Yes, I am totally Havelock-ed. The beauty of Havelock Island has captivated me into its never ending abyss. I don't think there is a more beautiful place in India with turquoise blue and clear water beaches. The havelock Island in The Andaman group of Island is just one of them. The day we reached Havelock from Port Blair, was cloudy to some extent, rather cloudy enough to prevent us from exploring the rich marine life it has. The disappointment didn't lasted long, and the entire mood was set for the ultimate fun after I first saw the super cool looking turquoise blue water.
The day we reached, we just throwed ourselves to the still water of Vijayanagar Beach and to accompany us was the one of the coolest mate I have ever met, the one and only Sammy. He is a Labrador, and belongs to the Island Vinnie resort, our stay at the Havelock. The tented cabanas of the resort were comfortable enough to let us sleep, but not more than what is required, so that you don't miss out on exploring the Island. After the rains in the Island one thing which can actually trouble you in the night are the Mosquitoes (be prepared). It is a great feeling in the all alone island in the night and strolling by the beaches is fun.
The other day was planned for snorkelling, and I prayed for it to be sunny. The rich marine life has a lot to offer. We went to the Elephant Beach for it, as the water there is shallow and is best for snorkelling. All the fantasies which I had, which were due to being a fan of Discovery channel and cartoon network, seemed to fulfill when I actually touched the corals and saw numerous different kinds of fishes, even spotted a blue starfish. We snorkelled for about an hour first and then went back for snacks, relaxed and then again were busy doing the same thing for the next two and a half hours. It never seemed to end. Every time we went ahead, it seemed we had a totally different world. We stopped it before we could not swim anymore of fatigue, and returned back to the resort for lunch. The food again is awesome here, the major category of the tourists here are the foreigners, so almost all sorts of food is available. The sea food tastes much different from wat they cook in the other parts of India. Some of the restaurants also serve the 'Catch of the day'. Just look if yours has some.
After lunch, we explored the entire Island on bike, went to the elephant training camp and Radhanagar beach (declared No 1 beach in Asia by TIME in 2004 and was amongst the top 10 beaches in thhe world). What I feel is the best thing to do in Havelock is to go unplanned and go break free. But only in the off seasons my friend !!!
Folks !!! I know we Indians are real foodie. The best part of India which never finds a mention in any National integrity, sovereignty speeches is the ultimate cuisine of India. Remember the song "Hind desh ke nivasi , Sabhi jan ek hai, Rang roop vesh bhasha chahe anek hai." I beleive the writer didn't had the flair for tasty food, else the cuisine part in it wouldn't have been omitted. So many varieties, so many options. Our country is heaven for foodies isn't it. And those who keep on traveling to places in India should keep on trying these things an here is the food map to help you out. Click on the image to enlarge.
I have my self covered these states "Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra". Have been to some other states as well, but didn't try the ones in the food map. So next time you go to some state, use the food map, and tell me here. By the way its time for my 'Pet Pooja' now.
It was a short two days trip to the Beaches of Konkan, in Raigarh district of Maharashtra. Our list included Shrivardhan, Harihareshwar, Janjeera and Alibaug. We started at 12 Midnight on 30th April09 from Mumbai. Reached Panvel and followed the Mumbai-Goa Highway till we reached Mangaon. Just after the Mangaon bus stop, we took a left towards Shrivardhan, a handsome 45 Kms from there. The drive was good as the road was not much troublesome, except being a bit curvy, we reached Shrivardhan at around 4:30 AM to find a complete blackout in the town. As we didn't prebooked our hotel, we had to search for it. We checked into a hotel close to the "Makhmali Beach", yeah thats the word for velvet in hindi, because the sand there is like velvet. We straightaway moved to the beach. The moment we reached the beach we realized that "Boss this is it !!!". It was absolutely worth the money spent. and the distance traveled, after all we traveled 215 kms to be there. It was great fun to be in a perfectly deserted beach in the morning. And the sunrise was just beautiful, without missing it we clicked a few snaps of it. After being to beaches of Mumbai, it was a delight to be in a perfectly clean, and not at all crowded beach in the morning. We bathed and played there for some three hours and returned back to the hotel completely tired. Had breakfast and relaxed for few hours, in the chowpal of Laxminarayan mandir in Srivardhan, under the Mango tree with cuckoo making sounds, reminding us of the delightful summer afternoon. Yes it is indeed very delightful in such places. Then we had lunch and moved to our next destination Hariharshwar. Which is a mere 16 kms from Shrivardhan.
Harihareshwar is famous for the "Kaalbhairav Temple", people usually come here for that. We ranged the bell of the temple to mark our presence and then moved uphill for the "Laghu Pradakshina". Although tired while moving upstairs, but when we reached the top of it, we saw the way going downstairs towards the sea. It was as if the rocks were eroded by Sea water long back and people have made stairs to go down. the serene and untouched beauty of the area removed all our tiredness. I have seen such beaches only in pictures. It was as if the beaches of sychelles or cyprus have come over. Although the opening to the sea was a bit rocky and the waves hitting the rocks mage huge splas, but it couldn't stop us from going there and bear the slap of the waves.
We came back to the top and climbed the passage to the adjacent hilltop. The view from there, of the entire costal region was so exciting that we felt as being in a bollywood shooting destinantion. The bollywood directors can surely give it a try. Moreover the bright sunny afternoon was just adding the perfect brightness and hue to the scenary. The ships moving in the sea, and a few areas in the bay with pine trees were making it wonderful. It was certainly one of the best bay areas I have scene. We moved towards the MTDC beach resort after it. The MTDC resort gives a nice stay options with A/C and Non A/c tents available for stay, with good food and absolutely perfect view of the sea right from your tent. The location is idol for a holiday. But the place is crowded on weekends, so make sure you get your reservations done. We made a fort with sand and also the drainage system to remove the water from the waves that was flooding into it. The child arhitect in all of us was out and really wacky ideas were involved in its construction. It was although evening when we finished making our castle and we decided to come back next morning for more fun. We reached Srivardhan hunting for good Seafood. Not very wide cuisine options for you here, but still the Surmai fish fry and the Kolumbi masala curry will make you go crazy. The taste was so good and so original that it made me fall in love all over again with the Konkan food.
Next morning we reached the MTDC beach resort. The beach is completely deserted with not more than 10 heads on weekdays and not more than 30 on weekends, which is far far better than any of the beaches close to Mumbai. The water here is much clear than the Shrivardhan beach. We played football for a long time in the beach and were in the sea as well for long. You also have the option for a motor boat ride here. We did that, and it was fun, although the instructor himself was riding it, but it kept us on our nerves till we returned back safely. A thrilling ride I must say. We relaxed there for a few minutes and then moved to our next destination Janjeera. We moved towards Mhasla 27 kms from Harihareshwar, we had our lunch their and took a left towards Vashi Bridge (not the Vashi of Mumbai), and moved towards Murud. It was roughly 25 kms. We reached Janjeera.
It was a long queue to get into the boat to take us to the fort. The boat ride was great fun and so was the entry to the fort. You will realize why I am saying it fun, only when you go there. The Janjeera fort is in the middle of the sea, was built to commemorate a "peer baba" and is having a Mazaar inside. The entire area of the fort is 22acres. It has 22 doors and it took 22 years to complete it. This is what the guide told us. There are 2 sweet water ponds inside the fort, where as the entire sea water just outside the fort is salty, quite amazing fact. The guide explained us the various locations in the fort and gave all important historical accounts associated with it. We climbed back into our boat to return, and while coming back it reminded us of a very familiar scene from the movie Swades when SRK returns back in a similar kind of boat. It was a different feeling all together as the entire sea was calm and the people in the boat as well. The sun was setting down and the view of the Fort built over sea, with sun in the background and boats around it gave unforgettable views for the entire lifetime.
We returned back to the shore and moved towards Alibaug. We moved through Murud beach and stopped at Kashid beach on our way. The white sand beaches here with pine tress, make a perfect outing location. But the only difference in the beaches close to mumbai like this one and those of Srivardhan is the crowd. Those who prefer privacy and tranquility in the beach should give them a try. We reached Alibaug at 8:30 PM. We enjoyed in the beach for a few hours, just sitting on the rocks and munching. We left Alibaug for a highway dhaba at around 1:00 AM and had dinner, and moved towards Mumbai straightaway. All in all a memorable trip. I would certainly like to go back to the Harihareshwar beach again and again. Give a try to these Virgin beaches if you can. I am sure you won't be disappointed in exploring the virginity ;) My experience was awesome, share yours with me too.
