Aug 07, 2007 02:58 PM
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On my recent vacation to India, I thought of getting away from the tiresome and polluted life of Mumbai, after hearing few good words from friends I decided to drive up to Mahabaleshwar, woke up at 5 in the morning 23rd July and on the road by 6:00, I took the Mum-Pune expressway uptil pune from there the pune Bangalore expressway till sata/vai and then to Mahabaleshwar approx 270 Kms (4 hrs of drive ) was there by 10:00 am, the weather was so pleasant with no signs of rain fortunately. friends had suggested a few place to stay over (Ramsuk resorts which is probably the most expensive resort), (hotel rajesh which was closed for renovation), (Saket Plaza owned by TPH travels which was appearing to be a haunted block of bricks). Finally I decided to stay at Brightland Holiday Village which is around 5 kms frm the market on the kates point road. As soon as I entered the resort there was a feeling of freshness and enthusiasm. The deal they gave me was too mouthwatering INR 8, 500/- for 3 nights/4 days with buffet Breakfast. they have various types of suites, Bt I chose the poolside upper simply coz it had a separate balcony attached with it with a panchromatic view of the krishna river valley.
After checking in I went out sight seeing (it is actually foolishness to hire a guide as all the places have proper maps giving directions to various points. Most of the points being on the high mountains were Foggy, so could nt get a proper view of the the mountains. After lunch I preferred staying at the resort relaxing and in the evening we went to the Gym (the Gym is fully equipped with all the modern equipment) As the package didnt include lunch/dinner I drove to the market for lunch. after have few conversations with one of the shopkeeprs I decided to dine at hotel sagar. The Roasted chicken and Chinese which they offered was will of taste. After the Dinner as we were back to the resort we met some other guest. The resort has a well maintained library which has many good books, a tenis court, a swimming pool, Jaccuzi, TT and carom etc.
On our second day we had a healty breakfast (onion Poha, omllete, dosa......) around 10 we headed towards Pratapgarh a hill fort built up by Shivaji. the car goes uptill the main entrance of the fort. being several hundreds years old yet the walls of the fort are rock strong. however, the authorities are not taking proper steps as regards the maintenance of the fort. at 1 pm we started towards TAPOLA (they call it mini kashmir) there is a sangam of 3 rivers and various variety of water sports. a speed boad ride for 2 hrs costed us INR 350/- they show of couple of points and the place where the 3 rivers meet each other, again a breath taking view. after exploring prataphgarh and tapola we went back to the resort and took a well deserved rest.
However, couldnt stop ourselves from dining ath sagar) the third day was a bit lazy after the breakfast (again a nice buffet - Upma, Vada, Omlttee, Dosas, Fruits, Juices) we thought of going to the SPA (they have a a well maintained SPA with Kerala Ayurvedic Massages. My wife was too keen on having a facial massage which costs around 1000 INR but again its worth it, the rest of the we spend in the swimming pool and jacuzzi, for the dinner we decided to dine at the resort they charge INR 400 per person for a buffet lunch / dinner (with varities of starters kebabs, grills, soups, moglai and chinses dishes and mouth watering desserts with juices / soft drinks). it was time to pack our bags as we had to leave for Mumbai the next morning.
on 26th july we left the resort at 10:00 for Mumbai wih some pleasant unforgettable moments of Mahabaleshwar in our hearts. The same time we made up our mind to visit the place every year on our vacation to India. the drive back to Mumbai we took the same route (Mahabsleshwar-panchgani-vai-pune (3-4 hours at pune to visit our friends) a small stopover at Lonavala (how can I forget to get the Maganlal Chikki) and back to Mumbai by 9:00 Pm.
The sweet memories of this small stay in Mahabaleshwar will be always there in within me.
Cheers
Touughy
