Kondana Caves

This was the start to our facination towards Buddhist Caves and now I realise we are branded as someone who goes behind places of Historic importance and what connects us to our ancestors :P ( i have a bad habit of extrapolation :) )

This was one of initial trips that I had planned with AM. After our trip to Swiss which was AM's planning. I wanted to show off my planning skills but time hasnt come till then. Friday night AM was sulking how he has not been anywhere last weekend and should plan this weekend. We had considered Matheran, Kasara Ghat and Karjat. Well Karjat won :) I had not heard about this place but got inspired by the website after googling. http://www.greenkarjat.com/2008/07/kondana-caves-near-karjat.html and some wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kondana_Caves and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karjat

The picture just enticed both of us. The planning was happening at 11 or 12 at night. Still we were excited to go in the early morning. We took local from Ghatkopar to Karjat ( i had confused AM saying he needs to buy tickets to Kasara and we travelled with tickets to wrong destination) We reached Karjat and had breakfast in one of ancient hotels which you will find when you cross the market outside the station. We walked still further and we reached the auto stand where we took share auto for 30/- to Kondane village.

It was almost 11 am when we reached the base of Kondane village from which we started to walk. It took us more than one and half to 2 hours to reach the top. There was still water flowing into small streams and waterfalls. I could hear a waterfall with good flow but never was able to see it. You will feel you are treading an unknown path but keep walking in the place the shrubs are not there. You will come to an open flat ground and keep going. Well thumb rule here is all paths lead to top of the hill.

We did meet few guys who were running towards the top in hurried manner. They were part of group and were trying to reach the other who were rappaling in the top. I had asked the name of the organizers but was not very well known to me. I think even Trekmates arrange treks and rappling at kondana caves.

I have this pychological feeling where if I cant see my destination, I am little apprehensive whether we are going the right way or not. But once I saw the top from a distance I hastened my pace and AM had to ask me to slow down. It was little slippery and you need to be careful esp as you need to cross steam twice or thrice.

It was icing on top when we saw a water fall along the cave. Not only we get to see the beautiful caves that have stood the years also the force of water :) There is no place to change for women but if there is some help to cover in corner it can be done. We spend about an hour there and headed back. A huge group of children were coming. Many of them were ill equipped to trek. May be they were not told in advance about shoes and water etc. Still the teachers were getting tired and not the kids :) 

Ganapatiphule

Before I met AM, I never thought I can explore with local transport. But AM seems to be a strong believer of local transport and budget trip. Well what can I say I have no qualms.

We booked MTDC at Ganapathiphule and I had loved this resort the last time I stayed there. Gets a little spooky at the night but worth the stay. Adventure free!!!

We found that there are few passenger trains that ply between Mumbai and Ratnagiri like Dadar Sawantwadi Passenger, Diva Sawantwadi Passenger or the Jan Shatabdi ( you need to book pretty early in this train) We preferred Diva Sawantwadi passenger which leaves Panvel at 7 15am and reached Ratnagiri by lunch time. Took an auto from Ratnagiri to Ganapatiphule which is about 25kms and charged 350/- Take the Aarey Warey road for a drive along the shore. Can make great profile pics for your social media profiles :)

We checked into MTDC room and went for lunch. Every restaurant is pretty good. Authentic Konkan cusines must be tried. We are vegetarians but have heard that Non Veg are also out of the world. We are lunch at MTDC itself as we were tired and didnt have energy to take luggage, drop it off and then come again for lunch. We rested a big. Needed AC badly :) We came out around 5ish. We had to take bath before visiting the temple so took a dip in the water and well i hate the part where I had to clean up all the sand. Why is all the fun stuff have lot of repurcussions.

We visited the temple for final Aarthi around 7 - 8 pm. We tried this particular restaurant  ( I would leave a placeholder for the name which I dont remember, but will update) Maharashtrian Thali is must and dont forget SolKadi. I really get high on SolKadi.After dinner we took a long stroll in the beach. Somehow the moon in the sea seems brighter and we never need any artificial lighting. We walked upto the temple and still there were people. MTDC seemed very secluded comparetively.

After a relaxed sleep, Morning we took a dip again. Last time I was here I saw dolphins but AM was not lucky enough. Super early morning we took a stroll and it was pitch dark and pretty scary too. I was too dazed to remember I guess. We did go for darshan again and the pradakshina. The walk around the temple covers the whole hill and makes up for a small good trek. We came back after breakfast and spent sometime packing. Took auto back to Ratnagiri.

We skipped Jaigad fort/lighthouse for lack of time and proper transport. The auto fellows were trying to loot us with the fare. But if you have time do visit. Instead he took us around in Ratnagiri. We went to Shri Devi Bhagwati Temple and fort. Also he seemed to be bit of a guide to show us some secret tunnels and entrances for ship to the fort. AM and me would never say no to free random knowledge. 
He became enthu towards the end to show us Thiba point and thibaw palace. Also I was surprised to learn there exists something called "Gateway of Ratnagiri"

He dropped us just in time for the train back (same Sawantwadi Diva passenger at 11 50 am) and we skipped lunch. But we did munch on junk and survived. We reached at 7 30 pm at Panvel. Took harbour line to Kurla and took auto back home. Frankly we were tired and famished to wait for a bus.

Murud Janjira

The idea was to look at all modes of transport, avoid staying back and be back for lazy sunday. Probably because it was the month end and a long weekend so the places we searched for staying were quoting exorbitantly.

Saturday morning we left at 6 am to CST. We planned to take the 7 15 am the first ferry but missed it by a margin. Well we missed the train we had decided to take, then reached CST at 6 58 and it was bound to happen. We got a huge queue as it was long weekend. Ppl were carrying football, cricket kits - Well thats the smell of good refreshing trip :)

The second ferry left at 7 45 am and we reached Mandva Jetty at 9 am. So we were pretty much on track. We had packed the left over paav bhajis and were done with breakfast. ( come on we are not cheapos... just savings on time ) The whole ferry ride was just what i needed. Extremely fresh air, seagulls following you all around, even oyster rock and just plain and simple water. The water that soothes me and calms me. Sometimes I wonder with all roads and the building and landmarks we reach our destination. And the sea, all the same around - how do we keep track. Kudos to the captains and pirates of olden days. 

The ferry service includes bus till Alibaug. From there we tried to take a bus till Murud but all the buses that go to Murud are the ones originating from Mumbai and hence full. I was not planning to stand for 2 hours and go. We finally decided to take an auto the fare they quoted ranged from 800 to 2500. And finally we went with the first guy we approached and who had said 800. I felt it was high but AM was fine with it.

The distance between Murud and Alibaug is about 60 kms and we reached Murud at 12 30. On the way we did stop for pics in each of the beaches Kashid, Akshi, Revnanda and the fisherman village at Murud. We had lunch and left for Janjira at 1 30 pm. There was a long queue for the ferry but was clearing fast. Then there was long queue for the Ferries to reach the entrance. This was not clearing fast. The ferry owners also sponsor a guide for 30 Rs per person. The guide was hilarious and was telling many "Shayaris" He turned out to be one Aashiq and mughal zamane ka insaan which sort of made us relive the past glory. It was a high tide and the ride back was like a roller coaster :)

Once we reached the shore, we had Kokum Sharbat, Nimbu Soda and Naariyal paani for refreshment. And trust me a cap really makes a difference to your heat tolerance. We did have about 4 hours to kill before our bus back to Mumbai. We asked around and someone suggested a Echo Point. Which later we found out to have lot of Historic Significance. It is the tomb of the builders of Janjira Fort - Khokari Tombs. Our trip was fulfillling just because we found some off beat location. The auto driver charged us 300/- to reach this tomb and took us in some really off beat road to reach Murud Beach. We took a dip and saw sunset.

Surprisingly they have commercialised Murud so much. It has adventure sports. Horse riding, Parakiting.. etc We were 3 of us and I was apprehensive about our luggage getting stolen. So I took guard for first half where I just slept on the sand with bags as my pillow. It was so liberating. I always used to just go deep enough in the sea where waves are not strong and float in the surface. Letting everything go. No worries and according to me is the most liberating thing but this comes close second.

Well the sun set around 6 30 and we changed, packed our bags and took an auto till bus stand. The bus came at around 7 45pm. But somehow we were roaming within Murud to collect more passengers. We were tired and went off to sleep. We woke up at 10 pm and we were still at alibaug. The bus stopped for dinner but before our dinner could come, the driver and conductor were done with their chai so they left to start the bus. We ran away without telling the restaurant guys. ( Apologies!!! ) ( as if they are gonna read my blog but atleast for my own satisfaction) I wrote off the bus journey saying we will reach Mumbai at this rate only by 5 am. We can just start our sunday hence. Surprisingly we reached by 1 30 or 2 am. We got down at Sion and took an auto. The autodriver charged us by meter and even returned 3 rupees off 100 we gave him. Aww!!! this is why I miss Mumbai :)

Madh Island - In and Around Mumbai

Well this was supposed to be a half a day plan. Not exactly planned but was more impulsive outing. We went to Madh Island by ferry from Versova. Well I thought it would be atleast 15 min by ferry but the distance in water was covered in less than 5 mins. So much for ferry and it felt so close I could just swin across :)

Once we reached Madh Jetty - We took an auto to go visit the Madh Fort which is now Airforce land and is restricted. We got entry because some shooting was happening. We clicked few pics and walked out to see a board to a temple - Mukuteshwar Mahadev Mandir. Our curiosity got better of us and that led us to the sea where we could see the backside of the fort and Mumbai Skyline on the other end.

We walked back to Madh Beach and visited few churches. Took the bus to Malad (#271 to Malad and #269 to Borivili). This bus covered entire sea shore covering Erangal, Daana Paani, Aksa and Marve beaches. The bus is pretty frequent. Get down at Link road and you will get buses to all parts of Mumbai or you can go to Malad Station/Borivali Station to get back home.

Lonavala from Pune - Karla, Bhaja caves and Lohagad Trek

It was simple plan to be executed that is why it took us so long to travel to Lonavala. Finally when I had to go to Pune for a SCM Conclave and that too on a Friday. We had to have a weekend mid way. So chikkis we come to gobble you :)

I would meet AM at Lonavala in the evening from Pune where he would join me from Mumbai. But turns out that he has a call at 7 30 and before which we had to reach MTDC Karla. Well we chose this as our base because our itienary had Karla - Bhaja Caves and trek to Lohagad. This place was ideal to reduce our travel. AM reached by 12125 Pragati Express by 6 40 pm. I had searched for options - Either by shared auto or by private auto. Buses were not available. Shared auto takes 10 - 20 Rs and starts from main road outside station near a Petrol bunk and drops you in the main road near MTDC.
But because of time constraint we took private auto and it is standard 150/-

It is not that we are promoting MTDC but their resorts are at Prime locations and the cost is standardized. You are spending time bargaining to find the right price for a room. We have always budget travelled and once a while it is great to splurge. Here the rooms start from 1400 plus taxes and goes upto 4k plus. The only restaurant here ( the river side restaurant was not functional) - food is amazing but over weekend the staff is not equipped to work under full capacity of the restaurant. There are good places to eat in the highway but you can reach them only if you have a private vehicle.

We planned to call the night early so that we can start at 6 am for the trek. I wake up at 6 after couple of snoozes of alarm - it was pitch dark. I go back to sleep. Finally left at 7 15 am. But no autos to take us to Bhaja caves. We walked upto the highway and tried to wait for any share autos but no luck. It was a good morning walk. We came back to ditch the plan of trek and plan it better the next day. Initially we thought of having breakfast at some local place, but thought of having it at MTDC. But on our way back we got an auto that took us to Bhaja village.

Bhaja village is at the base of Bhaja caves and from which Lohagad village is 5 kms. The auto charged us 200/- to reach Bhaja Village. All the shops were closed but one where a lady was sweeping, we got the shutter opened and asked them to make us breakfast. Yummy poha and great chai but they took half an hour to make this, so didnt want to risk delays. It was 8 or 8 15 am when we started climbing. The idea was to do Lohagad first and then on the return route see Bhaja Caves.

We reached the Lohagad village by 11 30 and was totally exhausted. We basically climbed in peak sun and no shade to rest. The only company we had in 3 km radius was group of 4 guys who were also trekking. We just took 2 bottles of water and on the way we didnt get anything. I found it very difficult because of the heat. My necklace that was exposed to the sun was burning me.

There was further climb from Lohagad village to top of the fort. But compared to many forts it was well maintained and there is restoration work is also being done. On top of the fort there is not much to see except a temple - shiv and hanuman, dargah and a tomb structure. There are many tanks - Shatkoni talav (Trimbak Talav) and the exciting 16 koni Talav (hatti talav) for which you have to walk another 25 mins.

We started the decent, took a break at Lohagad village for Nimbu Paani, Kokam Sharbat. Had food at the first stall when you climb from Bhaja to Lohagad. This guy and his wife made the most amazing food. Do give it a shot. They were quick to make them also.

Took couple of more bottles of water and continued with the decent. The heat got worse at 12- 1. We could see no shadow of us nor the trees. It took us equal time to climb down. My shoe's sole gave some problem. I had half a mind to skip Bhaja Caves but AM diplomatically persisted to see it. We spent time seeing all the caves and even resting for half an hour in the main cave. We reached Bhaje village by 3 30 pm and asked a shopkeeper for auto. He took 2 turns dropping a group to Malavli station. He dropped us back to MTDC charging same 200/- I was atleast happy about the std rates even if it didnt make sense. We did want to give some business to the place where we had poha and chai in the morning but no one was there in the shop. AM found awesome local snack for 5 bucks and purchases all the stock in the shop.

We rested for sometime and took off at 5 pm for Karla caves. We didnt check for the closing time for caves but we were managed to catch a glimpse before they shoo'ed us off. There is Ekveera temple in the same site. I felt it was encroached but the auto driver vehemently said the temple also was very ancient. Shivsena posters probably gave that impression. We saw the sun set from here and returned back to MTDC.

Next day we spent whole day in MTDC itself. I was woken up by heavy beating at the door at 7 30 am. When I opened it was a chaiwala. Knowing my addiction for chai and coffee I didnt shout at him. Took couple of cups and asked him if he would come again in sometime. He eluded. Explored the whole resort. Sat by the river in a plastic float. Boating started at 9 am. We finished our breakfast, then boated for half an hour. When returning we got a call to vacate by immediately as the check out was 9 am. It was already 10 30am. We packed our stuff and kept the bags at reception.

We got discounted tickets for water world inside MTDC resort at the reception. They are not too strict about the dress code. Pretty clean but they dont have many water floats for the rides. We spent time on enough rides before we actually got bored to get floats. Then we moves to waves and then to rain dance. AM enjoyed like a kid going to water park for the first time. :P We were totally bored by 1 pm and changes to fresh clothes. Wanted to have lunch at River side restaurant but it was not functional. We went back to MTDC - we had the whole menu at the back of our head. I tried the Biriyani twice consecutively ( but first time i was blown away by the taste) and nothing was there. But we relied upon MTDC's inefficiency to spend next 1 hour for food and left the place at 2 30.

On the way, we visited wax museum. There are few good exhibits but few of them dont look anywhere close to the real person. We didnt want to leave because this place had AC. But we had seen the museum twice and thrice in max half an hour. We purchased chikki jelly and fudge on the way and reached station by 3 30. Our train Koyna Express was at 4 45 pm and we reached Thane at 7 30 pm. We had a crush load to reach Ghatkopar as we were lazy to move to a slow platform with all the luggage.

At home, we tried this new place that is opened near our house and it was not a disappointment at all :) one more happy memory to be cherished.

Regrets - Should have done this in the monsoons and not a diffcult trek. But I would have been more cheerful instead of cribbing whole way about heat :)

Pune .. again

I have been to Pune from the time i was in Bangalore and even from Mumbai. And all those earlier trips I always wanted a place to crash or an acquaintance to guide. This time it was all different. It was all about freedom, like a bag packer. Roaming the city just to understand how different it is from the neighbour, Mumbai. The look and feel, the culture and people.

And thanks to my phone which was giving me trouble by resstarting every other minute, It was pretty much back to old age. Asking for direction taking local transport. I tried all modes - foot, auto, bus, share auto, local train :) Had two mission in mind - From Sun and Sand reach Dagduseth and check out the place where they make large scale chivdas :O

Had great time to myself in the  temple. Sorta like connecting with my inner self which is so called soul and to me is god :) It just reenergizes me when people of various stature come and just believe - in miracles, in future and plainly in themselves.

A must - Have lots of sugarcane juice. I went in peak summer, a great excuse to indulge in sugarcane juice. Also dont miss the Puneri Thali for lunch.

I had the whole day to kill but I sorta nailed it when it comes to roaming about. All the Bazaars - Shaniwarwada, Budhwarpets... Sorry Am - You were working to fund my travel and I was well Travelling ( which means Living life :P )