Yogi's Travelogue - Prav & me ! Jan 2018

It was an unlikely and unusual duo of Pravin and myself that set off on an adventurous road trip on a weekend. I say unlikely, because both of us had never even spent time over even a cup of coffee, let alone going on an overnight journey. Unusual, because of our entirely different natures and very contrasting diverse habits. People who know both of us would simply know what I mean. Pravin, as I know him, is a complete no nonsense guy, completely meticulous and into details and more importantly a teetotaler, while I stood alone at the other end of the spectrum. Two different personalities going on a voyage which was neither planned nor chartered. 

Before my trip with Pravin, I had been on a solo trip "drive to nowhere".  It all started off as my thirst to explore the Indian country side fueled by my desire to roam free without any kind of restriction. Having roamed the world, I realized that how little I have seen of my own India. It’s a shame that a country that can boast of snow, rainfall, desert and mountains in one country does so little about tourism. Even a drive on the Mumbai Pune expressway, can give ideas of a splendid resort where one can draw huge crowds. 

I took the road towards Gujarat (from Mumbai), because the roads are better known to me but had travelled that route on work, rather than any road trip. The destination was unknown and though a few of my friends kept asking me, my honest response remained the same “frankly I don’t know " !! I was unclear on where I was going to end up but was clear in what I would end up doing.

Moving towards Virar was much of a challenge in the Mumbai traffic but driving was a breeze after that. I had heard of a Mahalaxmi temple at Dahanu and what could be a better place than that to start of the day. After about 3 hours and a serene darshan, I set off for the beach. Along the way, I covered Palghar, Manor and Boisar. Dahanu to Bordi was about 20 kms away but still showed 45 mins in terms of time. In between, I even encountered a beach in Umargaon but decided to settle down in Bordi just for old times sake. A school camp way back in 1986 bought some memories gushing back.... those chikoo plantations and gobar smelled trucks and what not !!

I did not realise that Daman was so close to Bordi and just about 1 hour away. Having stayed in quaint little shack albeit with an English toilet at Bordi, I was eager to get to Daman. Daman fort and lighthouse done, I checked into a hotel and parked myself on the beach with my own liquor and some awesome fried fish straight off the tawa and served in desi style. Yummy to say the least. The place was so delightful that I spent the entire day there and ended up spending the night too, right on the beach with just the sound of the waves for company. The food and the drinks were too amazing to resist. That day was just a drive for that 1 hour

The next day, I set off for Surat and later Ahmedabad but my trip was cut short due to the impending cyclone that was supposed to hit Mumbai and I had to rush back home.

Coming back to Prav and me, it started off due to my couple of travel adventures some weeks before and aided by some boisterous discussions over drinks a few nights before. The main protagonists of these discussions, willfully missed the trip while I was more than determined to carry it through. So at the end, only 2 people were standing and that were Prav and I. Finally, Fri – Sun it was. I mean, who in the world would have thought that the most unlikeliest duo, would be embarking on this trip together. A few rules needed to be set up first and rule number one was that there were no rules and no binding on each other. That accepted; Prav flatly refused to drive while I was more than happy for him to navigate me around. Though from a technology industry at my work place, I find myself to be hugely challenged when it comes to anything to do with any gadgets. I would rather sit behind the wheel and do the rights and lefts than indulge myself in some Google maps to nowhere. The fun part of this trip was there was no inhibition nor any restriction of any sorts. So what usually starts as a 5.30 am trip started off at 9.30 am on a Friday morning. We had spoken the previous night and when Prav asked, I causally remarked that we will start when we wake up and when we are ready... it was going to be that kind of a trip. The direction was going to be towards Nashik possibly take in a Shirdi even. That was the loose plan and then take it from there. Late as it may seem from a picnic timing perspective, we picked up pace as surprisingly, JVLR seemed to be unusually clear for a Friday morning. My navigator had figured it out that JVLR was 2 mins faster than the Ghodbunder. As was decided, I stayed behind the wheel and let him choose the best option though the 2 mins difference did not seem too much to me. We soon left behind Asangaon and gave it a rest at Atagaon. I had been here before, at a resort called Hidden Village.

The place looked eerily similar and while we indulged with a few locals and farmers, some kids with curious disposition took keen interest in our rustic fancy. Khardi and Kasara ghats proved to be a drivers delight and we possibly wanted to stop and take pictures at every turn. Prav's enthusiasm to pose and click pics at every possible opportunity reminded me of another friend of mine. In between the drive, we decided that we would head towards Trimbakeshwar. Somehow, on the way we saw a signboard showing Bhandardhara and knowingly or unknowingly we turned right towards Bhandardhara instead of Trimbakeshwar. It looked like a road less travelled and definitely not a one that regular tourists would use. This brought me back to my anguish about the tourism industry in India. Not a single signboard and without the Google maps and the corner side pan wallahs we would have been totally lost in a few hours. A very kaccha pucca road lacking the basic info led us to the Bhandardara dam. Most surprisingly, there was a boating option available over a small hill, one which which a normal tourist would never find (another and not my final complaint on India’s tourism but I will refrain henceforth). Like two lost love birds, searching for a photo-op, we indulged in what we won’t remotely do in the city of Mumbai. Luckily for us, it was a weekday and we got the boat for ourselves. The calm waters of the lake weaved it’s own magic and a sense of peace descended on us. Photography prevailed at it’s peak but not a word spoken as we treasured the nature around us. It was right then, unspoken but yet decided that we would stay if we find any place overlooking the lake else we would move on. MTDC was on the radar and though the website showed “No Occupancy”, we decided to camp there for lunch and decide future course of action. As luck would have it, we not only got rooms but with a lake view and at bargain prices. My friend once again and without any prejudices indulged himself in photographs while I indulged myself with things of my own liking making it clear that I am not driving for the rest of the day. 180+ kms it was, not a tiring drive but took us about 6 hours considering the number of times we stopped and just spent time with some total strangers and farmers. MTDC proved to be a good break and the enthralling backdrop from our balcony made it an amazing experience. If the evening was serene, the morning sunrise was heavenly. The next day, Prav was flabbergasted as to how I awake so fresh before sunrise. ;-)

We left out again not knowing where to go. My navigator comes to the party again and says Trimbakeshwar is nearby. Google is out and we realize that enroute is Anjaneri, the birth place of Lord Hanuman. Strangely, it’s a secluded temple and hardly any visitors. Mostly desolate and uncared for, gives me another reason for my angst. Next on the menu was Trimbakeshwar but even when we were on the way, news trickled in that there is huge mela celebration. Tens of thousands had poured in from various villages and even walking towards the temple was difficult. ‘mukh darshan’ from the entrance due to the unyielding crowds and hour long queues, we headed back to our safe and sound car. A couple of glasses of fresh sugarcane juice made the whole jamboree a lot more better.

                                                                    Anjaneri

Now was the difficult task of what to do next. We had no clue on where to head next neither which road to travel on. By this time, my friend turned navigator had got expertise on Google and was able to circumnavigate on things to do and places to see. It turned out to be a big boon ! Looks like the Sula vineyards is not too far away. A bit further up is the York vineyards suggested by my bestie before I had embarked on this trip. I had been to Sula before and hence decided to go to York. But to me, York was pale in comparison with Sula and we decided to change the venues. A blast from the past beckoned, and against my won’t, I ended up having a glass of white wine Reisling just to accompany my dear friend. Driving back to Nashik was a tough task as it got dark. Somehow managed to find a hotel and parked ourselves there.

The next day was a bit difficult as Google Maps failed us !! A previous night research by Prav showed us that a bird sanctuary was nearby but going by the map we ended up in Yevla, which was a blessing in disguise actually as we ended up buying Paithani sarees for spouses which we had not intended. (Yevla is known for it's Paithani sarees & lot of Mumbai folks flock there to shop during weddings) A full 2 hours lost, we still ventured into the unknown and several twists and turn later, we did reach the bird sanctuary. It was not as fantastic as we thought that it would be but it did give us a fair share of pictorial memories. We did see a few birds but I am not the one to differentiate between a myna and a parrot. A true nature lover would possibly have a better experience. In between, we also ran into a coin museum and had some amazing clicks there too. Spending money to buy some old coins evaded my sense of common sense but my friend did buy some coins of the Aryan era.

Our main aim was to reach Mumbai city before dusk to avoid driving at night on the highway and we were on our way in a flash and on time. An enriching experience and a wonderful friend with whom the journey became even more special and thanks to all of you, for being a part and bearing with those photographs. All in all an eventful journey, and although no holds barred, the expectations were minimum but the results the maximum. Looking forward to plenty more.