First leg of the journey was the flight from Bangalore to
Pune which took about an hour was full of ease. Our plan was not to mingle in
Pune but to move on towards Mahabaleshwar. Left Pune international airport @
6:30pm. Our cab driver suggested that we have a snack at the Shastri Nagar
chowk (in airport road, nearYerawada jail ). I think it was the most fabulous idea he ever gave
us!
Great pani puri at Sudama which is famous for its pani puri n cold coffee!!
I have not been to these parts so maybe tats d reason I found it so different!!
2 people with a small counter exclusive for pani puri!! We take coupons and
give it to one of them, they hand us two paper bowls, sprinkle some raw cut
onions with a hint of coriander leaves which leaves me wondering what to do!!
He graces my bowl with a pani puri, I put some of the sprinkled onion into the puri (since
I dint know what else to do with it) and ate it. It was nothing like any pani
puri I have had! Upon peeping below d counter, I found out that he puts Dal soaked
in some liquid which I surmised was sweet (maybe sugar water) then he dips the
puri into spicy (lovely!) pani (mouth
watering) n serves!! Once it went into my mouth there was a duel of sugar n
spice, once spice won and I ended up coughing! But I plowed on! And loved the experience!
Reached Mahabaleshwar around 10pm. We encountered plenty of traffic on the way. We
stayed at Poonam hotel which was decent and comfortable. For dinner we strolled
out to Market Street which was right near our hotel (my initial impression was
that the whole town was accommodated in just this one road!). We found lots of
people around, I guessed that it’s a small town and that was the only street to
hang out! Or maybe the crowd was due to the fact that it’s a weekend.
This happens to be one among the many weekend drives for people around Pune and
Mumbai. Lots of pure veg restaurants were around, we picked the one which had the
most crowd (when it’s tough to choose, I take that as a norm!). The pav bhaji that
we ordered was great, but we dint like the rice in the biryani that we ordered
(It was the fat kind of rice, here obese rice came to mind :-P)
Set out to explore Mahabaleshwar main road on foot. For breakfast we ordered
dosa, poha and a sandwich from one other pure veg restaurant. Review: nothing
to write back home. Mahabaleshwar did not seem like it was a good place to eat,
food is costly and totally not worth it! Started off towards Venna Lake for a
boat ride! Since it was morning, it seemed perfect for a boat ride! Gave in to the
strawberry urge and bought it; but it was not as sweet as I was craving for!
The Venna Lake with a forest reserve on the other side!
Set out to old Mahabaleshwar to complete the rest of the sightseeing on our
agenda. Stopped to pray at the Shankar temple which is a confluence of the
rivers: Gayatri, Savitri, Koyana Venna and Krishna. Advice: drink some of the
confluence water and soak in the ambience! We next set out to see all the views
that Mahabaleshwar had to offer. We checked-out the breathtaking views from
Marjorie point, Arthur’s seat and elephant point.
View from Elephant's point
View from Arthur's point
Off to panchgani Mapro Gardens famous for all things strawberry! Ate yummy brick
oven pizza (Mexican heat) and strawberries with cream and ice cream. This is a
must visit!
A strawberry peeping out!
The brick oven pizza!
Ended a most scenic drive (with some tunnels thrown in) to reach Lonavala at
6:30 pm. We caught the sunset enroute. The sun set in between the mountains,
just like a picture!
Sunset on the highway
First impression of Lonavala: the city streets are filled with chikki stores!!!
Chikki stores everywhere! There was no escaping them! Our hotel manager pointed
out as strawberries: Mahabaleshwar so is chikki: Lonavala! But I kind of
expected it to be more of a hill station like Mahabaleshwar, which is situated
on the hill top. Stayed at Greenland hotel at golden valley area! Nothing to
recommend this hotel for, it seemed just OK. Everything was just so-so – comfort;
room; service: so-so. Started at 8:30 am
to visit the Jain temple at golden valley (this is not a tourist attraction but
since it was on the way and looked so peaceful we decided to step in). We then
carried on to Narayani dham which was a nice Devi temple.
Narayani Dham
Karla caves, where we went next, was ideal for a morning climb with around 200
spacious steps. I had gone barefoot but I recommend that you wear some good
shoes for climbing. Up there is just a view of the cave, you cannot explore the
cave, there is another Devi temple up there and the view on the way up is nice.
Karla Caves
Mumbai – A first timer’s notes!
Mumbai called as the city of dreams should actually be named the city of
traffic!
Touched the Mumbai outskirts coming from the Mumbai-Pune expressway at around
11:30 am, reached Juhu (we had to go to the Iskon temple at 1 pm! No mercy!!)
Here to attend a friend’s wedding; we had been put up at the Iskon temple
premises as the wedding was taking place here. Reached our destination, relaxed
for a while and started out again in hopes of changing my first impression of
this city!
Like all the tourists I too was keen on visiting the gateway of India! And what a splendor
it was! Spent 1:30 hours to reach there!
By now I had started getting used to the traffic! (I wonder what the people of Mumbai
do when they are in a real tearing hurry). Spent some time just sitting and
gazing at the structure and on d way back to Juhu, we stopped at marine drive
to catch the sunset, but I dint get to glimpse the sun (let alone it setting!) since
it was cloudy. Weather report: slightly sultry, and very much cloudy!
Got back, got ready and set out again in all tradition to enjoy the dance and
music at the sangeet ceremony!
Gateway of India
Woke up to a cloudy morning, set out determined to do some heavy shopping, the shopper
in me had awoken!
First stop was linking road, next was Hill road. Street side shopping on both
these roads left the Bangalorean in me disappointed. I had come with
expectations of Mumbai showing me its most fashionable side and I ended up
loving Bangalore even more!
So...I gave up shopping and went to sit along my loved one at bandstand. We
then walked along the Juhu beach and ate at Dheeraj Vada Pav, opposite NM College,
famous for its vada pav! By now I had become a strong believer of treating vada
pav as a meal.
The Taj at Gateway of India
Marine drive
Mumbai roads: Autos and taxis rule the Mumbai roads!! And they don't put up
their prices as the Bangalorean auto walas. We went everywhere in autos! Except
when you have to go to the other side of Mumbai (I am still confused about the
different sides of Mumbai!). We went back to our accommodation to get some rest
and again got ready to catch the bharaath of the wedding! The decorations were
wonderful!
The deco!
Bangalore-Mumbai comparison
Weather
|
Bangalore
|
Traffic
|
Cannot decide!
|
Road conditions
|
Mumbai
|
People
|
I am a Bangalorean
|
Places to visit
|
I love beaches, so Mumbai
|
hang outs
|
50-50, I think both are great!
|
Fashion
|
Fashionable people come out in Mumbai only during the
night (from what I saw) whereas fashionable Bangaloreans are seen at any time
of the day!
|
