May 27, 2009 01:38 PM
18965 Views
(Updated May 28, 2009 10:32 AM)
It was our anniversary on 17th May, I wanted it to be very special for me n my husband. We planned a trip to Mahabaleshwar. We booked standard room for 2 nights at MTDC resort.We started at 7:00am from warje, in our Maruti 800,
The roads were good, , being summer it was damn hot but as we were nearing the Pasarni ghat it was getting cooler. We reached MTDC resorts by 9:30am. As reviewed by others the resort is situated away from the market but I think that’s the charm of it. We wanted to be away from the hustle& bustle of the city. After checking in we freshened up quickly and went to the restaurant to have something before we started our sightseeing.
First we made it to Lodwick point, you can either take a horse ride or walk, since we wanted to enjoy the woods we decided to walk, The next point was Elephants Head. We had lunch at one of the hotel; we couldn’t find a better non-veg hotel in market area. But we enjoyed the food….went back to our room in MTDC, took a nap and again left at 5:00pm to Venna Lake…
It was very crowded but managed to get the ticket by standing in a queue for ½ an hour….the rowing boat takes 150 per couple for 1/2an hour and paddle boat 400/-per couple per hour. We chose rowing boat. The lake is serene and amazing. it was very relaxing to take a ride in a boat…..
u get a beautiful view from the boat, the far way garden of mahabaleshwar, the temple on the other side…..this was the moment when I felt yes! This is a nice time to visit Mahabaleshwar….we had corn cobs, fresh carrots… our little one relished strawberries and mulberries….this is one of the unforgetful moment of my life.Then we headed towards Kates point, had deliciously fresh strawberry ice-cream….umh it was really yummy! One should taste this…..
U can see snaps of filmstars with the shop owner…it’s the only shop here.We spent our time with our little one in the MTDC Park right in front of our room. By 9:00pm we went to the PWD restaurant…I read the review of the same in holiday IQ… its really good….i mean rather then going back to the busy market we found this place good…..its close by and its pleasurable to walk thr’ the resort…. By evening the surrounding becomes misty….the way to PWD from MTDC is a view meant to be enjoyed ….
Its one of the best experience we had…the staff at the restaurant are very friendly…. After a scrumptious dinner we decided to call it a day.The morning greeted us with unseen birds chirping away merrily, it was very pleasant early in the morning….. We had breakfast at MTDC restaurant…its ok…its managed by the same caterers but the food is good at PWD.We decided to go to SHERBAUG theme park in Ppanchgani…..it was refreshing driving early in the morning thr’ the hills. I enjoyed every bit of it….we paid 400/-per head as entry fee…it’s a nice place to spend quality time with family surrounded by nature One can see hoardings of Sherbaug all over mahaby n panchagani….its a park with different kinds of plants, swings, machan whenever you want to take rest & relax there are small huts / shacks. We took lot of snaps here…we were mesmerized by the scenic beauty of nature, , , it was very cool. Their hoarding read 8 degree celcius …
It wasn’t 8 degree but it was pretty cool….after the hot sun this was a real blessing ….my 3yr old had a ball of time playing in the water.There is a restaurant where u can have ur lunch, ...you can buy handicrafts items, squash, pickle…they have pottery making lessons for 30/-.There’s a museum, where you can see different kinds of rocks, shells and cacti…it’s very informative…I liked the floating rock…I couldn’t lift it with one hand but it floats in water….There are different types of ores malachite, sulpur, granite, gold, and many more….there’s a plant which looks like a stone, found in deserts…
They say the grazing animals mistake it for stone.One of the best parts was while going back towards exit we had to walk thr’ a passage of blue water…my daughter was fascinated by this…..the water was cold, had to remove shoes n walk…this is the most unforgettable moment of my life, me n my little daughter walking together holding hands….my hubby was busy taken a video.Overall the experience was fabulous…Sherbaug is a paradise…..i would say it was worth it.We headed back to Mahabaleshwar, on the way we went to Panchgani Table land…..i didn’t like this place it was scorching hot, very crowded….took few snaps and left for Mahabaleshwar….we decided to make the unfinished trip to Arthur’s point….it was crowded as though whole of the tourist had gather only at this point compared to the deserted roads while coming here…..the best part was it was very cool….this was the real hill station point, even in summer it was very cool…..we didn’t spend more since it was getting dark n we had promised our little one some time in the park…..we wanted to finish this trip with the our prayers to God, so we visited Mahabaleshwar temple….took darshan and headed to the last point, Sunset point nearby the MTDC resort, you find the Tea stall’s chaps shouting at their highest pitch for Tea, coffe, shakes n so on…..we took the taste of Tea, sat for some time and left back to our room.Now, as promised we spent some time with our princess in the park, we let her enjoy, I n my hubby were busy taking snaps, videos of my daughter. She had a friend…Kashmira pretty elder to her but she enjoyed her company we were content seeing our daughter enjoying……..by 9:00pm we had our dinner, sat in the Verandah of our room for sometime….this is the best part of MTDC……every room has a exclusive verandah. We felt at home.After a good sleep we woke up very content, got ready for the drive back home. We let our little one play in the park for sometime, took a horse ride in the resort area. The horse we took a ride is named as John Ibrahm….Had our breakfast at MTDC restaurant…my daughter wasn’t ready to leave from here, she would call this our other House. On our way back went to Mapro, had the strawberry ice-cream….did some purchases and drove towards Pune. Even after a week my daughter tells us to take her back to our other house…MTDC room is her other home….we plan to go next may be in winter.The true essence of staying in a hill station is the experience of those cold, cozy, mornings with a chill in the air, colonial, rust colored buildings, bordered with white and charming strawberry, carrot and radish sellers along the local lake (Venna lake), a little bit of boating and gazing at lovely flowers.....all this is guaranteed at MTDC - with a friendly staff as well. We enjoyed our stay at MTDC…………. this trip was just the perfect anniversary present I could wish for.
