One Friday evening, the need to get out to this city overcame us. We felt like just getting away from all the hustle bustle...and so we were off to the beach town of Alibaug lying at 100kms away. This town is a popular weekend getaway for many Bombay'ites. But the beginning of the trip was marred by the news that the 'catamaran'(ferry) service was defunct due to the advent of monsoons(as it is risky and capsizing of the boat is probable). So we began our find for the next best route...it was either road or railways..but shortage of drivers during the rains and the last time I sat behind the wheel was when I was on my PS3 playing the addictive Road Rage race resulted in us opting for local transport. There are frequent 'semi-luxury' buses between Mumbai and Alibaug at intervals of half-hour. The definition being cushioned albeit with wet and quaint-smelling covers. But before that...getting into the right bus was another uphill task. Inspite of leaving home well ahead of the departing time and a buffer time of 20 mins. The usually punctual trains stopped almost for half an hour at a spot, with no warning whatsoever, even the announcer refused to give any sought of information over the PIS, leaving the passengers puzzled and anxious. So when we ran out of patience we ran out of the station and alighted the taxi to the bus stand, not before being rammed into by a man...Yes..you heard right...a passer-by out of nowhere just rammed into me,with his head..the pain and scene was straight was out of the World Cup semi-final when Marco Materazi was head-butted by Zinedine Zidane(except for a few facts being different). Ok..to move ahead...now I make sure my ears are not bleeding.. and strut towards the vehicle... with the ferociousness of a banshee and the single-mission to reach that bus-stand.
Thus we reached the depot late by 20 minutes(exactly our buffer time!) only to be informed that we had missed our bus and would have to make fresh bookings...but one last try using my broken local language(Marathi) skills, yielded some results. A samartian directed us to a booth where a friendly uniformed conductor/officer sat and pointed the next bus would leave in some time and we could board it. A sigh of relief and 10 minutes later, our bus, painted in purple and white arrives and we are all set to begin our journey. Let me skip the description of the bus, so as not to bog you'll down. The route to our destination was pleasant. Trees with pink and orange flowers blooming on bright-green leaves made and arch along the highway. The landscape in some parts was fields with mud and water pools. Showers lashed against the window-panes, the clouds descended on the mountain-tops making it foggy and cool.
Finally 3 hours later and a 5 minute rickshaw ride later and after trying the local (high on sodium) chinese we arrive on the driveway of our resort for the night. By the Varsoli beach, next to the vacation home of one of Indias richest, the Top honcho of the Tata Empire.We jump straight on the thick beds in our cottage with a thatched-feel, giving the feel of being in sync with nature. A beer and fries session as heavy rains lashed against our window-panes was an afternoon well spent....unwinding...after weeks of deadlines and late-hours.
As the rains continued to lash with constant intensity we ventured out at first with our umbrellas for protection...but once on the beach the breeze forced us to abandon our protective sticks and in no time we were standing drenched on the edge of the waves...running on the wet sand...trying to capture the beauty of the sea in the rains at the risk of getting water on the lens of our digicam. Those few hours were heavenly....aahhhh...brings back a smile to my face. At the other end there were few couples enjoying a stroll on the beach, children frolicking and spattering sand all over, a black labrador running into the sea...happiness all around. The night was spent with music and chatter after an excellent warm meal and we fell asleep listening to the waves lash the shore.
The next day we hoped would bring with it the sunshine and a stroll along the stretch of the beach would be a perfect end to that short trip. But the high-tide changes our plans and we take the path parallel to the shore. On the way we bump into Mitsy the black labrador and some horses grazing on the fringes, including an all-white (a` la Shadowfax in Lord of the Rings). We have a quick Maharastrian delicacy Kanda-poha and some lime juice to build some energy for our bus-ride back and off-we are on our way back.
The bus-ride back was another task and marred the otherwise feel-good trip. But all in all it was an excellent weekend .
**Tips**
Take the catamaran if its a non-monsoon season/Just take your car and forget local road transport.
Walk carefully when on the streets of Mumbai, look left and right every two seconds to prevent people randomly bumping into you.
Take some good room-freshner to get rid of the stink in the local bus in case you dont have any other choice.
Don' order for 'chinese' food in Alibag stick to local cuisine unless you are low on salts.
Bargain with the rickshaw driver as dey will charge you double if you appear to be gullible city bred campers.
Keep your Marathi dictionary handy, when in trouble or need it is your best bet.
Get a water proof camera and ipod (if invented by then).
Snapshots:
Thus we reached the depot late by 20 minutes(exactly our buffer time!) only to be informed that we had missed our bus and would have to make fresh bookings...but one last try using my broken local language(Marathi) skills, yielded some results. A samartian directed us to a booth where a friendly uniformed conductor/officer sat and pointed the next bus would leave in some time and we could board it. A sigh of relief and 10 minutes later, our bus, painted in purple and white arrives and we are all set to begin our journey. Let me skip the description of the bus, so as not to bog you'll down. The route to our destination was pleasant. Trees with pink and orange flowers blooming on bright-green leaves made and arch along the highway. The landscape in some parts was fields with mud and water pools. Showers lashed against the window-panes, the clouds descended on the mountain-tops making it foggy and cool.
Finally 3 hours later and a 5 minute rickshaw ride later and after trying the local (high on sodium) chinese we arrive on the driveway of our resort for the night. By the Varsoli beach, next to the vacation home of one of Indias richest, the Top honcho of the Tata Empire.We jump straight on the thick beds in our cottage with a thatched-feel, giving the feel of being in sync with nature. A beer and fries session as heavy rains lashed against our window-panes was an afternoon well spent....unwinding...after weeks of deadlines and late-hours.
As the rains continued to lash with constant intensity we ventured out at first with our umbrellas for protection...but once on the beach the breeze forced us to abandon our protective sticks and in no time we were standing drenched on the edge of the waves...running on the wet sand...trying to capture the beauty of the sea in the rains at the risk of getting water on the lens of our digicam. Those few hours were heavenly....aahhhh...brings back a smile to my face. At the other end there were few couples enjoying a stroll on the beach, children frolicking and spattering sand all over, a black labrador running into the sea...happiness all around. The night was spent with music and chatter after an excellent warm meal and we fell asleep listening to the waves lash the shore.
The next day we hoped would bring with it the sunshine and a stroll along the stretch of the beach would be a perfect end to that short trip. But the high-tide changes our plans and we take the path parallel to the shore. On the way we bump into Mitsy the black labrador and some horses grazing on the fringes, including an all-white (a` la Shadowfax in Lord of the Rings). We have a quick Maharastrian delicacy Kanda-poha and some lime juice to build some energy for our bus-ride back and off-we are on our way back.
The bus-ride back was another task and marred the otherwise feel-good trip. But all in all it was an excellent weekend .
**Tips**
Take the catamaran if its a non-monsoon season/Just take your car and forget local road transport.
Walk carefully when on the streets of Mumbai, look left and right every two seconds to prevent people randomly bumping into you.
Take some good room-freshner to get rid of the stink in the local bus in case you dont have any other choice.
Don' order for 'chinese' food in Alibag stick to local cuisine unless you are low on salts.
Bargain with the rickshaw driver as dey will charge you double if you appear to be gullible city bred campers.
Keep your Marathi dictionary handy, when in trouble or need it is your best bet.
Get a water proof camera and ipod (if invented by then).
Snapshots:
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