Zermatt Switzerland Self drive

Zermatt:

How to get there: From Basel drive towards Bern. Then turn towards Montreux or take a small detour towards Lausanne. The drive is breathtaking and worth the time.

What to do: 

Lausanne: Explore the the town and take in the stunning views.

Montreux: Enjoy the drive, the stunning vistas and Lake Geneva.

Zermatt: Take the Gornergrat train up the mountain and enjoy views of Gornergrat. Spend some time shopping in the Zermatt village.

A trip to Zermatt was on the cards come sometime. 

We charted a route to Zermatt via Lausanne and Montreux and lake Geneva from Basel. 

We took the Bern highway and stopped at Lausanne. The road to Lausanne is gorgeous with us driving on the cliffs with lake Geneva to gape at below. Beautiful! Earlier we had a quick stopover for gas and snacks near what looked like a small airfield or museum with panoramic views of the mountains not too far away,

On reaching Lausanne, we stopped at the Marina at lake Geneva to take in the views (Pirates D’Ouchy). It started to rain just a bit but not to deter us to take in the views. The road to Montreux was on the coast of Lake Geneva with the Alps on the other side on Lake Geneva on this.  Amazing sight. We stopped at several places to take in the views and literally meditate!

Another specific place where a rail track was between the road and the lake was quite a sight! 

We then crossed the lake and reached a place called ‘Randa’ close to Zermatt where we had done our hotel booking. Tried hard to locate the hotel, but could not. Randa is a really small town with very limited hotels. We probably stayed at Alpenvlick, but not very certain of that.

We had reached Randa a little before sundown and hence did not do much. The hotel is located very much in a valley surrounded by mountains from all sides. Wildflowers dot the lush wild lawns around and a small rail track for the Glacial Express passes near the hotel.

We got good rooms in the hotel was had a nice night’s sleep.

Woke up the next day morning to a great breakfast of Cheese Fondue in the restaurant. The owners family were dressed in traditional swiss costumes. The fondue was simply great! Got back to the room to get ready. The TV in the room was playing Shahrukh Khan’s “Main hoon na” albeit dubbed in German!. 

We got downstairs to start the short drive to the village in Zermatt when the Glacial express passed by.

We parked the car in the village and strolled around in the village towards Gornergrat bahn to take the train up. The train passes through awesome ski sloped and we hear the England’s Price Charles used to be up here to ski!

Zermatt is a car free city indeed with the river Vispa (as I learnt later) passing through.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Zermatt

The panoramic views from the train gave way to a nice heavy snowfall and we were prepared. On landing at the mountain top we were just about in time to capture panoramic views of Gornergrat before the snowfall became heavy. But in that fraction of a second it has gone and a heavy mist took over. We clambered up in the heavy snow and mist to a small hut and then clambered back almost losing our footing or with the fear of losing our way in the heavy snowfall.

We had to get the track back but had to hold on under a shed due to the heavy snowfall. However, a large billboard of Aishwarya Rai was put up in front of us near the shed sporting a Rado. She was a brand ambassador for Rado then, it seems.

The snowfall slowed down and we caught the train back. The sky eventually cleared just a bit to provide us with a treat of the valley below. We got off a station and took in the view and then continued our journey with the next train. after 30 minutes or so.

We got off down at the village finally where it was not snowing. Wandered about in the village. Stopped over at a sour show that was listing some ‘Swiss military’ watches.

However, I prefer the leather strap to the Metal one and hence did not buy. the ones listed were all with Metal straps.

It was now time to leave after strolling about. Went to the car park and got the car and headed back to Basel. On the way back we caught the Alpine car train that took us below the Alps.

Took about 40 minutes, I think. We had to pay a ticket and park the car up on the train car. Interesting experience!

Marysville and Lake Mountain

Day trip from Melbourne to Marysville and Lake Mountain

Itinerary:

1. Melbourne to Healesville via Maroondah highway. 

2. Healesville to Marysville.

3. Marysville to Lake mountain.

1. Melbourne to Healesville. Starting early in the morning from Melbourne, we took the Maroondah highway towards Healesville.  Healesville is a little more than an hour's drive from Melbourne city and best known for sanctuary having native Australian animals -

Healesville Sanctuary

One can spend about half a day or a day here, but then this was not on our agenda for the day. The drive to this place is wonderful though passing the numerous vineyards of Yarra valley.

2. Healesville to Marysville. This drive was the highlight of the trip. You could head to Marysville wither through the Maroondah highway towards Narbethong or take the road via Warburton if that is a point of interest on your trip. However, we took the more spectacular road winding its way towards Narbethong surrounded by amazing mountain ash trees on both sides. 

This drive is called the Maroondah highway that passes through the great diving range among fantastic tall mountain ash trees. 

There is a quick stop over at a 'scenic lookout' that looks over the Maroondah reservoir. A stop over at the iconic Black spur inn for a break is also a good idea, but we did not stop there.

On reaching Marysville we first stopped at a local cafe for lunch. We then walked over to the local visitor information centre to know more about the sights and attractions there.

Steavenson falls - A short 10 minute drive from Marysville will take you towards Steavenson falls. A short 5-10 minute easy easy walking path from the car park will take you to the falls. The falls are lit late in the night and are quite spectacular.

Other attractions include Bruno's art and sculpture garden and Gallipoli park but we did not stop there and instead took the trip towards Lake Mountain Alpine resort.

Lake mountain Alpine resort:

A 20 minute drive from Stevenson falls drive to Lake mountain Alpine resort. Ice on. We could see snow on either side of the road close to the summit. It was quite windy at the summit but there are quite a few activities that can be done here.

Lake Mountain resort

We spent sometime here in the snow and then headed back to Melbourne.

Mount Gambier - Victoria, Australia

Mount Gambier is a nice weekend getaway from wither Adelaide or Melbourne. A one night stay is good enough to explore this rather relaxed place.

Drove from there towards Warrnambool via A1 Highway. Warrnambool is located on the Great Ocean road and the A1 arches downwards to this place.

Stopped at the Flagstaff Village there and picked up some pamphlets from the visitor centre. Had lunch after having a nice ‘Mocha’ at the ‘Pippies' Cafe’ that overlooks the village. 

Then drove from there towards Mount Gambier, South Australia. Crossed the border and dumped the bananas at the quarantine bins. Mount Gambier is located just 17 ams from the border. The place is best known from the Blue Lake that is deep blue due to the calcium carbonate crystals in the lake. The place is not too far from the coast as well and is also known as the ‘Limestone coast’.

We stopped at the Lady Nelson discovery centre to pick up some pamphlets and checked in at the Quality Inn Presidential and dumped our stuff there. The town is really small so everything is kind of close to each other. 

We drove around Blue Lake stopping at various scenic points and took pictures. The lake is indeed very blue and a photographer’s paradise.

There are other lakes closely as well like the Valley lake that is green in colour. There is a ‘Leg of mutton’ lake as well called so because of its shape. These are also known as ‘Crater Lakes’ due to the early volcanic activity in the area.

There is the ‘Centenary tower’ as well, but we did not walk up there. Spent some time here and left for the ‘Umpherston Sinkhole’.  A nice garden has been created at the bottom of the sinkhole and is a short stroll from the top.

From here, drove the ‘Hungry Jacks’ for a quick snack and left for the hotel to get some rest.  Left the hotel around 7 in the evening after a couple of hour’s of rest and headed towards “Cave Gardens” located in the town centre at the corner of commercial street. The cave which is more of a sinkhole rather than a cave is nicely lit up with colourful lights and is the location of a Light and Sound show depicting the history of this area. The show that started after a long wait was a waste of time and quite boring.

We left and headed towards “Curry Club” - One of the 2 or 3 Indian restaurants in the town. We tried “Gourmet Indian” first but that was apparently shutting shop for the day.

Anyway, we ordered some food in Curry Club which was not great. Especially the chicken in chicken tikka did not seem fully cooked. We complained to the same grumpy guy and left.

Headed back home and had some nice Aussie brekkie at the hotel cafe the next day morning. Checked out of the hotel and head towards the ‘Engelbrecht Cave’. This cave is located in the city and the entry has a $12.5 charge. Taken over by private owners, we found the cave very unimpressive.

We then headed to the Lady Nelson discovery centre and bought the $4 tickets to take the short tour of the centre. Unimpressive, the place has details about the history of this place as well as the evangelical expedition of the ship - The Lady Nelson.

Left for home after this and reached home around 10 pm.

Phuket

Phuket: A short flight away from either Singapore or India is a fantastic place for a short and relatively inexpensive vacation.

Our trip was self planned and not through any travel agency. In my personal experience travel agencies tend to be expensive and so it is best to plan on your own.  A vacation does not seem like a vacation if you do not plan it yourself!

Phuket needs at least 5 days of stay to do justice to this fantastic holiday destination.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival and relaxation in the hotel.
Day 2: Explore Phuket city and its sights and Phantasea.
Day 3: Scuba diving and Karon beach.
Day 4: Phang Nga day trip.
Day 5: Phi Phi islands and Maya bay.

Missed: Hong by night Kayaking tour. Otherwise practically nothing.

Best location to stay: Patong (Main town, great hotels and nightlife) or Karon beach (Great beach)
Patong wins since its better placed for attractions, markets and massage parlours!.

Day 1: We booked Jetstar airways to travel to Phuket from Singapore. Jetstar is a good and comfortable budget airline that flies direct to Phuket from Singapore. Check in at Changi airport was hassle free as usual. A quick lunch at the food court and we were ready to board our flight to Phuket!

Arrival in Phuket was hassle free and immigration was quick as well. Those who are eligible can apply for 'visa on arrival' at the counter.

After immigration, we went to the taxi counter inside the airport. We bought the taxi coupon, but once we were out of the airport, our problems started. The agents were trying to bundle different passengers in the same taxi although each had paid the fall fare of the taxi cab. We insisted that we had paid the full fare and would travel alone only. Finally, after about 20 minutes or so we managed to get a cab who agreed to take us to our hotel in Patong. There is another metered taxi counter just outside the airport and I believe this could be better off than going for the counters inside the airport.

Our hotel was the Nap Patong, bang in the middle of Patong, very close to the beach and a short walk to the bustling nightlife and restaurants. The hotel is new and chic with spacious rooms and provided a very convenient and quiet stay. The sea breeze in the hotel lobby was very refreshing! The room had large sit outs as well overlooking the pool.

Review of the Nap Patong:
The Nap Patong review

Day 2:  started with a nice heavy breakfast at the hotel cafe. The breakfast is a good spread and provided us the right nutrients for the day ahead. We booked a taxi through the hotel tour desk for a city tour after lunch. The booking was hassle free and the taxi arrived right on time at our hotel lobby. We also booked the Phuket Phantasea tour for the evening and arranged for an 8 PM pickup.

1. Wat Chalong - Our first stop was the Wat Chalong. Wat Chalong is a magnificent temple complex about 30 minutes drive from the hotel. The sheer magnificence of the temple structure with the intricate carvings on the temple exterior left us spell bound to say the least. There were several structures within the temple complex and we made it a point to visit each and every one. We spent about an hour in this place and shopped for some souvenirs in the complex before heading out.

2. The Big Buddha - Our next stop was the Big Buddha. This is a giant Buddha statue perched on the top of a hill and is a short drive from the base of the hill. Women, have to be properly dressed here to enter the premises. However, they also provide Sarongs free of charge, if not appropriately dressed. One can return these sarongs when leaving the complex. A short climb from the parking lot will take you to the top right next to the Buddha statue. The Buddha statue is huge and looks towards the city. This hill is right next to the ocean, so you are treated to a magnificent view of the city and the Andaman sea. We spent about 30 minutes at this place and then moved on to our next stop - Phromthep Cape.

3. Phromthep Cape. - This place is bang on the southern edge of Phuket and is known for offering spectacular views especially of the sunset. However, it was still early afternoon when we got there. The views were indeed nice. A bunch of school kids seemed to follow us as we explored this place. One of them then actually pulled out a camera and tried to click a photo of us at close range. We didn't quite like it and asked the kids to stop. From here, we went went back up north towards Karon beach. The road snaked through the hills with the hills on one side and the sea on the other. This magnificent drive was a treat to the senses.

4. We then arrived on Karon beach which was bustling with activity under the warm December sun. We stopped at a nice beach restaurant and settled with some pizzas and the thai mango sticky rice for desserts. This beach is really nice. Its crowded, but not as crowded as Patong. The beach is nicer and quieter. We relaxed on the beach for a while and then went to the dive shop in Kara to book our Scuba dive for the next day. The drive back to the hotel was hassle free save for some traffic around the beach area in Patong. We reached the hotel at sunset, relaxed a bit and then around 8 PM, a minibus arrived at the hotel lobby to pick us up for the Phuket Phantasea experience.


5. Phantasea - phantasea is a sort of mini theme park having a mini zoo with the royal Bengal tiger on display and a few other animal exhibits. There are a few rides and curio shops, street shows and large buffet restaurants. The staff are dressed up in bright traditional Thai clothes. We had our buffet at the golden kinnaree restaurant. The food was okay. After this we and everybody else in phantasea walked towards the large elephant theatre for the phantasea elephant show. The theatre is a huge edifice an one needs to walk quite a bit towards the sitting area. Since we had booked the same day morning, we did not get the best seats, but not too bad anyway. As you walk towards the sitting area, you can take pictures with animals etc for a price. There was a baby tiger probably kept hungry so that people could queue up for a photo op with the baby tiger as they feed him a bottle of milk. Animal cruelty, to say the least! The extravaganza started a few minutes after everyone settled in this huge edifice of a theatre. Musicals, acrobats, elephants all treated us to a good feast for our eyes. The show ended with some elephant acrobatics which is what is shown in all phantasea billboards in Phuket. Thus our second day in Phuket ended.

To summarize, we covered all the main city attractions. Apart from these the visits to the gem factory, cashew factory etc are very commercialised and best avoided.


Day 3: was a big day for us. Big day, since we had planned out first ever scuba dive on this day. We booked a cab from the hotel after a nice and heavy breakfast at our hotel. The cab dropped us to Karon beach near our dive center. Our trainers had arrived and our training sessions lasted for about an hour. The trainer explained to us all the aspects of scuba diving, how to use the equipment as well as he sign language when underwater. Our diving suits looked like space suits. We trudged across the beach towards the sea and looked like some star Trekkers exploring some faraway planet. We literally walked into the sea until the depth was about 7 feet. Here, began all the practical aspects of our training. It was not so easy as we had thought it to be. After some struggle and loads of patience from our trainer, we were finally comfortable for our first short shore dive. The shore dive was brief. It was nice and we felt quite comfortable The instructor was always around to keep us safe. This dive lasted about 20 minutes. The dive had made us ravenously hungry and we immediately settled down for some Thai lunch in the restaurant adjacent to their dive shop. After lunch, it was time to take the long tail dive off a small island 'Koh Pu', about 15 minutes ride into the sea. So, we again donned our dive gear and walked towards to boat parked on the beach just kissing the waters of the Andaman sea. So, we - Me, Smita, our instructors Dragos and Nick and another instructor and a boatman pushed the boat into the sea and got off on it. Before getting on, we dumped all our dive gear inside the boat This was quite challenging as the gear is quite heavy and climbing onto this boat with half the gear on your body with waist high sea water isn't fun. Once everybody was on, the boatman revved up the motors and off we were to our next adventure - A boat dive to see corals off an island in the Andaman sea. We sped away from the mainland rather quickly and within a few minutes the mainland seemed far away. The boat was stopped near the rather small island of 'Koh Pu'. Koh Pu was too small to be inhabited by anyone and we and the instructors were the only sign of human life in every direction as far as our eyes could see. With our dive gear on, we sat on the edge of the boat, ready to take our "reverse dive" into the water. Our instructors went first, then it was me. As the instructor suggested, I held my head gear with my hand and the reverse dived into the water. I surfaced within seconds. Then Smita dived as well and surfaced quite quickly as well, although she did have trouble surfacing. Once we were comfortable, the instructors pressed the button that will deflate the dive suits and we would sink. And so we sank..and we sank for maybe a minute. It seemed like forever. we finally saw the sea bed and the most wonderful corals and fish our eyes would have ever seen. It was a feast for our eyes!. Colorful fish would swim in schools. All kinds of fish, transparent fish, colorful fish, weird fish,you name it. Some of them were hiding between corals. The experience lasted about an hour which seemed like only a few minutes. It was utter silence in those depths, 35 feet under the sea. All we could hear was ourselves breathe and nothing else. And when we finally surfaced, the feeling was very magical in that moment, out of this world! We floated on the water for a bit, trying to rake it what we had just experienced. It was then time to take a ride back to the beach.

Scuba dive company review

Once back, we returned our equipment and went across to a nearby beach shack to grab a quick snack and coffee. We then took a cab back home to our hotel. Evening was spent relaxing with dinner at Tantra hotel.


Day 4: was a full day outing at the Phang Nga. Phang Nga are large limestone rocks in the seas off Krabi province, a bit like Utah's Momument Valley. We started off the day with a bus that pick us up at 8:30 in the morning from the hotel lobby. The bus picked up a few other guests as well from hotels nearby as dropped us off to the Jetty. Here, our tour guides arrived with one of us spending he next few minutes boring us with his rather lopsided sense of humor. He tested our General Knowledge and as well scared some of the kids around with his stories. We got into the boat - A group of around 15 people and thus began our journey. A few minutes into the sea and the scenery is stunning. Phang Nga bay is literally Phuket's monument valley.

Towering limestone cliffs called 'Hongs' envelop the seas. The guides provided us life jackets as a safety measure as well as small water-proof 'Pouch Bags' to protect the camera from the water. The boat then docked at a certain point where tourists can then step into canoes. There was an english speaking canoeman with us and every every canoe. His accent was quite interesting though and I gather he picked it up after talking to people of different nationalities and varying accents.

We then stepped in the canoe with our camera securely wrapped in the waterproof bag and then sat down with ou legs crossed. So then we began our memorable canoe trip exploring the hongs with close proximity. The hongs have caves beneath them. We explored some of these caves, taking in the absolutely breathtaking scenery around us. I promptly removed the camera from the pouch and started taking photos. At one stage, we had to lie flat on the canoe in order to enter a particular cave. The other end of the save opened into something like a lagoon with tall limestone cliffs all around us. What a sight that was! We then went around some of these hongs exploring a few of them. This was quite a memorable trip already.

We then headed back to the boat - our 'Mothership' where a delectable seafood buffet was lying in wait for us. Rice with seafood, chicken and veggies was provided. Water and soft drinks are provided as well as part of the price of the tour package, whereas beer is to be paid for separately.

 After lunch, we headed off to the James Bond island. This particular island or 'Hong' was part of the Bond movie - 'The man with the golden gun'. The island is indeed quite nice, but they have made a mess of things here. There is a souvenir market there. There are a lot of people arriving on this small island at the same time and you really cannot enjoy this place much. So well, after some disappointment and taking a few pictures, we headed back to the place where the boat picked us up.

 After this, we headed out to a Fisherman's village which we felt was a totally waste of time. They take you in a long tail boat from the 'Mothership' and it is very likely that you will get drenched. There were kids in the group with us and they certainly did not enjoy the long tail boat ride to Fisherman's village. The village itself is another commercial enterprise to cater to the shopping tourist and a total waste of time. It was very smelly and quite dirty as well. In fact, so much that we settled to a new warm coffee near the dock and did not explore the village at all. After a short and uneventful time here, we headed back to the mothership where the group split up into 2 parts depending on what package one had bought. One group was transferred to land to visit a temple and another group (us) were separated to explore more hongs by canoes. They took us to a hong where we got down on the small beach and waded through water to enter an interesting cave. The cave opened into another interesting place that was much like a large room with the limestone cliffs as walls. Interesting place, but that was all that had to do with it. We then rode back to the canoe and back to the mothership that took us back to the ferry.

Phang Nga tour review

Summary - The starting part of this trip was terrific. Fantastic scenery and exploring the hongs by sea canoes is a treat that isn't to be missed. The trip to fisherman's village is a total waste and should be scrapped. Other than that everything is good. Sea canoes, long tail boats may not be safe for elderly people and kids.

Day 5: This day was spent in Maya bay - the last 'must see' spot in Phuket. We had booked a day tour via a tour operator and at the outset let me tell you that the way the tour was organised was very disappointing although Phi Phi islands / May Bay itself is a fantastic place to spend the day.

Here is a trip advisor link with the review.

Phi Phi island tour review

Maya bay however is a gorgeous place and a suggestion would be to start as early as possible to reach before all the tour operators. Internet would be the best place to look for such agents and book the tour rather than through the hotel. However, booking the the day tour via local operators once after reaching Phuket is certainly lighter on the pocket.

This ended our trip and we headed back to the airport for a nice flight home. Phuket is indeed a fantastic place to spend time and 5 days would suffice. For a more relaxing trip throw in a day or two to chill out!

Mahabaleshwar by Car

Winter is a good time when in India to travel. On onset of the arrival of winter in 2009 we picked up Mahabaleshwar as our travel destination.

Hotels - There are a lot of good hotels in Mahabaleshwar, but we were specifically looking for something among the greens and away from the bustling market area. A lot of hotels center on the market area though. Among the various options, we settled for the Ramsukh Resort due to its location and the vistas it offered.

How to get there - From Mumbai it is about 270 odd kms via the Mumbai Pune highway.
We started at about 7:30 AM and took the Thane-Belapur road to connect to the Mumbai-Pune highway. We then hit the expressway and halted at the food court for breakfast.
We crossed Pune and continued on our way forward and followed the directions to Mahabaleshwar. A quick stop over at Mapro farm for lunch is recommended. The sandwiches are very good as well as the fruit juices on offer there.
The roads are rather narrow and you could be taken by surprise from an oncoming vehicle. Driving with caution is recommended.




The narrow roads offer stellar views as you cross Panchgani and get into Mahabaleshwar. The valleys then give way to dense forests, the roads get narrower. You got to pay a toll to use these roads at a makeshift checknaka on the way.
Even large Volvo buses are permitted on these ultra narrow winding roads which makes driving a real challenge. Extra cuation is to be exercised here.
We finally reached the Ramsukh resort located in some remote area in the jungles.

http://www.ramsukh.com/

The resort is fantastic. They have a movie theatre in campus as well. The buffet lunch and dinner are a treat and very tasty. The available food is vegetarian though.
The valley view suites are ideal to stay, but for the more glamorous the Maharaj/Ixora suites are well worth the money spent. They also offer exclusive 'Solitaire' suites which are really not worth it.

In a nutshell - If leaving by car, try and hit the Mumbai-Pune expressway by 8:30 AM.
A 7 hour drive with 2 breaks will see you at Ramsukh by 2:30 PM or so.

Activities -
Day 1: Check in at the hotel and generally relax. Hit the pool, take a walk or watch a movie. Enjoy the evening shows at the poolside and followup with a fabulous dinner.

Day 2: Don't drive your own car. Hire a cab. Arrange the cab with your hotel. They offer 3 hours to half day tours to see the various points around. We hired a cab and did a short tour after lunch to see the various points. Beware of quacks who will pretend to be astrologers and chase you until you stop and listen to them.
An evening stroll in the market area is recommended.

Dat 3: - We took another half day tour and then generally relaxed at the hotel campus. A trip to Pratapgarh is recommended, but we were not to keen on it. The hotel offers private dinners as well in the forested area and is very recommended. Check out with the hotel office for reservations. A nice nice massage at their health spa is recommended too.

Malshej Ghats! An exhilerating experience year 2005

I wanted to walk the heaven's...I went to Malshej Ghat !

Come rain and a long weekend and you can be sure that half of Mumbai would be chilling out at lonavla or Mahabaleshwar.
However, our group - a group of 7 enterprising people decided that this time around we would celebrate our long weeekend at a different location. A place whose serenity and solitude is unmatched , where the ills of commercialization do not bother us and where the rustling of leaves, the song of the brook and the whistling of the breeze and the pitter-patter of the rainfall are the loudest and purest sounds you can hear !
We thus chose Malshej Ghat - a place pure and unspoilt from the vagaries of humankind.

We hired a tata sumo and all the seven of us began our eventful journey. On our way, at Kalyan we came across the devastation that the recent flood had caused. Uprooted trees, overflowing water-bodies and filth and garbage were a common sight. The road however was surprisingly clear and hassle-free. We reached Murbad and halted at the outskirts to treat ourselves a hot and sumptuous breakfast of vada-pav and cutting chai. Cool breeze, slight hint of rain in the air , a plate of hot vada pav and cutting chai !!! Life cannot get any better than this. J

After about an hour from Murbad and we reached the ghat. Mountain tops covered with palls of misty clouds was a sight to behold ! Soon the tata Sumo was lost among the wispy clouds and the visibility tapered down to almost zero. Driving among the clouds was an amazing experience. The fact that visibility was a zero on the ghat road with a treacherous drop on one side of the road made the drive even more adventurous and enthralling.
At one point on the road we could see clouds rising from beneath the mountain. It was as if we were up and above the clouds on the road that seemed to take us through paradise. We could see at least seven waterfalls from one point. It was truly amazing. We then saw a board by the roadside that said MTDC resort, however the resort was nowhere to be seen with dense clouds all around us. Somehow and by some sheer luck we saw a silhouette of what seemed like a building right out of a Ramsay movie.It was an eerie sight. Not a single soul around, a large and long compound wall with barred gates. It seemed that we had come across what seemed like a graveyard. However we soon saw a guard walking towards us with a large rifle stylishly slung across his frail shoulder. A rather gruff voice greeted us and informed us that this was indeed the MTDC resort and not a spooky graveyard. We suspected otherwise until we actually entered the resort gates only to find families and kids hanging around the green environs of the resort. I cannot describe or rate the resort as it was totally under a thick cloud cover. We however did hang around the place only to lose ourselves in the mist. It was a strange experience to get lost in a forest with thick clouds all around. However, after a lot of deliberation and feedback from each one of us, we finally found our way back to the resort. After having a nice cup of hot cutting chai we started off towards Shivneri fort. The road to Shivneri fort aint the best one to drive on. But we did manage to reach the base of the mountain and then trekked up the fort. It was an exhausting experience for some of the fellows not used to trekking. The mountain top holds the dilapidated ruins of the fort that is said to be the birthplace of Shivaji. An uneventful journey of 3 kms from there took us to Lenadri village that has an ashtavinayak Ganpati temple. You again need to climb the hill as the temple is situated in the caves on the mountain top. Lunch at Lenadri is highly recommended as you get to eat sumptuous village food at a good deal.

We then returned to the misty mountains of malshej and this time stopped near a waterfall to enjoy bathing in the cold and freezing water battering down through the slope and the rocky terrain.

Malshej is a fantastic experience and an ideal place to visit in the countryside. Water everywhere, greenery, rapids, brooks the birds and bees - all there with the most crucial elements - Lack of commercialization and pollution that grips Khandala and Lonavla and very few people to boot.
For the trekkers, theres this road over a HUGE reservoir that leads up to Harishchandragadh mountain.
This is still the right time as all those who have not been there yet, please do visit before it stops raining !.

How to get there - Malshej Ghat is about 160 kms from Mumbai. The best way to get there is by road.

Konkan Calling - Sindhudurg

Heading out from Wildernest towards Thivim station which is a small railhead in Goa that was teeming with tourists catching a train to Mumbai when we arrived.
A train delay of an hour meant we caught up with some hot phulke, sabzi and chaas at a home eatery closeby.The journey to Kudal is about 50 minutes by train.

We arrived at Kudal at about 6 pm and made our way towards "Mayekar Holiday Home" in Malvan bang on Chivla beach. Malvan is a small town with very narrow roads. Driving was made difficult due to the evening market rush.
Mayekar holiday home is a home stay right on the beach with windows opening out to the seas!





We spent the evening strolling on the beach and then helping ourselves to a very well cooked homely Malvani dinner.

The room though small was freshly painted and the furniture was new.The family was nice and made us feel at home.
We spent some time talking with the owners planning the next couple of days for sightseeing.

Day 2.
Day 2 started off with a short walk towards the Malvan Jetty. The plan was to go to the Sindhudurg fort - a half an hour boat ride in the sea.
We got our tickets and some 30 odd people assembled and got into the smallish diesel powered boat that ferries people to the fort.
This was an amusing experience. I felt as if though I had traveled back 50 year's in time.The "Swades" experience. Old fashioned boats filled the harbour giving the whole area a rustic feel.




It was amazing to say the least. And then seeing the fort looming up ahead in the middle of the sea was an amazing experience.
The fort took nearly 30 years to build stands as a testimony to the foresight at that time to keep foreign powers at bay.

There's not much to explore inside the fort, but the fort itself. There's a watch tower, a Shivaji temple etc.




A coral reef was discovered just beside this fort a few year's back by Dr Sarang Kulkarni. This discovery changed the lives of the residents here and catapulted Sindhudurg as a tourist destination. A lot of private operators offer guided snorkeling tours of the reefs.
Snorkeling is probably the highlight of out trip!. We got into a boat and put on our snorkeling gear and were helped into the water by a guide who was kind enough to answer all our questions on marine life.
It was an experience of a lifetime to see life underneath the sea, the school of fish swimming and moving together, fishes of different colors and sizes as well as the beautiful multi-colored corals that adorned the sea bed.

After a refreshing snorkeling experience we headed back to the mainland in the swades style boat. Another intriguing aspect to mention here is that tea is unavailable on the island fort.

It was time for lunch and we sought the highly recommended Chintamani lunch home. The restaurant was packed with tourists and after a bit we finally had a table for us and Malvani Thali to grub.
After some rest in the afternoon we walked towards the Rock Garden by the sea to catch the sunset.From there on we walked towards the well known Ganesh temple. The temple is beautiful and is a must see for everyone visiting Malvan. The only problem is that the streets are not well lit and there are very few people on these inner roads.



Day 3.
Day 3 was spend exploring the beaches of Sindhudurg. A Tata Sumo was hired and we made our way towards Deobag. Deobag is an amazing location, triangulated with the sea on one side and the Karli river on the other. The two merge forming an extravaganza of blue and green. What was more fascinating was that this entire patch of beach was empty.



This place is a photographer's paradise. If you like solitude, the blue seas and your camera then you should visit this place!


Tarkarli is another beach close to Deobag and is known for its fascinating white sands and blue sea. And so true are the stories!. Tarkarli is indeed as beautiful as the fables say!.




Casuarina trees flank the beach making it look even more beautiful. The MTDC resort at Tarkarli hidden among the casuarinas is the place to stay! We were unfortunate to not stay in this place due to non availability. Recommend booking this resort months in advance!.


There are options of a boat ride from Deobag to explore the surrounding area. It is recommended if the day is not too hot. A backwater ride is also enjoyable if you have not been to Kerala already!


From there on we drove towards Vengurla port and Sagareshwar. Nothing much of note here except the natural splendor.





Recommendation -
Stay 3 nights in Sindhudurg at MTDC Tarkarli.
Day 1 - Sindhudurg Fort and Snorkeling. Evening Ganpati temple and Rock Garden for the sunset.
Day 2 - Deobag Beach - Boat ride. Evening lounge at the resort and catch the sunset.
Day 3 - Laze around. See the market and adjoining areas.
Add another night and visit Amboli if possible.