After one week of getting up really really late, eating piles of paranthas and having enormous amount of dairy products, it was time to leave home and get back to Delhi for the next semester. The feeling was akin to that in some stories that i had read as a child about the boy going to his boarding school and the relatives seeing him off at the station. This was the first time that,due to my father's transfer, my home is so far from my hostel...in Ahmedabad. Nevertheless , the three heavy suitcases were enough to occupy my mind and i said goodbye to my parents.
Gone baby gone...
As much as i like babies..one 'side-effect' of the AC compartment is that whenever you have a child traveling and sitting somewhere close to you, along with his mother..the results are irritating.
In a normal sleeper coach the noises and commotion from all different sources, chai wala, frooti wala..or the train itself,drown the noises that i pretty much dont like to hear too clearly.
So unfortunately, for a large part of journey i got to hear.."No ! Rahul, No..!!", "Do not disturb uncle ", "No..beta upar mat jao..!" , " Chot lag jayegi " , " Kapde gande mat karo !! " etc. etc. He didn't let his mother(or me) sleep continuosly for more than 20 min with once waking her up to ask "time kya hua hai ?" and the poor lady concentrated in the dark to tell him the time and when asked why was he asking he just said "aise hi". All this seemed to me , nothing less than a conspiracy against the mother, as no one deserves to be treated this bad !
But luckily they got off at Jaipur and it was nothing less than heaven from there on.
InDecent-ry
I've always thought that people are more interested in having conversations with fellow passengers in trains than in any other mode of transportation and to an extent i am also open to it. But this time, a bihari couple was sitting across me , who had been in Gujarat for the first time and had their "voily gujarati food". And in conversation with another passenger , the uncle said , "..pet gadbada gaya humara. Ab thoda theek hai warna aaj subah tak to bahut badhiya 'dysentery' ho gaya tha ". The Outlook magazine that i had bought turned out to be even more useful as i dug deeper into it , to pretend that i was not present there.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Alibaug-Day 3
30.6,Sunday
We checked out of our hotel at 9 am and started back for Mumbai. The real highlight for this day was the water fall some 6 km from Mahabaleshwar en route to Mumbai via Pratapgarh. Due to the rainfall this fall was greater than the previous day and we were the only one bathing in it. The flow was so large that , even if we stood for a few seconds underneath it, it seemed like something is throwing piles of stones from way above with some extra force. The water was always trying to push your head down forcefully. Really 'mind blowing'.
(I am omitting the more relavent photos :P )
The route that we were taking this time was different from the Expressway. This was NH-17 but it was more scenic than the expressway. Other than the various picturesque places in the journey there was one water fall near Pauladpur which looked too good to be true.It was bigger and better in many ways.
We decided to appreciate the scenery and move on while resisting our desire to again bathe in the water fall.
So after that we stopped at Alibaug and though the beaches were good, it wasn't anything out of ordinary. But still the breeze is always nice so we decided to sit there for an hour.
After that our final stop IITB. And , quite obviously we were stuck in a huge traffic jam just kms from it. We got back to Surat the next day.
To describe what the places in the trip were like, i'd just say that the type of place that heaven is made to believe, would have probably been thought of after seeing them.
We checked out of our hotel at 9 am and started back for Mumbai. The real highlight for this day was the water fall some 6 km from Mahabaleshwar en route to Mumbai via Pratapgarh. Due to the rainfall this fall was greater than the previous day and we were the only one bathing in it. The flow was so large that , even if we stood for a few seconds underneath it, it seemed like something is throwing piles of stones from way above with some extra force. The water was always trying to push your head down forcefully. Really 'mind blowing'.(I am omitting the more relavent photos :P )
The route that we were taking this time was different from the Expressway. This was NH-17 but it was more scenic than the expressway. Other than the various picturesque places in the journey there was one water fall near Pauladpur which looked too good to be true.It was bigger and better in many ways.
We decided to appreciate the scenery and move on while resisting our desire to again bathe in the water fall.
So after that we stopped at Alibaug and though the beaches were good, it wasn't anything out of ordinary. But still the breeze is always nice so we decided to sit there for an hour.
After that our final stop IITB. And , quite obviously we were stuck in a huge traffic jam just kms from it. We got back to Surat the next day.To describe what the places in the trip were like, i'd just say that the type of place that heaven is made to believe, would have probably been thought of after seeing them.
Pratapgarh- Day 2
29.6,Saturday
Quite unexpectedly Pratapgarh was the best place in the trip. It is 20km from Mahabaleshwar and it seemed like just a fort when we heard about it. But you realize its uniqueness when you see the altitude at which it is built. It is hard to imagine how it can be constructed in earlier times.
Also once you get on top you have a feeling hard to describe. Because of the clouds all around the fort ,we literally felt like we were in heaven. I will not say much about it, as it is a place which my words wouldn't do any justice.
Next we saw the Lingmala water fall from far away. It was splendid. Once we got closer we realized that the little bridge that passed over the clear stream of water was in fact the same water that some 50 m away turns into a fall 'the lingmala water fall'. Since on that day it was raining heavily the water flow was 10 times the previous day and you could feel the furious water gushing down the fall and making a thunderous sound for quite a distance. The thought that we were planning to take a dip in that water really made us look stupid and lucky(that we didnt go ahead).
Next we saw what was left of Panchgani(also had strawberry lassi). Sydney Point is not even worth mentioning. Though table land was far better. It was almost a cricket ground at the top of a mountain. And there were many such plains on the nearby hills. It was really spectacular.
(This day was full of adventures which i am not describing here)
Quite unexpectedly Pratapgarh was the best place in the trip. It is 20km from Mahabaleshwar and it seemed like just a fort when we heard about it. But you realize its uniqueness when you see the altitude at which it is built. It is hard to imagine how it can be constructed in earlier times.
Also once you get on top you have a feeling hard to describe. Because of the clouds all around the fort ,we literally felt like we were in heaven. I will not say much about it, as it is a place which my words wouldn't do any justice.
Next we saw the Lingmala water fall from far away. It was splendid. Once we got closer we realized that the little bridge that passed over the clear stream of water was in fact the same water that some 50 m away turns into a fall 'the lingmala water fall'. Since on that day it was raining heavily the water flow was 10 times the previous day and you could feel the furious water gushing down the fall and making a thunderous sound for quite a distance. The thought that we were planning to take a dip in that water really made us look stupid and lucky(that we didnt go ahead).
Next we saw what was left of Panchgani(also had strawberry lassi). Sydney Point is not even worth mentioning. Though table land was far better. It was almost a cricket ground at the top of a mountain. And there were many such plains on the nearby hills. It was really spectacular.
(This day was full of adventures which i am not describing here)
Mahabaleshwar/Panchgani
After deliberate consideration because of the number of people involved and the miles that separated us , the Mahabaleshwar trip was finalized. It involved getting over many hurdles like the different intern schedules (some had a 5 day week some had 6 ) , some of the people being incommunicado for some reasons and the natural desires of people to not agree with others. The three of us(me , niraj and gaurav) came back early on friday(27th) from 'the plant' and got on the Surat BDTS express on which we had booked our tickets in the 2S class for a mere Rs.100. The train ride was not that smooth as we had earlier thought , and decided that it was better to travel while standing as the seats which we got were those which faced one more 3 seater and there was no comfortable way to sit. So we stood near the door for most of our 4.5 hour journey which was interspersed with many 'new' items which were being sold by the vendors. Like one month 'old' magazines at half the price, mint leaves being sold in a bundle etc. The scenes of boys playing games like cricket or riding a bicycle after a day's work in the little 'green' villages made the trip ever so wonderful.
We reached 'Mumbai' at 8.30pm and boy was it terrible. We had to get to our friends from our hostel who were staying at IITBombay , and the autowallas and taxis were there to thug us. Somehow we managed to get an auto from Bandra to Powai for Rs.120 (i am sure it should be even lower). After somehow managing to get past the awful traffic especially near IITB and the infamous potholes we reached there. This was my first time there and the city didn't leave a good impression on me. We met our friends after a long time and usual bakaiti started. We also got the information that instead of going through a packaged tour which would have cost us Rs.1300(including stay,food and everything), we were hiring a taxi costing Rs.2000 per day. Though I always prefer traveling without any plans, when with friends, it sounded dearer but till that time there was no other way and the taxi was hired to take us the next day from IITB.
We spent the night in IITB campus and the only thing worth mentioning there is the zillions of mosquitoes and Hostel 12-13.
The hostel 12-13 are something you really have to see it to believe. Everything from the skywalk which includes common room and indoor games, to the hostel mess which is in basement but is in fact on ground floor(!) ..the architecture is amazing. There should be riots to get into that hostel with its superb night canteen.
28.6,Friday
DAY-1
We started at 7 in the morning and took the Pune Expressway. The fear of the Qualis being uncomfortable for 8 passengers was gone as we sat quite peacefully(at least i did). The journey was remarkable largely due of the wide roads and the amazing scenery it forms because of various tunnels and places like Lonavla too in between. Though the toll taxes really take a toll on you , on these wonderful roads, which are to an extent devoid of large traffic.
At the insistance of our taxi driver who was a Ganpati devout, we stopped at Vai , which we were being told is one the Ashtavinayak mandir. The mandir looked a little bit like Charanpur of Swades to me, or may all old mandirs are like this , as i have not seen many.
From there we were on a route where Panchgani is before Mahabaleshwar(i was thinking the other way round). So, the sceneries were just getting better and better. We were 'taxed' at Rs. 10 per person and Rs.30 for taxi for entering Panchgani, which was ridiculous in every way. Nevertheless the first thing we saw was Harrison Folly, named after certain Mr. Harrison who built a house there which flew due to winds. But i cant say the Englishman was at fault for building a house there , as the view was breathtaking to say the least. (There was also horse riding for 'kids' where a guy charged Rs.60 for letting you ride it for like 45sec).
From there we stopped at a place to get tea but instead went down a path where we were hearing sounds of water in hope a water fall, but we didnt find it , though there was a picturesque scene of a small bridge passing over a clear stream of water. We dipped our feet in it, but left as we had to get to our hotel and also have our lunch.
We reached Mahabaleshwar and it was raining there. And instead of being foggy it was cloudy, which means what could be mistaken as fog were in fact clouds and they were enveloping all the city. The cover was as thick as a Delhi fog in winters. After some difficulties we checked in our hotel (Hotel Varsha). The rooms were great at Rs. 700 and we had lunch there. Without wasting any time we set out to see all there was to see in Mahabaleshwar that day.
The first place was Lake Venna. It was cloudy, windy and rainy ..so the scene was wonderful.
The next place that we went to were involved a large number of 'points' and it was terrific. There was Kates Point, Needle Hole Point ,Echo Point and Elephant Point, all located very close to each other , the last one being the best of them all.( if you need some info about these find it on http://www.travelpaisa.c
om/mumbai-hillstations/mahabaleshwar.html )
The other 'points' were completely covered in clouds and our efforts to see them ended in vain. But nevertheless we were quite happy with all that we did in the day and in some ways at our limit in the number of beautiful places that we could see in a day.
We reached 'Mumbai' at 8.30pm and boy was it terrible. We had to get to our friends from our hostel who were staying at IITBombay , and the autowallas and taxis were there to thug us. Somehow we managed to get an auto from Bandra to Powai for Rs.120 (i am sure it should be even lower). After somehow managing to get past the awful traffic especially near IITB and the infamous potholes we reached there. This was my first time there and the city didn't leave a good impression on me. We met our friends after a long time and usual bakaiti started. We also got the information that instead of going through a packaged tour which would have cost us Rs.1300(including stay,food and everything), we were hiring a taxi costing Rs.2000 per day. Though I always prefer traveling without any plans, when with friends, it sounded dearer but till that time there was no other way and the taxi was hired to take us the next day from IITB.
We spent the night in IITB campus and the only thing worth mentioning there is the zillions of mosquitoes and Hostel 12-13.
The hostel 12-13 are something you really have to see it to believe. Everything from the skywalk which includes common room and indoor games, to the hostel mess which is in basement but is in fact on ground floor(!) ..the architecture is amazing. There should be riots to get into that hostel with its superb night canteen.
28.6,Friday
DAY-1
We started at 7 in the morning and took the Pune Expressway. The fear of the Qualis being uncomfortable for 8 passengers was gone as we sat quite peacefully(at least i did). The journey was remarkable largely due of the wide roads and the amazing scenery it forms because of various tunnels and places like Lonavla too in between. Though the toll taxes really take a toll on you , on these wonderful roads, which are to an extent devoid of large traffic.
At the insistance of our taxi driver who was a Ganpati devout, we stopped at Vai , which we were being told is one the Ashtavinayak mandir. The mandir looked a little bit like Charanpur of Swades to me, or may all old mandirs are like this , as i have not seen many.
From there we were on a route where Panchgani is before Mahabaleshwar(i was thinking the other way round). So, the sceneries were just getting better and better. We were 'taxed' at Rs. 10 per person and Rs.30 for taxi for entering Panchgani, which was ridiculous in every way. Nevertheless the first thing we saw was Harrison Folly, named after certain Mr. Harrison who built a house there which flew due to winds. But i cant say the Englishman was at fault for building a house there , as the view was breathtaking to say the least. (There was also horse riding for 'kids' where a guy charged Rs.60 for letting you ride it for like 45sec).
From there we stopped at a place to get tea but instead went down a path where we were hearing sounds of water in hope a water fall, but we didnt find it , though there was a picturesque scene of a small bridge passing over a clear stream of water. We dipped our feet in it, but left as we had to get to our hotel and also have our lunch.
We reached Mahabaleshwar and it was raining there. And instead of being foggy it was cloudy, which means what could be mistaken as fog were in fact clouds and they were enveloping all the city. The cover was as thick as a Delhi fog in winters. After some difficulties we checked in our hotel (Hotel Varsha). The rooms were great at Rs. 700 and we had lunch there. Without wasting any time we set out to see all there was to see in Mahabaleshwar that day.
The first place was Lake Venna. It was cloudy, windy and rainy ..so the scene was wonderful.
The next place that we went to were involved a large number of 'points' and it was terrific. There was Kates Point, Needle Hole Point ,Echo Point and Elephant Point, all located very close to each other , the last one being the best of them all.( if you need some info about these find it on http://www.travelpaisa.c
om/mumbai-hillstations/mahabaleshwar.html )
The other 'points' were completely covered in clouds and our efforts to see them ended in vain. But nevertheless we were quite happy with all that we did in the day and in some ways at our limit in the number of beautiful places that we could see in a day.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Daman
8.5 ,SundayThe few markets (the names i ll mention after i see all that i can) had been keeping us busy for quite a number of days. The autos are so cheap when there is a group of 3-5 people that even the most distant markets are approachable on a daily basis. But once in a while you need to get away from the city and we were told that Daman is one such place. It is 80-90 km away from Surat, and i thought of it to be unexplored by the tourists as i had not heard of it as a tourist destination. So, we planned a weekend getaway. But we could not make it on Saturday as everybody slept through it. So we decided to go on Sunday and bunk Monday.
We could not get any prior info on how to reach there or what places to see as none of the localites
had been there and the info on websites was all i could gather. So the three of us started on Sunday morning with 3 other people who were doing intern with us but were from different colleges. There was Rajat from IITK,Manish from NIT,jalandhar and Mohit from University of Petroleum,Dehradun. We knew Rajat , but the other guys were new and they were on the trip through him.Since Daman was not very far we thought of taking a taxi but the price quoted by the tour operator was Rs. 6000 !!! So obviously we took a train to Vapi (which is on the same route as Surat-Bombay) for Rs.33 :) We stood in the 2nd Seating compartment(i had seen it for the
first time) and the journey was over in just 2hrs without any discomfort. From Vapi, we took a taxi at Rs. 15 per head to cross the Gujarat border and enter in Daman.To my surprise, Daman was not meant to be a tourist destination. As Gujarat is a dry state and Daman shares a border with it , the U.T. makes full use of it. As soon as you cross the border the first shop is a booze shop and there are hundreds of them on both sides as you go along. Till we reached the taxi stand i had seen as many booze shops as i have cumulatively seen in my life and number of new brands. We reached there at 2.30 pm and booked a cheap hotel(hotel paradise) and looked around for some food. But all we got were shops serving booze. We were told that 3-7pm is off for the restaurant and bars and only booze is served during that time. Also there are no restaurants there, only 'restaurant and bar'. But we managed to finally fin
d a shop which served food.We asked around and it looked that the only place to see was Devka Beach. So we took an auto for Rs.6 per head and got there. And what we saw was good enough beach , though the water could have been a little less muddier. There was the usual camel/horse rides, vendors serving bhel puri etc. but the difference was that as soon as we entered the beach there were people asking us 'saab beer chahiye ?' ..!! even old ammas whom i thought would ask for money instead asked the same question.
The waves were ideal for a what a beach should have and we jumped into it in no time. After
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some 2 hours of fun with the waves throwing us in and out of water we decided that we should explore other things. There was another great moment when a table and chairs were laid out for us right there on the beach and the sun was setting, as we sat there. The waves randomly turned violent and reached our feet when we thought we were at a safe distance from them.The night turned out to be great as we ate in Hotel Miramar which had a seating capacity in hundreds and a live 'orchestra' which played your requests. And as mentioned in my one earlier post the same stuff that happens when you drink and dance was happening here , and we too joined the large dancing group that was busy enjoying. We also saw families enjoying large amounts of beer with one having a 12-14 year daughter having a glass of her own which was being refilled quite regularly.
The only mistake that we did was to book a hotel before coming to Devka beach . It was 5-6 km from there and autos stop operating after 7pm ! so at around 2am , we thought that if we had booked a hotel we might as well check in , as we had not put any of our stuff in it. If we had not booked it , we could have had a night out , while dancing or on the beach. But as 'unluck' would have it it started raining as we were waiting for something to take us to taxi stand. We waited for a little while under a tin shelter and the weather then seemed absolutely delightful with the sound of sea waves at a distance, and the raindrops falling on the shelter providing a perfect backdrop for any silly talk/gupshup with friends. Though in a few minutes we saw an auto and quickly got to the hotel and slept.
As we planned to return the next day , we got up early and due to my persistence , we planne
d to see the Twin forts instead 
of going to the beach again. The forts ,though not greatest that i have seen , turned out to be quite fun as we were the only ones visiting them and the rainy weather made Daman look different from the previous day.We also went to Jampore beach which was cleaner , but it was silent compared to Devka beach. So after an hour there, we went to Devka beach again and planned to end the trip there.
Though i do not recommend Daman as a tourist spot or a holiday option for a family , we all had immense amount of fun there and the day and a half seemed too little a time to take in the shock that such a place could exist in India or for that matter anywhere in the world.
A Lot Has Happened..
I feel like i am writing history chapters because the stuff that i am writing about is so old.But still , just overlook the actual date that is being shown, the date I am writing is the one that the posts were supposed to be published.
30.5 , Friday
The rules require us to wear a helmet for safety purposes while visiting the plant. This is the same yellow one that the people working in rigs ,or while working in construction, wear. It does not have a splendid appearance, in fact when i saw it many years ago for the first time i thought that the people dont know how to wear it and hence it is always a misfit. But when i got to wear it on the first day of my training i got to know that it just a makeshift arrangement for any injuries to the head , the outer part is deliberately kept at a certain distance from the head and the there is only a certain thick strip of plastic that is running all around the helmet to keep it in place or to make it tight or loose. This is to avoid the impact on head delivering the force directly to the head, and so that the rate of change in momentum is small , when the impact reaches the head and thus smaller force(the same funda with the seat belts).
Now this helmet , with ongc logo has become a kind of identity while we are here. We have to take it everyday from our rooms in guest house to the plant. And since there is no better way to hold it , and it also protects from sun, we wear it almost all the time while visiting the different units in the plant. But it has a disadvantage , as it gets hot in it..and the sweat drips from the protrusion in the front if you keep your head down and press the helmet against your head ...just like it does with sanath jayasurya or rahul dravid. So I took what I thought was an easy way out and got my head shaved :)
I had bee
n planning it for a long time as i am not a big fan of my hairstyle..may be because there isnt any style in it. I just love it when i can go anywhere without having to do anything to my hair..not even comb it. And nothing beats it than a clean shaved head. Saves plenty of time, less sweating , and the style is there now as you can see the heads turn when you are passing on the street or walking into a restaurant. The only thing missing is a 'bar code' tattoo on the cerebellum , like Hitman ..that seems way to cool.But i never forget that i live in india..getting a tatto done , that too of your wish is dificult and finding it within your budget is impossible. May be i am just too lazy or may be i know that such things are not possible , that i think about these stuffs.
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