to ride back into the sea with the next wave…so cute. Neither the waves, nor the crabs give up! We came back to silver sands after a good stroll along the beach and were we hungry? Kartik, covered from head to toe with sand resembled sandman. At Harnai there’s a small port – enroute we witnessed a fisherfolk wedding procession, what a burst of colors. Mostly all the women were dressed in impressively bright brocaded sarees, dancing merrily (only true joy can make you dance in such a scorching heat at 3pm) with large plastic flowers fixed to their braids. As the procession progressed along the narrow lanes, we had to park our car in a side lane and give way, of course we were more than happy. Not everyday can you watch a joyous procession at such close quarters and with such leisure. The groom was held on the horseback (by two people) and looked pretty scared (of falling down?). Good fun ! From Harnai we moved towards Anjarle, a new bridge over the Anjarle creek takes you to a Ganpati temple which was built around 1187AD. A very scenic route with enjoyable company, through red-m,udded ghat roads neatly lined by mango trees…Anjarla is around 12-14kms from Murud Silver Sands resort. Darshan was peaceful, back to Murud for more play & beach.The sea-salt-spray was so strong I have to constantly wipe my glasses – I guess it’s the second strongest sea spray after Tarkarli. An early morning walk the next day gave us glimpses of hordes of sea-gulls. Since the sea was calm and sky clear, we could actually see the Suvarnadurg fort near Harnai bunder quite clearly. In the morning, there are boatmen who take tourists out into the sea, you can negotiate. A good 2.5 days, sea, sand, shells, a clean beach, lovely spicy food, lots of mangoes, a colorful marriage procession, a great view of the Harnai bunder from the port, nice pictures and a good drive back…home.