Next morning...that was the second day of the trip ,we had planned to get up and start at 9.But as usual there were further seen and unseen circumstances to handle...
Seen....that both me and Rathore feature in the creme de la creme when it comes to sleeping late. And Unforseen....that our attendant wanted to make a little dough out of feeding us a couple of precious plates of POHA(imagine a plate for 15 bucks)
Finally surpassing these...and after a cup of 'mast chai'...I warmed up The Star...for a long drive ahead. We had decieded to take a roundtrip to mumbai this time...as in...we reached Mahabaleshwar via the Mumbai-Goa NH-17...and were returning back to Mumbai on a different route which was via Pune, Lonavala...So the high level plan was simple ,to leave Panchgani by 12..and finally reach Mumbai(Vashi at Rathore's place) before Sundown.
We started off a little off time...but not too late....passed the scenic Vienna lake yet again on route to Panchgani.The road was a visual treat...with not so high mountains on one side and not so deep valleys on the other...we made a couple of stops ..one to click some snaps..and the other one to pick up some stuff like jams, gulkand..and certain others...but we skipped the supposed speciality of Mahabaleshwar/Panchgani..the strawberries.
Our target in Panchgani was the famed table top mountain..and as the namely rightly suggests its the top of a mountain but its flat.There were a lot of horse rides available....but we were on a horse of our own....so just took a slow drive through the dusty plateau...posed for a couple of stone Background snaps and headed back. I guess my dear frnd Rathore has some heart break story attached to some caves...so yet again he almost jumped from the Star on seeing the left turn to Rajapuri Caves. I obliged my frnd by turning left...but the obligation soon turned out to be headache....because the Caves were no where to be seen even after a good 5-6 kms of ride.And the road also wasn't all that good.Finally after crossing a couple of villages and a few wrong turns...we finally reached the end of the road in the village of Rajapuri...and the caves were a small trek from there.The caves turned out to be the holy abode of 'Bhagwaan Kartikeyan' the first son of Lord Shiv..and not some ancestor of our F1 man Narain K.
The ride back till Panchgani was all uphill...and the Star showed its raw power as we eased our way up.At the end of this offroad(almost) adventure...we three were under a blanket of dust....and our stomachs too were craving for some good food.So decieded to take care of both the things in one stop.After a small difference in opinion I exercised my rite as I was driving and dived into a good looking place called the Ravine.Rathore later agreed on my decision after seeing the place.freshened up and had a nice lunch there of Dal Tadka , Veg Pulav..and Omlette.
Finally left Panchgani at 2.Pune was some 100 odd kms from here.Decieded that we won't be making any further stops till Pune...and the road turned out to be a dream....first it was downhill from Panchgani...and then on it was a wide 4 lane road with sparse traffic....almost till Pune.I just let the Star rip...and touched the magical 100kph...many more times. We averaged close to 80 on that stretch...and within a little over an hour and a half...we were reckoning at the gates of Pune. But the fast drive did take its toll on our already mellowed rears.And we were visibly uncomfartable by the time we entered Pune.Had a life giving apple Milk shake on MG road ,Pune and headed straight for Lonavala...where my friend Shash was waiting for us.Had amazing cold coffee there...rathore opting to have a hot flavour of the same. Started from Lonavala at arnd 5..and entered vashi at 7 after a minor traffic jam.Headed straight for the foto developers shop and from there to McD's.By the time we reached rathore's place...we had done 550Kms of magical driving over the last couple of days.
The ride will be etched in our memories for the amazing roads that it offered us...throughout, the adventurous detours that we took, the spell bounding ghats that we overtook and offcourse the great time that the 3 of us had together.
With plans of our next trip already doing rounds in our hearts and mind..we closed this journey.
Cheers...
Friday, February 25, 2005
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Drive On..Part 2
Yawwnnnnnnnn.....I had secretly changed the alarm to 3.25 without Rathores knowledge.
But there were too many natural alarms to wake me up long before that....There was this murga....which had gone bersek I guess....kept going with his morning cry.."murge ki baang"...in the middle of a hot afternoon...imagine that....it just keeps goin kudckooooooooooo..every now and then...It was damn irritating.
Then there was this guy who was the attendant at the cottage...he came asking if we wanted to eat something....and the prospect of a garma garam dal - chawaal was all too to tempting to resist.
After all these adventures....we still managed to start for our M'baleshwar Darshan...by 4PM...and that too after a decent rest.
The next thing on the agenda was a "mast" chai as my dear rathore states it.He has this strange idea of it...some specific additives that he always needs...I don even know of them.We were basically lost in the middle of a market..and we had no idea where we wanted to head to...so gulped a couple of 'cuttings' before starting of in one of the directions...where there supposedly were 12 site seeing points..the prominent one that I could make out was the Arthurs Seat.There were also mentions of a few temples when we were leaving from Mumbai....but both of being such devotees..decieded to ditch the holy places competely..and let the God s rest.
We finally reached this Arthur seat after a long but scenic drive....but there was quiet a lot of traffic both ways. And pretty obviously there was a big crowd too.
Here again there something abt the crowds that rathore and myself both do not like...and we weren't actually enjoying this one too. And the spot also was alet down of sorts..as in all the 12 supposed view points were meant to view a single panorama albeit from different angles and altitudes. So we decieded to flee away from this place as fast as possible....and after a couple of detours ..we finally came to Kates (or Cats as rathore named it) Point....supposedly a sunset point. The approach road was a beauty ...as in it was a single lane road and a wall of greenery on both sides....a very very pretty site. We didn't wait there till sunset...because there was a good half an hour for that and as rathore put it..."Bahut sunset dekhe hai yaar Mumbai mai.."..we headed for Lake Vienaa..of which we had some glimpses from the various points.
After another set of directions we reached the Lake...and it was a pretty site....we decieded to go for a round of boating...That was one of the best parts of the trip....there was a slight chill in the air...and once on the lake it was very peaceful...The twilight sky , the blue waters of the lake...perfect for a romantic boat ride.....but alas...I was snapped back to reality when I turned my head to see this creature named Rathore siting beside me...what a shame...and all the romaticism went whoooshhh!
We headed to a decent eating place from there...had a couple of 'mast chais' followed by a round of Dum Aloo and Tandoori rotis....it was getting chilly by now...and we were also feeling a little dirty(??). So we were just dreaming if we could get a heavenly hot bath and a Bonfire to top it.And our dreams turned to reality as we prepared ourselves for the bonfire...with 'Yeah jo des hai tera' in the background....thanks to my walkman which had an inbuilt speaker too.
Had a little chat with our attendant Mahendra over the bonfire ...of his where abouts ...and what he does..and how much he has studied and all that. He was surprised to know that we were teetotellers(ahmmm...well am not one actually..but my buddy definitely is...). and a further round of snaps....
Finally our batteries went low at arnd 12...and we dozed to Shankar Jaykishan's eternal music...
The last and final part to follow...with the return ride!!!
Cheers...
But there were too many natural alarms to wake me up long before that....There was this murga....which had gone bersek I guess....kept going with his morning cry.."murge ki baang"...in the middle of a hot afternoon...imagine that....it just keeps goin kudckooooooooooo..every now and then...It was damn irritating.
Then there was this guy who was the attendant at the cottage...he came asking if we wanted to eat something....and the prospect of a garma garam dal - chawaal was all too to tempting to resist.
After all these adventures....we still managed to start for our M'baleshwar Darshan...by 4PM...and that too after a decent rest.
The next thing on the agenda was a "mast" chai as my dear rathore states it.He has this strange idea of it...some specific additives that he always needs...I don even know of them.We were basically lost in the middle of a market..and we had no idea where we wanted to head to...so gulped a couple of 'cuttings' before starting of in one of the directions...where there supposedly were 12 site seeing points..the prominent one that I could make out was the Arthurs Seat.There were also mentions of a few temples when we were leaving from Mumbai....but both of being such devotees..decieded to ditch the holy places competely..and let the God s rest.
We finally reached this Arthur seat after a long but scenic drive....but there was quiet a lot of traffic both ways. And pretty obviously there was a big crowd too.
Here again there something abt the crowds that rathore and myself both do not like...and we weren't actually enjoying this one too. And the spot also was alet down of sorts..as in all the 12 supposed view points were meant to view a single panorama albeit from different angles and altitudes. So we decieded to flee away from this place as fast as possible....and after a couple of detours ..we finally came to Kates (or Cats as rathore named it) Point....supposedly a sunset point. The approach road was a beauty ...as in it was a single lane road and a wall of greenery on both sides....a very very pretty site. We didn't wait there till sunset...because there was a good half an hour for that and as rathore put it..."Bahut sunset dekhe hai yaar Mumbai mai.."..we headed for Lake Vienaa..of which we had some glimpses from the various points.
After another set of directions we reached the Lake...and it was a pretty site....we decieded to go for a round of boating...That was one of the best parts of the trip....there was a slight chill in the air...and once on the lake it was very peaceful...The twilight sky , the blue waters of the lake...perfect for a romantic boat ride.....but alas...I was snapped back to reality when I turned my head to see this creature named Rathore siting beside me...what a shame...and all the romaticism went whoooshhh!
We headed to a decent eating place from there...had a couple of 'mast chais' followed by a round of Dum Aloo and Tandoori rotis....it was getting chilly by now...and we were also feeling a little dirty(??). So we were just dreaming if we could get a heavenly hot bath and a Bonfire to top it.And our dreams turned to reality as we prepared ourselves for the bonfire...with 'Yeah jo des hai tera' in the background....thanks to my walkman which had an inbuilt speaker too.
Had a little chat with our attendant Mahendra over the bonfire ...of his where abouts ...and what he does..and how much he has studied and all that. He was surprised to know that we were teetotellers(ahmmm...well am not one actually..but my buddy definitely is...). and a further round of snaps....
Finally our batteries went low at arnd 12...and we dozed to Shankar Jaykishan's eternal music...
The last and final part to follow...with the return ride!!!
Cheers...
Monday, February 21, 2005
Drive On...Part 1
Time : 0600 hrs.
Place : Vashi ,Somewhere in Sector 17
Date : 19th Feb
I am making it all sound like a mission...because we really were on the verge of undertaking one.
This is the voyage of three crusaders...Rathore my Pillion, my Bird...The HighwayStar...and Me...en route to a hell of a time. A mission because we were starting off with a plan to cover close to 600Kms in a couple of days...with some infamous ghats to surmount. But we the trio were showing no nerves at all....infact the excitement had got the better of us.
I'll flash back a little n then restart from here. Friday I had been to office , left early to meet Anshu..one of a real old and close frnd of mine. So cud reach vashi only by 10.30 in the nite.Had already done close to 100kms on Friday itself and this was even before the trip had started.Then were roaming arnd in Vashi with Rathore and his frnds..till almost 12 in the nite. We were initally planning to leave by arnd 5 in the morning the next day...but that was history ...and the starting time had been posponed to 6.
And we finally started just 15 mins late...06:15AM. Fuelled up initially , only enough to reach the outskirts of Mumbai...because the petrol is cheaper outside mumbai. It was still dark and I was just warming up with moderate speeds of 60-70 Kph. Reached the Panvel McD in 20 mnts. Took a right turn from there towards Pen on NH-17. Tanked up at arnd 7:30...the odometer read...45..or something. The sun was rising in the East...and it was all misty and beautiful.Our stomachs were craving for food by now...So finally stopped at 8.30 at a roadside dhaba.....and a sumptuos and customary Bhurji Pav(S) and Chai(S) were to follow...I have put the S in brackets just because the actual number wud prove to be an embarrasment. Also had an interesting chat with a couple of Truck Drivers there...they were inquiring of our whereabouts and we theres...and it turned out they were driving all the way from Punjab. These guys narrated a few ride stories of theres...and cautioned us for avoiding nite riding.....we just nodded our heads in approval to them....and looked at each other and smiled...
During this time I had already made a couple of failed attempts to touch the magical 100Kph...But I was eyeing it badly....we also had our first round of snaps...all poses and all..
Rode on...and rathore kept yelling all the time at all different places to stop....and when finally I used to slow down...we used to deciede against it...
Ultimately we did stop....and this time it was me who was yelling to show Rathore the roadside caves. It was heating up by now....and the caves were a little hike upwards. Another round of poses and a cool bottle of water later...we were back on track. We had just crossed Mahad at that time. Here I must make a mention of the roads...and there is just one word for them...mesmerising.They were smooth as silk...it was almost like a Black Carpet rolled on and on into the wilderness...for me to cruise on...and i finally kissed 100Kph with a careful High fives with Rathore. We took one more stop before finally leaving NH-17 to turn left for Mahabaleshwar.Then on it was all uphill...with all its twisting and turning roads....I put my head down...and just drove on....
Here we were looking out for a diversion to the famed Pratapgarh Fort..and we did find it some 18kms before M'baleshwar. Beautiful drive upto the fort...with trees lined close to the road on both the sides...and an odd vehicle crossing.We were already decieded on one thing...that if comes down to any kind of climbing on foot for the fort...we 'll ditch the whole idea.And incidentally there was some climbing to be done.We were just contemplating on this when I got a call from my mom...and she was startled to hear that I was almost reaching M'baleshwar. There was also an official matter to be sorted out for rathore.
This is strictly a personnel view...and is not intended to heart anyone and Rathore seconds me here...but the Marathas..and especially Shivaji Maharaj have made really blant forts. As in you do all that hard work to climb...and theres nothing to look at once you reach....apart from the walls and stones. This was another reason for us decieding against climbing the last few steps.
Here my dear Rathore was back to his careless best...this time he left his specs somewhere.And the horrible south Indian food that we had there was a death blow to the already sullen mood.
From then on till M'baleshwar..it was a quiet drive...with both of us in our own zones...and the Star in its own.
Reached M'baleshwar at 2...and straightway were carried away by a local to his cottages...this was to be our abode for the nite...By now we were feeling the drive on our rears...and we decieded on a quick nap....with promises of getting up by 3.30................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
Place : Vashi ,Somewhere in Sector 17
Date : 19th Feb
I am making it all sound like a mission...because we really were on the verge of undertaking one.
This is the voyage of three crusaders...Rathore my Pillion, my Bird...The HighwayStar...and Me...en route to a hell of a time. A mission because we were starting off with a plan to cover close to 600Kms in a couple of days...with some infamous ghats to surmount. But we the trio were showing no nerves at all....infact the excitement had got the better of us.
I'll flash back a little n then restart from here. Friday I had been to office , left early to meet Anshu..one of a real old and close frnd of mine. So cud reach vashi only by 10.30 in the nite.Had already done close to 100kms on Friday itself and this was even before the trip had started.Then were roaming arnd in Vashi with Rathore and his frnds..till almost 12 in the nite. We were initally planning to leave by arnd 5 in the morning the next day...but that was history ...and the starting time had been posponed to 6.
And we finally started just 15 mins late...06:15AM. Fuelled up initially , only enough to reach the outskirts of Mumbai...because the petrol is cheaper outside mumbai. It was still dark and I was just warming up with moderate speeds of 60-70 Kph. Reached the Panvel McD in 20 mnts. Took a right turn from there towards Pen on NH-17. Tanked up at arnd 7:30...the odometer read...45..or something. The sun was rising in the East...and it was all misty and beautiful.Our stomachs were craving for food by now...So finally stopped at 8.30 at a roadside dhaba.....and a sumptuos and customary Bhurji Pav(S) and Chai(S) were to follow...I have put the S in brackets just because the actual number wud prove to be an embarrasment. Also had an interesting chat with a couple of Truck Drivers there...they were inquiring of our whereabouts and we theres...and it turned out they were driving all the way from Punjab. These guys narrated a few ride stories of theres...and cautioned us for avoiding nite riding.....we just nodded our heads in approval to them....and looked at each other and smiled...
During this time I had already made a couple of failed attempts to touch the magical 100Kph...But I was eyeing it badly....we also had our first round of snaps...all poses and all..
Rode on...and rathore kept yelling all the time at all different places to stop....and when finally I used to slow down...we used to deciede against it...
Ultimately we did stop....and this time it was me who was yelling to show Rathore the roadside caves. It was heating up by now....and the caves were a little hike upwards. Another round of poses and a cool bottle of water later...we were back on track. We had just crossed Mahad at that time. Here I must make a mention of the roads...and there is just one word for them...mesmerising.They were smooth as silk...it was almost like a Black Carpet rolled on and on into the wilderness...for me to cruise on...and i finally kissed 100Kph with a careful High fives with Rathore. We took one more stop before finally leaving NH-17 to turn left for Mahabaleshwar.Then on it was all uphill...with all its twisting and turning roads....I put my head down...and just drove on....
Here we were looking out for a diversion to the famed Pratapgarh Fort..and we did find it some 18kms before M'baleshwar. Beautiful drive upto the fort...with trees lined close to the road on both the sides...and an odd vehicle crossing.We were already decieded on one thing...that if comes down to any kind of climbing on foot for the fort...we 'll ditch the whole idea.And incidentally there was some climbing to be done.We were just contemplating on this when I got a call from my mom...and she was startled to hear that I was almost reaching M'baleshwar. There was also an official matter to be sorted out for rathore.
This is strictly a personnel view...and is not intended to heart anyone and Rathore seconds me here...but the Marathas..and especially Shivaji Maharaj have made really blant forts. As in you do all that hard work to climb...and theres nothing to look at once you reach....apart from the walls and stones. This was another reason for us decieding against climbing the last few steps.
Here my dear Rathore was back to his careless best...this time he left his specs somewhere.And the horrible south Indian food that we had there was a death blow to the already sullen mood.
From then on till M'baleshwar..it was a quiet drive...with both of us in our own zones...and the Star in its own.
Reached M'baleshwar at 2...and straightway were carried away by a local to his cottages...this was to be our abode for the nite...By now we were feeling the drive on our rears...and we decieded on a quick nap....with promises of getting up by 3.30................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
Friday, February 18, 2005
Curtain Raiser!
As the name ritefully suggests...this really is a sneek peek at what is up and coming in my life.
Pretty predictable actually...its another Road Trip shaping up...
Infact allz planned..and am all packed and strapped for it.
This time around we are leaving the winding coastal roads of Konkan behind...and heading deep into the Sahyadri highs. Its actually a plain deep into the mountains...
okay...I'll give you the name...Mahabaleshwar. The travel team remains the same Trio of Rathore , myself and my newly named HighwayStar...my Bird.Well the Bird was supposed to be Serviced today...but a miscalculationon my part led to the postponement of the same. A blessing in disguise I guess....As i will be able to service it after the trip...
The usual stuffs been packed up....and the engineers that we are ...rathore and myself have come up with a checklist sort of a thing ...Thanks to Mr. Excel!!!
I seem to have worked according to it...but theres always a chance of the odd error...Alas...I am a mere mortal you know.
So all packing mishaps on my part will be taken care of by Mr Rathore....reading this na??
So all cheers for us....The Travelogue will follow....
Pretty predictable actually...its another Road Trip shaping up...
Infact allz planned..and am all packed and strapped for it.
This time around we are leaving the winding coastal roads of Konkan behind...and heading deep into the Sahyadri highs. Its actually a plain deep into the mountains...
okay...I'll give you the name...Mahabaleshwar. The travel team remains the same Trio of Rathore , myself and my newly named HighwayStar...my Bird.Well the Bird was supposed to be Serviced today...but a miscalculationon my part led to the postponement of the same. A blessing in disguise I guess....As i will be able to service it after the trip...
The usual stuffs been packed up....and the engineers that we are ...rathore and myself have come up with a checklist sort of a thing ...Thanks to Mr. Excel!!!
I seem to have worked according to it...but theres always a chance of the odd error...Alas...I am a mere mortal you know.
So all packing mishaps on my part will be taken care of by Mr Rathore....reading this na??
So all cheers for us....The Travelogue will follow....
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