everyone!Now that i am done with my masters, it was time for some outing.
Meanwhile when i was at Jaipur, an itching for a plan had already begun.
This trip was done with a group that was casually formed 10 years ago. The members are Me, Amit, Sachin, Kiran, Hemant and Tathagat. The speciality of this group is that, it is formed exclusively for travel and picnics. So, in last 8 years, we covered whole of Konkan which coveres Murud, Harihareshwar Shrivardhan, Ganapatipule and Goa. The only place remaining unexplored was Tarkarli/Malvan. For a timebeing, the place was finalized.
These days, it is difficult (or i must say impossible) to execute a travel plan on a short notice. So it had to be planned atleast 2 months earlier. The consensus was built and plan was stamped. We reserved tickets for 14th Nov Dadar-Madgaon JanShatabdi express.
The D-day arrived. For a change, i had to get up early and so i was before time! The train arrived 10 minutes late. It was 6'o clock at Thane stn. Sachin and Kiran joined at Panvel. Amit was at goa and he would join us directly at malvan. We had assigned him the task of reaching early and booking a room as soon as possible as we were going in diwali.
Some pictures of travel on train;
 |
| Early Morning Nashta! |
 |
| India's fastest JanShatabdi! |
The kudal station is inconveniently located 2 kms away the main town. There are auto-rickshaw's available right next to the station. But just hold on. Those rickshaw walah's will demand sky rocketing rates initially. Just ignore and stand aside for a while. When the rush dies down, they'll approach you. The rickshaw to kudal depot costs 10rs/seat.
Meanwhile, we ended up missing the bus to Malvan. And the next bus was scheduled a at 1:15pm, 45 mins later. So we had lunch in "Hotel Pushpa". What delicious food it was! Not expected at such a place. The usual fanfare was of the malvani thali which i would give 4.5/5 stars. It also has south Indian menu. I would give it a 3.5/5 stars. And the star attraction of all the ingredients is konkan's soal kadi was damn good. The thali costs 50rs.
 |
| The Malvani Thali! |
 |
| The Awesome Soal Kadi! |
The last few kms (lets say 15kms) is a road to watch out for! It is so awesome with its twist and turns , traversing the coastal land (you cant see the coast though). I was at the window seat, so had privilege of noticing it.
 |
| The Curvy roads! |
 |
| Malvan Bus Depot. |
Just as we got down, we were greeted by Amit who had already booked room in a not so decent RCC homestay. Two rooms cost us 600rs. 300rs each, that's 100rs per person. The heater and was not working and the rooms were not cleanly maintained. Nevertheless, it would be an illusion to expect more at just 100rs pp.
Just around the premises, i noticed a lotus flower.
The first stop was a ganesha temple. Built in 2005.
 |
| Ganesha Temple |
Saw a young "kaka" getting into kiddish mode. Crafting some sand art.
 |
| The Sand Artist |
 |
| Rock garden entrance |
 |
| Natural Rock Formations |
 |
| Beautiful Sunset rays over it! |
 |
| Weird Fish |
 |
| Star Attraction |
Spent half hour hanging around the rocks and then proceeded to Chivla beach for watching sunset.
It is 3 kms from rock gardens. Beach too good with zero crowd. There are few huts wherein you sit back with a can of bear and enjoy the beautiful sunset.
 |
| Beautiful beach and sunset! |
 |
| Huts! |
 |
| Sand Art |
 |
| Forts! |
 |
| Lonely Boat on the beach |
 |
| Clean and Secluded! |
 |
| Crabs are architects! |
 |
| Post Sunset. |
The hotels were full, and there was a huge waiting que. But we find one. Belly full and we crash in bed.
The next day we headed to Sindhudurg fort and for Karli backwaters tour.
Day 2 Continued Here.....
