Sea, Fish and Fort. Review on A Trip to Coastal Maharashtra

Hey I am back from a Jeep Safari. Hey nothing adventurous about it. It was not to the deserts of Thar nor to the wilderness. Nor to the Himalayas, where my heart is. It was a sheer romantic drive from Mumbai to Goa on NH 17 covering all beautiful places en route. We four, me, my wife Swati and another couple took out our Gypsy after a long time taking a week''s break from our work. The most needed one. We just thought about the places and how to go about it in 2 days. Preparations were, I got maps and information from internet and MTDC, a real dumb thing to visit; Swati compiled the hotels information, Rajesh and Manisha worked really hard on the plan.

And we made it people. Sunday, I and Swati drove our Gypsy to Alibaug. En route we had awesome wada pav and kharvas at Datta. The grass is really green when you leave Bombay. Fresh air, misty morning had already excited us all. While on the other side, Rajesh and Manisha came there cruising in an hours time. They had already made stay arrangements at a local house on bed and breakfast basis. The house was well maintained and airy.

Visited the Alibaug beach. It is nonetheless than Juhu beach leaving the crowd and those ''bhel puri wallas''. More than the sea we enjoyed the food at a shack near beach. Lovely sea food. Fried Bombay Ducks with lemon sprinkled and dal and rice.

The town is more like any suburb in Mumbai. Market is crowded and people speak same language. No major difference in the cost, though we got a good deal on our stay. Monday, after a good typical Maharashtrian breakfast of Kanda Poha and Tea we left for Ganpatipule. Since, we had already decided to not to take a break en route, the bags were stuffed with what and what not. With just a loo break, which went on for almost half an hour with girls around, we could reach Ganpatipule by noon. It''s pleasant. It has that Bramhani look with all Joshi''s houses around the temple. It''s a very simple sea side town. We stayed in one of the old looking Joshi''s house.

Cost - unbelievably just Rs 100 per person. The room is with attached bathroom and bed with a fan. Nothing fancy like TV, phone, etc. Hey, we could also see some couples from Ratnagiri coming here to have fun. Beach, rooms at low cost? what else one wants. Beach and the temple are just few steps away from the ST stand. We had already decided to visit the temple next day early morning, which was co incidentally Tuesday. We visited the beach in evening.

It was beautiful watching the sunset with my wife and close friends around. A sad thing we found on the beach is a board with various cities like Mumbai, Pune, Ratnagiri, etc mentioned on it with the number of people drowned and died from there. We also spoke with the local guys on how safe / risky the beach is to swim. We were surprised to know how people ignore the notice boards on the beach instructing how risky is it to swim in this sea. It''s fate. You get good vegetarian food around the temple.

For non vegetarian food you have to go distance. Next day, on Tuesday, we visited the Ganpati Temple early in the morning. With a experience of seeing long ques to Siddhivinayak Temple on Tuesdays in Bombay, I was very hesitant to go to the temple. But it wasn''t crowded. The temple is simple but beautiful. Again a day spent on the beach with a bit of sightseeing tour around Ganpatipule. But the day was almost at leisure and thats how we wanted it to be. On Wednesday, we left Ganpatipule for Vengurla. It was a real real long drive. We passed lot of beautiful beaches and drove through ghats.

With two much needed breaks, we reached Vengurla in evening. It was once a harbor with lot of men settled in Bombay for work. Hence, you will find it much like Bombay. We were very tired to move around. The house we stayed in was hosted by an elderly couple who are spending their retired life here. The rooms were small and had a hill view but the decor is fantastic with all modern amenities placed. We had good sea food cooked by the land lady. We were awestruck to know that she played a lead role organizing a Konkani food festival in Hotel Centaur.

The Uncle too was nonethless. He is a versatile man. He sings (not in bathroom), expert in Rangoli, paintings, photography and what not. He was full of ideas and plans to make Vengurla a prime tourist destination in coming days. Next day, Uncle escorted us on a good long sightseeing trip in and around Vengurla. We saw lot of beautiful and ''virgin'' beaches. We kept on wondering why do people visit Goa, when there is real exotica just few kilo meters away. We did lot of photography today. We reached Malvan in the late evening. Stayed at a sea side hotel. It was very moderate.

Have you ever sat on a sea shore late in the nights and just tried listening to the tides? We did that here. Had delicious sea food in night. Friday morning, we took a ferry to Sindhudurga Fort. It's undoubtedly the most formidable of Shivaji''s seacoast constructions. Sindhudurga covers an extensive area of 48 acres by almost 2 miles long rampart walls, 29 to 30 feet high and on an average 12 feet thick. The curtain wall is guarded by, apart from the observation towers, 52 enormous imposing semicircular bastions with fine embrasures for cannons.

The fort today is permanently inhabited by a small population. Today, the fort is all in ruins. It''s very saddening to see that the government or tourism development did / does nothing to maintain the fort. The people living in the fort had lots to talk about the problems they face, especially in monsoon. Again a heavy lunch in a local sea side restaurant. We had best sea food of our life on this tour. Evening was at leisure and good overnight stay in the seaside hotel. Saturday, the day to drive back to Bombay.

We started after an early breakfast. With Rajesh on wheels, I had good time to relax and listen music. By late afternoon we reached Chiplun and visited the Lord Parshurama Temple. A must see if you are on this road. By the time we were done with the prayers, the snacks shop owner suggested us to see the sunset over Vashishti and taking a boat ride. The sunset is awesome. We didn''t take the boat ride since we were running short of time. Drove back to Bombay from there in good 5 hours.

I am sure by the time you have finished reading this review you are making your holiday plans here. It''s worth trying. It doesn''t cost much. What needs to be taken care of is just accommodation before leaving Bombay. Self-driven holiday will be much more fun than hired / chauffeured driven car. I spent just 4-5 k on accommodation, food, shopping and all other arrangements other than fuel. Major benefit is there is nothing much to shop so your money is saved and you get undivided attention of your wife. Enjoy!