Part 4 (Last): Goa - Kolhapur - Pune.
Day 6: September 8, 2018: Saturday. Goa
We got up late in the morning as we were exhausted from our drive to Dabolim last night. I went for a walk around Varca and to the beach about 1 km from the resort. It was lush green all around, and the beach was almost deserted around 9 am.
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| Club Mahindra Emerald Palms from a distance |
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| Varca Beach |
We went out at around 1 pm to find a shack to have lunch. We drove down to Calvaddo beach next to Taj Exotica Resort.There were no beach shacks because of rainy season, so Esco’s Sun & Moon Bar & Restaurant just didn’t exist. So we went to ‘3 Kisses Bar & Restaurant’ which was next to Taj Exotica. It was not very grand looking, but since it wasn’t on the beach it was open. We had to squeeze in to a parking slot and sat down at a table under a fan.
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Lunch at 3 Kisses
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After lunch we drove to the older and more famous Club Mahindra resort at Varca Beach, as Geeta and Komal wanted to shop for T-shirts and gifts. They spent at least an hour in the souvenir and Wolfpack shops and Komal bought me a T from Wolfpack, with a leopard motif on it. While they shopped I went to the beach for a short stroll.
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| Varca Beach |
After shopping, we spent a lazy evening at the Emerald Palms resort.
We went for dinner to ‘Olive Garden’ just outside the gates. It seems like a new place. The setting was nice but the service was brash, with the waiter calling me ‘boss’. It was an open air restaurant with a proper roof and nice decorative lighting. I shared a veg fried rice and mushroom xacuti gravy dish with Komal, while Geeta wanted her Tuna fish salad but had to settle for Chicken Hawaiian Salad instead. Then we went back to our room by 10 pm. Geeta fell asleep immediately, while I chatted with Komal for some time before turning in.
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| Olive Garden, just outside Emerald Palms |
Day 7: September 9, 2018; Sunday. Goa
After having tea and toast we went for a walk to the nearby Varca beach walking about 1 km to get there. While Geeta sat in the shade I walked with Komal near the waves and took some videos and snaps.
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| Beach near Emerald Palms |
We got back at 10 am and had a breakfast of MTR’s 3 minute poha, with coffee, made with water boiled in the electric kettle in our room.
I went for a half an hour swim at 11 am, while Komal was roaming around the resort. I swam about 10 lengths, then had a hot bath back in the room. Then we had some chakli and a cup of coffee.
We left for lunch at around 1.45 pm and drove down to Cavelossim, about 13 km south. After surfing the net we chose to go to 'Betty’s Place' for lunch. It was a pleasant drive past Varca, Fatrade, Orlim, Carmona, and Cavelossim. We reached in 20 minutes.
The restaurant was empty and I parked in their side lane. After choosing a table and ordering drinks I walked down with Komal to the banks of the Sal River about 200 metres down the side road. We saw Betty’s boat and took some snaps. I had a bottle of Kingfisher Premium beer, and Geeta and Komal had a glass of Port wine each, with a plate of fish fingers as starters. For the mains Geeta ordered tuna salad and I shared a Prawns Balchao and rice with Komal.
Read my review of 'Betty's Place' in TripAdvisor: Excellent Goan Cuisine and Ambience
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| At Betty's Place, Cavelossim |
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| Betty's Catamaran, Boat Trips |
On the way back we saw a shop named ‘Mario Gallery’ with all art products and souvenirs related to Mario Miranda’s life and times. We stopped and browsed in that shop, just after Cavelossim, for almost 45 minutes. Komal bought some souvenirs and gifts for her friends.
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| Mario's Gallery, Cavelossim |
Then we stopped at Benaulim Cross at Melwin Supermarket to buy some cashews and pistachio nuts to carry back. Komal also bought a slab of Bebinca cake for her colleagues.
We had some snacks and coffee and relaxed till dinner. We went to Traveller’s Restaurant and Bar, just opposite the Emerald Palms gate for dinner at 8.30 pm. It was a decent enough place with cane chairs and tables with al-fresco dining, but quite dimly lit with decorative lights. We had fish curry, steam rice and Geeta had Al Tono Pizza (tuna in the topping).
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| Traveller's Restaurant & Bar, opposite Emerald Palms |
You can read my review of this restaurant in TripAdvisor: Decent Shack Restaurant Opposite Emerald Palms
We decided to leave early next morning at 5.30 pm, drop Komal at Dabolim, and then carry on to Kolhapur, so we’re sleeping early tonight.
Good night!
Day 8: September 10, 2018; Monday. Goa - Kolhapur.
We finally departed from Emerald Palms just before 6 am. It took us 45 minutes to get to the airport, even though there wasn’t much traffic. It started getting light around 6.15 am and I had to use the headlights till then. Komal walked by herself up the departure ramp and we didn’t wait for her to take off.
Traffic was much after Panjim and up to Mapusa and there was a lot of road work going on. We reached Pernem around 8 am and I filled the tank to the brim. Petrol was at ₹74.86 here, almost ₹10 cheaper than Pune. And today a strike call had been given by the political parties and allies to protest the petrol price rise. My full tank cost ₹2050.
When we reached Sawantwadi I realized that I had missed the new shortcut which bye passes Sawantwadi. From Sawantwadi there was the ghats for about 20 km. We stopped at Sunset point in Amboli to have wada-pao and bhajji with coffee. The road from Amboli to Gadhinglaj was in pretty bad shape with a lot of patch work having been done. We reached NH48 at Sankeshwar at noon.
Google Maps was very helpful in guiding us directly to Govindpuram Apts in Kolhapur. And we reached at 1.30 pm. The watchman and bell boy came out to help us into the basement parking.
The OYO 12748 Govindpuram Apartments is in a 4-storey building with the guest rooms on the top floor. Room is small but quite clean, with a medium size cupboard, dressing table, a plastic chair, bedside tables and a small lcd TV. Bathroom is commensurately small, but has all the necessary amenities except toilet paper.
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| Kolhapur Bird's eye view from Govindpuram Apts |
Read more about Govindpuram Apartments in my TripAdvisor review: Penthouse Rooms
After resting for half an hour we went down for lunch to a restaurant cum hotel called ‘The Open Kitchen’. It had half shutter down because of the bandh. Mannini, the receptionist at Govindpuram recommended it to us. I had a good thali of Maharashtrian food @ ₹80, with 2 chapattis, 1 sabji, 1 gravy sabji, 1 dal, papad, pickle, curd and rice and a sweet dish. There was a mini thali w/o sweet for ₹60 and a special one with 3 chapattis and pulao for ₹100. Geeta had a cheese pao bhaji for ₹50. Prices were very reasonable and quality was good.
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| 'The Open Kitchen', Restaurant in Kolhapur |
Read more about The Open Kitchen in TripAdvisor; Nice Restaurant for Kolhapuri & Vegetarian Food.
We took a nap from 3 to 4.30 pm, then had coffee and walked down to the Ambabai (Mahalaxmi) temple at 5.30 pm. It was a 10 minute walk from our hotel. There was not much of a crowd and we got darshan easily. Then Geeta did some shopping while I went for an extended walk to a municipal garden near the hotel.
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| Mahalaxmi Temple, Kolhapur |
For dinner we went to Rajabhau Bhel, the famous bhel wala of Kolhapur, which I found out accidentally on G-maps. We had 2 types of Ola (wet) bhel and 1 type of sukha (dry) bhel. They were priced around ₹25 to 35 so our dinner bill main course came to only ₹95. Then we had Softy ice-cream which cost us ₹35.
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| Rambhau Bhel |
I went to sleep at midnight in the ac room of Govindpuram Apartments.
Some data from my trip log:
- Varca, Goa .................................... 0 km
- Dabolim Airport ..........................27 km
- Panjim ......................................... 55 km
- Pernem, Goa ............................... 82 km
- Goa - Maharashtra border .......... 98 km
- Sawantwadi ............................... 114 km
- Amboli ....................................... 144 km
- Left turn to Ajra ......................... 151 km
- Ajra ............................................ 178 km
- Straight fork to Gadhinglaj ........ 187 km
- Gadhinglaj .................................. 201 km
- Sankeshwar (NH48) ...................214 km
- Tavandi ghat end ........................231 km
- Kognoli Toll plaza ......................254 km
- Left turn to Kolhapur ..................269 km
- OYO Govindpuram Apts ............278 km
Day 9: September 11, 2018; Tuesday. Kolhapur - Pune.
I got out of bed at 6.30 am and first went out to the balcony of the room. It was quite pleasant and the sky was clear. There was hardly any traffic at that time. I left for my walk just before 7 am and walked to Rankala Lake with the help of G-maps. It was less than a kilometer from the hotel. I walked halfway round the lake to Shalini Palace and took some snaps. There were quite a few locals taking their morning walks along the promenade besides the lake. I got back to the room at 8 am and had tea with toast.
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| Rankala Lake, Kolhapur |
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| Shalini Palace, Kolhapur |
We called for breakfast at 8.30 am. The poha was quite tasty and we relished it. This was followed by a medium sized coffee cup. We got ready to leave by 10.15 am.
I followed the G-map route and we emerged on to NH48 at Shiroli. The road was a bit congested and patchy in places but we made it safely to the highway in 30 minutes. After this it was easy driving at an average speed of about 100 kmph right up to Kikvi.
We stopped for mid-day snacks and coffee at 11.10 am at Sai Food Court at Yelur. I had simple veg sandwich, and Geeta had a grilled veg cheese sandwich, followed by coffee. We used the clean loos, then we did some window shopping and I picked up some handy household tools from the Science Shop.
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| Sai Fast Food Court |
You can read more about Sai Food Court in my TripAdvisor reviews, about the restaurant: Highway Pit Stop between Karad and Kolhapur, and about Hotel Sai International: Good Hotel for a Night Halt, near Kolhapur
Our next stop was at Kikvi to refuel (₹88 approx/litre) at the HPCL pump, and to have a light lunch at Kamat’s. I had idli sambar and Geeta had a pair of big batata wadas.
Here is my review for Kamat's at Kikvi: Highway Pit Stop
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| Kamat at Kikvi |
We drove through the new Katraj tunnel, and the viaduct at Jambhulwadi. We then chose the right turn at Warje to enter Pune, and went across LBS Road, FC Road and Sangamwadi.
Some data from my trip log:
- OYO Govindpuram Apts ...........................0 km
- Exit Kolhapur near Toap ........................... 7 km
- Sai Fast Food Court, Yelur ........................ 34 km
- Satara bypass .............................................124 km
- Kikvi ......................................................... 191 km
- Warje right turn off NH48......................... 220 km
- Home base ................................................ 244 km
We touched home base at 4 pm. I had driven 2700 in 25 days for the round trip to Bangalore and back via Tirthahalli, Sringeri, Agumbe, Jog Falls, Goa and Kolhapur.
