Dear Readers,
This post of mine is not on the same lines as my previous posts. Enough of debatable topics. Here's a description of my trip to Daman. So sit back and experience my first such road trip. I will try my best to make this post as interesting as possible. As usual, your comments are most welcome. They will help me make my write-ups even better.
Cheers
Planning for the trip had started in November itself, but as fate would have it, last moment assignments left only the four of us - Akshat, Prasanna, Puru and myself - for the Daman trip. And what better means to commute except (yes!)BIKES. So the plan was ready, maps downloaded from the Internet and printouts taken. Everything was finalized on Friday (1st Dec, 2006).
Akshat and I set off for Daman on Saturday, Dec 2nd at 2:30 am from my flat in Powai. We were scheduled to meet Puru and Prasanna (who were coming all the way from Pune) at 3:oo am near the Eternity Mall in Thane. We were there as per schedule, but the other two got lost on their way from Pune to Thane and reached the rendezvous point at 3:40. Waiting for them in the dark, with sleepy eyes, was the most difficult part of the journey. But the journey had just begun.
From there we took the road that would connect us to the Western Express Highway. To our dismay, the road was broken at several places and we were stuck between a carvan of trucks. So we had to eat a lot of dust till we reached the highway. There onwards, it was smooth sailing. Believe me, the Mumbai - Ahmedabad Highway has to be seen to believe that it is so smooth. A realization fell upon me that had Laloo kept his promise of making the roads of Bihar smoother than Hema Malini's cheecks, he would have made such roads. We took a halt every half an hour or forty minutes, got down at some dhaaba to have tea or just stretched our legs.
The sight at the break of dawn was mesmerising. The highway looks so beautiful in the light of the rising sun. The highway meandered through the hills, and a cool breeze blew all along. The air was so fresh - completely different from what we get in Mumbai - that i felt intoxicated (ab kisi bhikari ko achha khana doge to uska paet kharaab hoga hi naa... waise hi we in Mumbai are used to the dust and smoke, not air).
We reached Daman at around 8:15 am. As we entered into Daman, Puru went on a hunt for a wine shop. Finally, we stopped at one, and purchased 4 large cans of Kingfisher Strong. But, Puru had other ideas. He bought two small cans also, and made me drink one then and there while he drank the other one. I literally did the morning kulla with beer.
We were at he 'Sunset Beach' by 8:30 am, feasting on our cans of beer and gorging some wafers. After all it was time for breakfast. Once we were done with the beers, Puru and Akshat left to collect some more ethanol after taking oders from each of us. By the time they returned I was already shaking. They returned with some vodka and more beer. I made three large pegs, one each for Puru, Akshat and myself, while Prasanna sipped hi beer. Thereafter, I remeber making the second peg and drinking half way through it. After that, i donot remeber anything till probably 3:oo pm. Yes, you got it. I had passed out.
We came back to our senses at about 5:oo pm and left the beach. We found a hotel and checked into a 4-bed room. The room was a tad expensive, but we were not in a condition to negotiate. All I wanted to do was hit the bed again, or probably visit the loo as my head was still spinning. As soon as we entered the room Prasanna, Puru and I hit the bed. Only Akshat had the energy to go pay the money and sign the register. After some time, we all freshend up, had a good, long bath and watched some television. In fact, I was the only one who was watching TV. Others were sleeping like corpses. I managed to wake them up with great difficulty. We had some soup and a light dinner and went back to sleep. That was the end of Day 1 of the trip.
Day 2 started at 8:30 am as all of us came back to life. We had to leave the room by 11 am but none of us was in a hurry. We packed our things, ordered for some tea and went through our ablutions. We left the hotel at around 10 am and set of on our bikes for some new beaches.
We headed for Moti Daman and reach there in about half-an-hour. We had to cross a narrow bridge which is only for two-wheelers (that too a one-way) and pedestrians. We stopped at the gates of the fort, clicked some photographs and went ahead. Our next stop was the Bom Jesus Church which is a great representation of Portugese architecture and culture. The church, built in its present form in 1603, stands testimony to the bygone era. After the church we stopped at the light house which was a first for me. I had never seen a light house so closely, before that day. After the light house, we went to Jampore beach. It is a long stretch, with people coming in large numbers. We put our luggage down, changed and hit the water. The water was very salty and the sun was out in its full splendor. We had a short game of soccer among the four of us - Puru & I in 1 team and Prasanna and Akshat in the other. All seen and done, we set back for Mumbai.
The road that connects Moti Daman to the highway is two lane with lots of shade. It was a pleasant drive till we reached the highway. As soon as we reached the highway, we were hit by a puff of dust and the sun was glaring down at us. It was around 3 pm when we reached the highway, and soon we realized that we won't be able to drive in the heat. After about an hour, we reached a Reliance petrol pump, refilled the tanks, and got down to refill ourselfs with some late lunch. After a grand lunch, it was time to stretch our bodies. The restaurant staff was kind enough to arrange two char-pois for us. We left the place at 6:30 pm, after the sun had set in the horizon, and set on our road trip back home.
Finally, we reached Mumbai at around 9:oo pm with regular stops in between. But, it took us about an hour to reach our place - all because of the lovely traffic of the city. We realized that we had left the fast lane and the fresh air far behind. That was the end of the trip. Day 2 ended with a very late dinner after which we hit the bed. Prasanna and Puru spent the night at my place, and left for Pune the next moring.
Loking forward to more adventures and trips!
-CK-
This post of mine is not on the same lines as my previous posts. Enough of debatable topics. Here's a description of my trip to Daman. So sit back and experience my first such road trip. I will try my best to make this post as interesting as possible. As usual, your comments are most welcome. They will help me make my write-ups even better.
Cheers
Planning for the trip had started in November itself, but as fate would have it, last moment assignments left only the four of us - Akshat, Prasanna, Puru and myself - for the Daman trip. And what better means to commute except (yes!)BIKES. So the plan was ready, maps downloaded from the Internet and printouts taken. Everything was finalized on Friday (1st Dec, 2006).
Akshat and I set off for Daman on Saturday, Dec 2nd at 2:30 am from my flat in Powai. We were scheduled to meet Puru and Prasanna (who were coming all the way from Pune) at 3:oo am near the Eternity Mall in Thane. We were there as per schedule, but the other two got lost on their way from Pune to Thane and reached the rendezvous point at 3:40. Waiting for them in the dark, with sleepy eyes, was the most difficult part of the journey. But the journey had just begun.
From there we took the road that would connect us to the Western Express Highway. To our dismay, the road was broken at several places and we were stuck between a carvan of trucks. So we had to eat a lot of dust till we reached the highway. There onwards, it was smooth sailing. Believe me, the Mumbai - Ahmedabad Highway has to be seen to believe that it is so smooth. A realization fell upon me that had Laloo kept his promise of making the roads of Bihar smoother than Hema Malini's cheecks, he would have made such roads. We took a halt every half an hour or forty minutes, got down at some dhaaba to have tea or just stretched our legs.
The sight at the break of dawn was mesmerising. The highway looks so beautiful in the light of the rising sun. The highway meandered through the hills, and a cool breeze blew all along. The air was so fresh - completely different from what we get in Mumbai - that i felt intoxicated (ab kisi bhikari ko achha khana doge to uska paet kharaab hoga hi naa... waise hi we in Mumbai are used to the dust and smoke, not air).
We reached Daman at around 8:15 am. As we entered into Daman, Puru went on a hunt for a wine shop. Finally, we stopped at one, and purchased 4 large cans of Kingfisher Strong. But, Puru had other ideas. He bought two small cans also, and made me drink one then and there while he drank the other one. I literally did the morning kulla with beer.
We were at he 'Sunset Beach' by 8:30 am, feasting on our cans of beer and gorging some wafers. After all it was time for breakfast. Once we were done with the beers, Puru and Akshat left to collect some more ethanol after taking oders from each of us. By the time they returned I was already shaking. They returned with some vodka and more beer. I made three large pegs, one each for Puru, Akshat and myself, while Prasanna sipped hi beer. Thereafter, I remeber making the second peg and drinking half way through it. After that, i donot remeber anything till probably 3:oo pm. Yes, you got it. I had passed out.
We came back to our senses at about 5:oo pm and left the beach. We found a hotel and checked into a 4-bed room. The room was a tad expensive, but we were not in a condition to negotiate. All I wanted to do was hit the bed again, or probably visit the loo as my head was still spinning. As soon as we entered the room Prasanna, Puru and I hit the bed. Only Akshat had the energy to go pay the money and sign the register. After some time, we all freshend up, had a good, long bath and watched some television. In fact, I was the only one who was watching TV. Others were sleeping like corpses. I managed to wake them up with great difficulty. We had some soup and a light dinner and went back to sleep. That was the end of Day 1 of the trip.
Day 2 started at 8:30 am as all of us came back to life. We had to leave the room by 11 am but none of us was in a hurry. We packed our things, ordered for some tea and went through our ablutions. We left the hotel at around 10 am and set of on our bikes for some new beaches.
We headed for Moti Daman and reach there in about half-an-hour. We had to cross a narrow bridge which is only for two-wheelers (that too a one-way) and pedestrians. We stopped at the gates of the fort, clicked some photographs and went ahead. Our next stop was the Bom Jesus Church which is a great representation of Portugese architecture and culture. The church, built in its present form in 1603, stands testimony to the bygone era. After the church we stopped at the light house which was a first for me. I had never seen a light house so closely, before that day. After the light house, we went to Jampore beach. It is a long stretch, with people coming in large numbers. We put our luggage down, changed and hit the water. The water was very salty and the sun was out in its full splendor. We had a short game of soccer among the four of us - Puru & I in 1 team and Prasanna and Akshat in the other. All seen and done, we set back for Mumbai.
The road that connects Moti Daman to the highway is two lane with lots of shade. It was a pleasant drive till we reached the highway. As soon as we reached the highway, we were hit by a puff of dust and the sun was glaring down at us. It was around 3 pm when we reached the highway, and soon we realized that we won't be able to drive in the heat. After about an hour, we reached a Reliance petrol pump, refilled the tanks, and got down to refill ourselfs with some late lunch. After a grand lunch, it was time to stretch our bodies. The restaurant staff was kind enough to arrange two char-pois for us. We left the place at 6:30 pm, after the sun had set in the horizon, and set on our road trip back home.
Finally, we reached Mumbai at around 9:oo pm with regular stops in between. But, it took us about an hour to reach our place - all because of the lovely traffic of the city. We realized that we had left the fast lane and the fresh air far behind. That was the end of the trip. Day 2 ended with a very late dinner after which we hit the bed. Prasanna and Puru spent the night at my place, and left for Pune the next moring.
Loking forward to more adventures and trips!
-CK-
2 comments:
Nicely written.... varun should have been on the trip to appreciate the blog!
You do write good!
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