AT HOME IN THE KUTTANAD BACKWATERS.

Kuttanad is a region in the central and southern part of Kerala stretching from Kochi down upto Kollam (formerly Quilon), and bordered by the Arabian Sea in the West to the Western Ghats in the East. An immense labyrinth of interconnecting canals, islets, paddy fields, lagoons, and inland lakes are characteristic of this region and these form what are also known as the backwaters. These canals and waterways also provide an alternate mode of transport, and you will see many rural folk calmly and quietly gliding along the canals in their canoes from one place to the other.

Kuttanad is also known as the rice bowl of Kerala. The rice is sowed by hand carefully, in water-filled fields, green in the monsoons, golden yellow and ripe for threshing in the winter. Kuttanad owes its distinctive geography to the proximity of the Western Ghats, 100 km inland, which block the advance of the monsoon clouds when they sweep in from the Arabian Sea in early June. Sustained by a bountiful supply of rice, coconuts and fish, Kuttanadis have adapted ingeniously to life in the floodwaters. Life is slow paced and deceptively calm, and there is nothing to suggest that this was once the heartland of a powerful Communist movement.

When you visit Kerala, and particularly Kuttanad, there is such a bewildering array of stay options, that it is difficult to decide. There are the regular star rated hotels along the banks of the Vembanad Lake, or you can stay in a variety of houseboats, some as big as a bungalow and others as small as a floating one bedroom-kitchen apartment.

 The other option, and the one we chose, was to stay at a Homestay run by a resident Syrian Christian family.

The best way to find out about homestays is, you guessed right, the Internet! You have to decide beforehand the location and the ambience of the place where you would like to stay. After searching for nearly two days I chose the "Backwater Heritage Homestay" as the option best suited to us. It is run by Mr. Xavier Joseph, helped by his wife and two grown-up children. It is located mid-way between Kottayam and Kumarakom, and is in a rural setting, near the town of Ayamenem, made famous by Arundhati Roy in her book "The God of Small Things". I felt it would be a good place for three days of R&R away from the noise and bustle of the tourist hot-spots.

I had already done our train booking from Pune to Kottayam for 20-May-2010. About a week before our departure I telephoned Mr. Xavier informing him about our intention to come and stay with him and his family. Luckily May is not high season for Kerala and he was quite happy to have us as his guests. Of course, I had to inform him that we were just three of us, which included my wife and daughter, since he had only two rooms to let out at that time.

Thursday; 20-May-2010:

We left home at 6pm by rickshaw and were at the station in half-an-hour to catch the Kanniyakumari Express (aka Jayanti Janata) departing from Pune station at 7.25pm.

Saturday; 22-May-2010:

Awoke to the swaying of the train around 6 am to discover that it was late by about 3 hours. We had tea and breakfast ordered from catering along with some khakras which we had packed for the journey. I sent an sms to Xavier Joseph, our homestay host to inform him that we would be arriving late. Thanks to the delay though, we got to see the scenery between Ernakulam and Kottayam. It was full of green trees, mainly coconut, betelnut, and jackfruit. We crossed a couple of rivers (backwaters) with houseboats (kettuvelloms) moving on the waters.

We arrived at the station at 9 am. Xavier called just as the train was entering the platform, and advised us to take a prepaid rickshaw which would cost us Rs.120 to his place. Xavier gave the directions to our rickshawman on our cellphone in Malayalam and we reached the "Backwater Heritage Homestay" within half an hour. It was about 8.5 km from Kottayam station. The rickshaw driver would not have found it even after making enquiries with the locals, if I had not pointed to the distinctive bungalow standing in a compound with a beautiful garden by the riverside. On the way from the station we passed the village of Ayemenem. There were pretty bungalows and plenty of greenery along the way, typical of a coastal countryside.

We were welcomed by Mr. Xavier who was getting ready to leave with his family for a wedding function. He showed us our rooms in his one hundred year old heritage bungalow and they seemed very cosy and comfortable. Since they were going out, lunch had already been prepared and served on the dining table. The dining room was between the two bedrooms, and there was a covered verandah next to the dining room which had a wash-basin, and could be used for drying our clothes after washing.

We settled into our rooms and the Xavier family left for their function, leaving the bungalow all to ourselves. There did not seem to be anyone else around and it was very quiet and peaceful. While Komal devoured the food at the table, and Geeta unpacked in the bedroom, I went out into the garden for a bit of exploring. There was a small tree laden with green mangoes just outside the verandah with French windows which served as an entrance to the house. The Xaviers occupied the adjacent portion of the house with the kitchen visible at the extreme end. There were a number of coconut trees around the garden, and a lot of flowering bushes and small trees. The bungalow was situated on the banks of one of the tributaries of the Meenachil river. These tributaries are also known as kayals (Malayalam for canals). The width of the canal was about 20 meters across and there was open country on the other side. Occasionally a canoe could be seen moving along propelled by a man with a single paddle or bamboo. The tranquility of the surroundings was broken only occasionally by a noisy three wheeler careening down the lane outside the bungalow.

After a refreshing bath we settled down at the table to have lunch. Lunch was 'karimeen' fish fry, boiled rice, one vegetable dish in a coconut and curd curry (avial), pickles and pappadams. The 'karimeen' or pearl spot fish had probably been caught that very morning from the canal outside. Food was simple but quite filling and all three of us were zapped and slept for two hours after the meal. In the evening we were served coffee with jackfruit chips by Mrs. Xavier.

In the evening Xavier took us to his boat house nearby where he had two 'snake-boats' which he captains during the boat races in the Onam festival time. To reach the boat house we had to cross a very narrow foot bridge over the canal. The boats were at least 50 feet long and could seat about 50 oarsmen sitting side by side.

After seeing his snake-boats we were still keen to walk around the Kerala countryside, so he sent us to visit his friend's rubber factory. 'Glory Rubber' is owned by Mr. George Cherian, who showed us around his factory which manufactures slippers, otherwise known as 'flip-flops'. Basically the slippers were stamped out of rubber sheets, fitted with straps, packed in boxes and supplied to 'Paragon Shoes'. Then we walked over to an adjacent estate which belonged to George's brother, which had a farm with a small lake. There were many geese strutting around and squaking away as we walked in to meet them.

We walked further down the road till we reached Parippu village. The road meandered along the river on one side and green fields on the other. People were washing clothes, bathing, and swimming in the river and going about their daily lives. The kids kept staring at us as if we were aliens from outer space.

Even though the sky had been overcast the whole day, the evening was quite muggy and after the long walk my undershirt was soaking with perspiration by the time we reached back. We decided to use the a.c. in our room. Komal's room was cooler, so she managed with the fan.

Dinner consisted of avial (mix vegetables in coconut based gravy) with chapatis, rice, pickle, salad, and curds followed by 'elaichi' bananas as dessert. After watching the TV news (airplane crash in Mangalore, 158 people dead), we retired to our rooms by 10 pm.     

Sunday; 23-May-2010.

For breakfast we were served puttu (a dry mixture of rice and coconut powder baked in a hollow bamboo vessel) with chickpea curry, washed down with juice of mango plucked from the garden. Of course, there was an unlimited supply of the 'elaichi' banana too.

Today Xavier had arranged for a motorised boat to take us to Kumarakom and for a round of the Vembanad lake. This motor-boat has a capacity to seat around 20 people and the charges are Rs.350 per hour, whether there are 2 passengers or 20. You are free to utilise the boat for any length of time and disembark at any point. You would be charged for the number of hours utilised.

 The boat arrived punctually at 10 am. It was driven by Mr. Sukhatan who welcomed us aboard. As the boat started off we felt the initail thrill of floating through the backwater canals, with a light breeze caressing our faces. On the banks the locals were going about their daily chores. The women folk were washing their clothes and utensils, children were playing and waving to us, men and women were fishing or paddling down the canal carrying their wares in dugout canoes. The banks were lined with coconut trees and other green bushes.

As we approached closer to Kumarakom the canal got wider and we could see the rice fields on both sides. These rice fields are situated below sea level. We had come down the Meenachil river and were now entering the Vembanad Lake, which is the largest wetland ecosystem in Kerala. There were a large number of houseboats, locally known as "kettuvallams", anchored on both sides of the river. Their sizes varied from a small cottage to some as big as a large bungalow. These houseboats are made completely from natural materials like wood, bamboo and coir, and not a single nail has been used in their construction. Earlier these boats were used as rice barges, but with the improvement in road and rail connectivity they have been converted to houseboats for the tourists who come to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Kerala backwaters.

There were quite a few 5 star resorts on the banks of the Vembanad Lake. Mr. Sukhatan pointed out the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary which was next to the Taj Kumarakom Resort. It looked like a dense forest and we saw a lot of odd looking and exotic birds flying around nearby and above the water. One bird suddenly swooped down in front of our boat, snatched a small fish from the water and was gone before I could point and shoot with my Canon. One can walk around the Bird sanctuary on foot but that would require at least 2 to 4 hours and is best done early in the morning.

 In the far distance we could see the Pathiramanal Island in the middle of the lake, beyond which is the Thaneermukum Bund. Here the fresh water of the Vembanad Lake is seperated from the sea water of the Arabian Sea near Kochi. Since it was becoming quite warm we decided to conclude our boat trip and disembark at the Govt. Boat Jetty at Kumarakom. We had some refreshments and then visited the Bay Island Driftwood Museum nearby.

By now it had become warm and sticky, so we decided to head back to our homestay by auto-rickshaw. I had to call Mr. Xavier so that he gave the rickshaw driver proper directions in Malayalam, and also settle on a reasonable fare. The ride back was quite bumpy in the Piaggio three-wheeler. We had done the trip to Kumarakom through the backwaters, and now we were returning through the backroads! We returned back in time for lunch.

For lunch Mrs. Xavier had prepared chicken masala, dahi curry, carrot-coconut salad, tomato-onion salad, fried ivy gourd (tunle), and pappadoms. After lunch we slept for 2 hours. After coffee we had a lazy evening and I took some snaps in the compound. At 6 pm I went for a 45 minute walk. Though it wasn't very hot the climate was humid and I was perspiring profusely by the time I was back. Dinner was a repeat of yesterday's dinner menu.

MONDAY, 24-May-2010;

We had a nice breakfast of idli-sambar with chutney, and mango juice to wash it down.

Xavier had already arranged a canoe to be at our disposal for the whole day. For Rs.100 we could wander around all the nearby canals as we pleased! The catch was  that if we went on our own we would definitely get lost in the winding and twisting waterways. So we had to have the boatman with us.

As soon as the rain subsided we started out along the canal, the boatman pushing the canoe along with a long bamboo pole. It was a slow languid boat ride and I tried my hand at paddling to see if I remembered my canoeing skills. After some time the sun came out and it started getting hot in the open canoe. We had to turn back and returned to BHH after just 45 minutes of canoeing.

For lunch we were served dahi curry, rice, sambar, a dry dal, coconut veg mix, salad, pickle, and mango. This time we almost managed to finish everything on the table. Then we took an hour long siesta.

After evening tea we got into Xavier's car and he drove us to Ayamenem to see Arundhati's house. The house has been well described in her Booker Prize winning novel, 'The God of Small Things". It was about 4 km from BHH. The watchman refused to open the gates. So Xavier took us around the house and down to the Meenachil river behind the mansion. We had to be satisfied with clicking some snaps through the closed gates.

The road leading down to the river was just a dirt track and had become slushy with rain. Finally we reached the house of Xavier's friend, Mr.Johnny, who is also a relative of Arundhati. He was very friendly, and we went up to his terrace with his teenaged daughter and son. We got a good view of the flowing Meenachil river lined with tall coconut trees along the banks, and dense green jungle on the other side. Johnny's house had a very calm and peaceful setting, like a bungalow in the middle of a forest. There were other similar bungalows around, and Xavier told us that most of them belonged to Arundhati's relatives from her mother's side. Arundhati's house itself was under dispute and presently there was no one living there.

Xavier brought us back via Parippu town. All along the route there were nice bungalows set amongst verdant greenery and tall coconut trees. There's a lot of similarity with South Goa villages.

Back at the homestay Xavier's son and daughter allowed us to use their computer so that we could catch up with our emails and updates. Dinner was the regular rice and potato veg coconut curry, with salad, chutney and bananas.

TUESDAY, 25-May-2010;

Woke up to a rainy morning. There was thunder and lightning too. Seems that the monsoon is setting in already. I went for a shorter 30 minute walk, and on the way back it started raining heavily. I wonder how it will be in Thekkady; will the rest of our holiday be washed out?

We were packed and ready by 10 am. Xavier had arranged for a private taxi for us, and it arrived promptly at 11 am. After wishing Xavier's family good-bye we started out towards Kottayam, and then towards the High Ranges and the Periyar Tiger Sanctuary at Thekkady.
Backwater Heritage Homesaty, Kerala

A Goan Monsoon - August 2009.

A GOAN MONSOON

DRIVING HOLIDAY TO GOA IN JULY – AUGUST 2009.



We were driving down to Goa one more time, our fifth holiday in Goa since December 1999. I had booked in Club Mahindra’s Varca Beach resort almost two months ahead. We got the booking easily because it is the end of blue season (slack season) at this time in Goa. Only die-hard Goa lovers go at this time because of the monsoon rains.

We had to reach Varca by 30th July and our check-out was on 2nd August (3 nights); but we would be utilising only about 1.6 days from our red week. I decided that we would leave a day earlier and spend one night at a destination en route. We had a choice of either a hill resort or a Konkani seaside resort. Finally I narrowed it down to either Sawantwadi or Old Goa/Divar Island.



DAY ONE: 29-July-2009. PUNE TO OLD GOA.

We left home at 6.45 am, after getting up at the ungodly hour of 4.45 am. It’s always good to leave early on a road trip. It was a smooth drive to Kolhapur on National Highway No.4 (NH4), and we were in the city by 11.15 am, with only one tea stop on the way. We turned right into the city and had to wade through the traffic for a good 45 minutes. We passed the main train station, market, and Mahalaxmi temple till we reached Rankala Lake, from where the Gaganbavda road (SH115) takes off.

The road was not in as bad a condition as the Uttur-Ajra-Amboli road, which we had used in November 2008, and was rough only in some patches. As we approached the hill town of Gaganbavda, we could feel the air becoming cooler, and soon we were moving through the rain laden clouds. We stopped at a wayside restaurant, which was more like a dhaba, and ordered mixed vegetables and chapattis for lunch. The MTDC Resort, ‘Hill Top’, was desolate and empty and the restaurant seemed to be closed.

As we were descending the ghats I could not help but stop to take some snaps from the hillside. This was the classic monsoon scenery, with the slowly ascending fluffy clouds misting up the surroundings, glistening wet roads, and small waterfalls trickling down the rocks. As I was clicking, a band of monkeys joined the party and got shot by my Canon. One of them appeared to be the troupe leader, and he sat glowering at me till I took a special shot at him and turned him into a portrait called ‘King Monkey’.

After passing Vaibhavwadi we were stuck at a railway crossing for 10 minutes. I made use of the opportunity to click a train of the Konkan Railways just as it was passing.

Instead of stopping at Sawantwadi, we decided to carry on to Panjim, as it was only 4.30pm. We reached the Panjim bridge within an hour, but then got stuck in the traffic crossing over the bridge. Our Zen also started giving trouble; stalling while stopping or slowing down. Anyway we carried on. After crossing the bridge we turned left onto the Ribander road towards Old Goa, instead of taking the straight road to Margao. The Ribander road runs besides the Mandovi river.

Across the Mandovi river near Old Goa is Divar Island. Yesterday I had spoken to one Mr. Jan Bostock who runs a homestay by the name of ‘Divar Island Retreat’. He lets out a room for Rs.3500 for a couple, with all meals included. He sounded quite friendly and even called back to find out our meal preferences, and I was tempted to cross the Mandovi on a ferry and spend the night at his retreat. However it was getting dark and I didn’t know the location of the ferry point so we decided to halt at Old Goa Residency run by Goa Tourism Development Corpn. (GTDC). The off-season rates were quite reasonable and we decided to go with the standard non-a/c room (Rs.600), which also had a nice little balcony to sit out.

After checking in and having a cuppa tea I went for an evening walk to have a recce of the surroundings. I picked up some bhajjias and pao which we had as a pre-dinner snack. Yummy!

We had dinner at the in-house restaurant run by a contractor. Geeta had a glass of port wine and I had mild beer (Goans prefer mild beer, said the contractor). For dinner he served us prawns fried and Red Snapper fish masala. Our dinner bill amounted to Rs.365, which we thought was on the high side. Goa is supposed to be a food lover’s paradise, remember.

After studying some maps and pamphlets of Old Goa I fell asleep by 11.30pm.



DAY 2: 30-July-2009. OLD GOA TO VARCA.

For my morning walk I first walked to the Gandhi statue, turned right and walked down to the St. Catherine’s ferry point. A lot of locals were crossing over from Divar Island in the approaching ferry to go to their place of work on the mainland. The ferry was carrying a bus, a bevy of two wheelers, and quite a number of people on foot. I got talking to a friendly school teacher, who was waiting with his two wheeler, to cross over to the island. From his descriptions, Divar Island seems to be an enchanting and peaceful paradise, with hardly any vehicles and a lot of trees and birds. In fact, there is a bird sanctuary (Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary) on a neighbouring island called Chorao island. I decided there and then to go with Geeta on the ferry and visit Divar.

Back in the room Geeta was awake since 7.30am. We got ready and left our room at 8.30am and had a breakfast of idli and sweet pao with coffee at a small cafe in the market nearby. We abandoned the car and walked down to St. Cajetan’s Convent and took some snaps of the church and the Viceroy’s Arch.

 Then we jumped on to the ferry which seems to be continuously crossing to and fro from the ferry point to the island. The trip is free for people crossing on foot! There was a bus waiting on the island which takes the passengers to Piedade (pronounced Piadaddey), the centre-point of the island, for a mere Rs.5 per head.

After locating ‘Our Lady of Divar High School’, we started looking for Mr. Jan Bostock’s house. A retired gentleman, who seemed to be the Landlord of a nearby bungalow (the island is full of old style Portugese bungalows), went out of his way to help us find the house. The Bostocks have a very nice homestay bungalow, and the best part is the cute little swimming pool, which was being kept very clean by the attendant. We were greeted by Jan’s mother and the Goan house-maid. Mr and Mrs Bostock had probably gone to the market. There was a chessboard lying around and a lot of books strewn on the bookshelves. The bedroom was small but homely and inviting. It did seem a nice place to spend a week long vacation if one wants to just ‘chill-out’.

We had to wait 15 minutes to get a bus back. There are four ferry points on the island so we had to wait for the right bus to take us back. A local helped us board the correct bus and we were back on the ferry in 5 minutes. We checked out of our room at noon, and visited the historical churches of Old Goa. The buildings are indeed majestic, and the atmosphere inside the churches is soothing and has a calming effect on the nerves. We visited the churches of St. Francis of Assisi, Basilica of Bom Jesus, and the Se Cathedral.

We took the Ponda route to reach Margao, instead of going back via Panjim. This road goes into the interiors of Goa and is more hilly and scenic, and has less traffic. We stopped by a wayside vendor who was selling freshly cut cucumbers. He rubbed it with some red chilli powder and salt, and we ate it with the skin. It quenched our thirst and mitigated our hunger pangs for a while, till we reached Margao. We didn’t stop at any of the famous temples, though we passed close to Sri Mahalsa (Mardol), Sri Mangueshi (Priol) and Shantadurga (Kavlem) temples.

We were in Margao at 2pm and stopped for lunch at a newly opened restaurant called “Chilli-n-Spice”. We then filled petrol at the HP pump near the market, and had the stalling problem attended to by a mechanic in a lane nearby. He adjusted the screws on the carburettor and didn’t charge anything. It wasn’t a case of adulterated petrol as I had thought.

We then picked up some cashew nuts from the Margao market. Salted cashews were available for Rs.350/kg and broken cashews for around Rs.200/kg. This must be the best place to buy cashew nuts anywhere in India!

The roads in Margao still confuse me somewhat, with one way streets and circular roads going round and about, and I had some trouble finding the exit to Colva from the market. I could have taken the short-cut directly to Benaulim but wasn’t confident of finding that either. Finally we reached the Club Mahindra Resort at Varca around 4.30pm, and found a place for the car in their parking lot. We were taken to our room in a golf cart.

As soon as we were in the cool confines of our room it was as if we had been transported into a different world. The campus was like a tropical paradise and there are two large swimming pools. We were invited for an introduction and orientation at their ‘Tamara’ restaurant and were served complimentary snacks and coffee. The receptionist told us about the layout and facilities in the resort.

To go out for a walk on the beach one has to sign the security register. At the beach I was accosted by a hotel salesman who started to question me regarding my holiday details and filling up a form; and I had to rudely shoo him away.

Later in the evening we went for a walk outside the resort towards Varca village. There were at least three restaurants (shacks) within walking distance of ClubM and seemed to be open for business in the off season, with brightly lit decorative lights. We bought bread-butter-cheese from a store and returned to our room for dinner. We had Vinicola’s Port wine, cashews and TTK’s pre-cooked packet of mutter paneer with bread for dinner.



DAY 3: 31-July-2009. VARCA.

I was awake at 6.30am and had to immediately increase the temperature in the room. The temperature can be controlled to the nearest degree from 18C upwards. I raised it to 22C and that seemed quite comfortable. I was ready to jump into the swimming pool at 7.30am.

The pool was very clean though the depth seemed to be only 1 metre throughout, so no jumping or diving was allowed. The length was around 35 metres. There were only about three or four people and one kid in the water at this time in the morning. More people seemed to be interested in taking a walk on the beach. The sky was cloudy but it didn’t seem like it would rain.

Back in the room we had a breakfast of cheese-slice sandwiches, bread-butter and a cup of hot milk. We then left to do some shopping for groceries and to have lunch out at Martin’s Corner on Betalbatim beach. We stopped for shopping after Varca Church at a small super-market, and bought MTR’s mushroom-peas masala, veg biryani, and prawns balchow ready-to-eat packets.

We then drove on further north of Colva village, Sernabatim, passed Betalbatim, and Majorda till we reached Utorda beach. The famous ‘Zeebop-on-the-beach’ is supposed to be located here, just beyond Hotel Kenilworth. But all we could find was a beach restaurant by the name of “Island View”. We found Martin’s by 1.30pm and settled down for a cosy lunch. Being an off-season weekday it wasn’t very crowded. It’s not located exactly on the beach, and didn’t even have a sea view, but it had a nice Goan beach shack ambience. The structure was of bamboo and wood panels and plastic sheets were in place to prevent the rain coming in during the monsoons. Plastic chairs were provided for seating and the tables were covered with clean checked table cloths, with a single-stem rose on each table. Most importantly it didn’t have a 5-star air about it, though the prices were on the 3-star side. According to the restaurant manager, Sachin drops in only about once a year, but his parents visit more often as they have a bungalow nearby. There were snaps of other celebrities who had dropped by for a meal on the restaurant’s wall.

The restaurant was started by Mr. Martin in 1989, and was now being run by his three sons, one of whom was sitting on the next table. Late Mr. Martin’s photograph was on the wall next to the bar with a garland around it. We ordered fish tikka to go with my beer and Geeta’s sweet-lime soda. For the main course we had prawn curry rice and shark masala fry with garlic nan.

We had a two hour long siesta on reaching back to our cool room. In the evening we made ourselves some microwave pop-corn and ate it straight from the bag, followed by ‘Real’ apple juice. We then walked to the beach. It hadn’t rained the whole day and the climate was quite warm and humid. Instead of eating at one of the nearby shacks, we decided to have dinner in our kitchenette. After some wine and cashews, we opened the ready-to-eat packets which we had bought earlier and finished both. I increased the thermostat to 23⁰C before going to sleep.

DAY 4: 1-August-2009. VARCA.

I swam 40 lengths this morning to work up an appetite to make the most of our ‘Fun Dining’ experience today. ‘Fun Dining’ is when you pay for breakfast and lunch and/or dinner for that day’s buffet meals and you can hog as much as you want.

At breakfast I started with omelette bread, idli sambar, and sada dosa, and finished the meal with a bowl of fruit (papaya and pineapple) washed down with fresh watermelon juice. Geeta had paratha with aloo bhaji, croissants, cup cakes, dosa, watermelon juice and pineapple cooler.

After breakfast I went to meet Mr. McLoyd Vaz at ‘Holiday World’. He gave me all the updates of ClubM’s new resorts like Thekkady, Masinagudi, Tungi, and their plan to buy over Blue Country Resort at Panchgani. He also explained the benefits of being a Red member when it comes to booking RCI bonus holidays. Later we walked around the resort premises. We visited the souvenir shop, went to the beach and strolled around taking plenty of snaps.

We went for a late lunch at 2.45pm as our breakfast had still not been digested. For lunch we got Goan fish curry (Caldeen), mutton masala and rice, bhindi rechado, masala buttermilk, curd, dodol and bebinca (Goan sweet dishes), cheese cake and ice-cream. All this rich food made us so lethargic that we slept for 2 hours after lunch!

In the evening we strolled down to the beach and took some sunset snaps. We tried walking south along the beach towards Fatrade beach but couldn’t cross the rivulets of rain water flowing towards the sea.

Later we drove down to Colonia Jose Menino, which was about 7 km south of ClubM. The whole resort seemed dark and deserted with even the shops and restaurants closed for the season.

We had dinner and drinks in our cosy room. We had bought a bottle of Bacardi Breezer (cranberry and lime), but it was over too quickly so we supplemented it with some wine. Bread and butter was enough for dinner as we were still digesting our ‘fun’ lunch!

DAY 5: 2-Aug-2009. VARCA to RATNAGIRI.

Today was check-out day. After a long and luxurious swim (40 lengths) and relaxing in the jacuzzi, I was lazing in the pool for some more time and gazing expectantly at the dark clouds approaching from the sea. We had hardly had any rain in the last few days that we had been here. We finished off the remaining bread and butter for breakfast and started packing up. We checked out of our room at 11am and we were sad to leave after another nice holiday in Goa.

We departed at 11.15am and went via Colva, Margao, Panjim, Mapusa and up to Pernem non-stop. There at the last BPCL petrol pump inside Goa I topped up the fuel tank with 6.5 litres of ordinary petrol, as ‘Speed’ was not available. By 1.15pm we had reached Savantwadi and cruised on up to Kudal where we stopped at Hotel Raaj for lunch. This was the same hotel where we had stayed overnight on our first trip to Goa in 2001. We ordered bangda (mackerel) fry, and prawn curry rice with chapattis and the bill amounted to a modest Rs.117. I complimented the manager on the tasty Malwani fare. He was an old, friendly man and said that he had taken over the management of the restaurant only a month and a half back. There were placards saying ‘no smoking’ and ‘no alcohol’ in the restaurant. It was neat and clean with very clean washrooms.

It was 3pm and we were still 200 km away from Chiplun, our next destination. The road was quite winding and undulating, and it was impossible to keep a constant speed. I averaged around 60 to 70 km/hr, the speedometer indicating a top speed of 110 km/hr on the straight stretches. There were some potholes on the road but mostly they had been filled up with crushed brick so the ride wasn’t too bad. It rained intermittently but not very heavily.

By the time we reached Hathkhamba it was 5pm, so we decided to make a night halt at Ratnagiri. Chiplun was still about 80 km away and it would be dark by the time we reached there. I asked Geeta to look up Outlook Traveller’s “52 Weekend Breaks from Mumbai” and she called ahead while I drove. We decided to halt for the night at Hotel Landmark, which seemed reasonably priced at Rs. 1000 for a non a/c room. Kohinoor Samudra Resort seemed to be luxury resort and there was no point in spending Rs.3000 for a night halt.

Ratnagiri is famous for the king of fruits, the Alphonso Mango, and the route from the highway to the town was lined with hundreds of mango trees. Hotel Landmark was on Thibaw Palace Road and we reached there by 5.30pm. The second floor room was stuffy when we entered and had a damp musty smell. We opened the only window in the room and kept it open till sundown. After a cup of tea I went out walking and exploring.

Thibaw Palace and Thibaw Points are just a 5 minute walk away from the hotel. The palace was closed and had a run-down appearance. It seemed more like an oversize and dilapidated bungalow. The exiled King of Burma is supposed to have spent his last years here during British Raj days, gazing at the passing ships from Thibaw Point. The Point had a beautiful view of Ratnagiri harbour and the town in general. There was an enclosed amusement ground, and a look-out tower, playground and park for kids, and a series of fountains. There were chaat and snack stalls too. It seems that this is the favourite picnic spot and happening place for all of Ratnagiri, and being a Sunday there was quite a crowd of people of all ages enjoying their evening out. I took some snaps from the tower and was out in 15 minutes.

We went for dinner to Landmark’s a/c restaurant called “Hang-out”. The menu prices were on the high side, and service was slow. We had methi parathas, masala papad and a green salad. The we walked down to nearby dairy shop in a by-lane, where Geeta had hot milk and I had a bowl of shrikhand.

DAY 6: 3-August-2009. RATNAGIRI – CHIPLUN – KOYNA – PUNE.

We decided to leave as early as possible, but still it was not before 9.30am. For breakfast I had kanda poha and Geeta had sheera. Both the dishes were quite fresh and tasty. We washed it down with our room-made tea.

We arrived in Chiplun by 11am, taking an hour and fifteen minutes from Hathkhamba, going at 70 km/hr. We found the right turn to Karad after some enquiries and were soon climbing the ghats up to Koynanagar. The road was not as bad as I had feared and imagined it would be. It was quite motorable with only a few potholes on the way. We had to take a left turn to go to Koynanagar after reaching up.

 However, the resorts, Koyna Lake View (MTDC) and Gursale Resort, are located on top of a hill called Humbarli and this left turn was just before the ST bus stand. It was a narrow and very steep winding road of about 2 km and I had to do most of it in first gear. But the view from the top, of the lake and the dam, was a heavenly reward!

The rooms at MTDC Koyna Lake View had individual balconies overlooking the lake. But when we asked for lunch we were told that it would take an hour and a half to prepare! So we drove down to Gursale’s which had an equally spectacular view, though from a lesser height. However the rooms (tariff Rs.1200) did not have a balcony. We were welcomed with a cup of tea, and lunch was served in 45 minutes. Vegetarian thali cost Rs.75 each, with two vegetables, rice, dal, chapatti and papad.

We reached Patan in half an hour and after about 20 km more the road forked at the toll naka. We took the left turn and joined NH4 at Umbaraj. The right fork would have taken us to Karad. Soon we were speeding towards Pune and reached Kikvi around 5pm. The fuel indicator was touching red and I had to fill the tank with 26 litres. We had dosas and coffee at Kamat’s and were on our way again.

We were in Pune at 6.30pm after driving 1221 km to and from Goa. Main odometer reading was 55,555 at the finishing point!