Friday, April 04, 2008

2D 1N trip to Nagaon, Alibag - April 2008

South of Mumbai. Between Alibag and Murud/Kashed

Transport
Ferry to Mandwa from Gateway of India (approx an hour)
Auto to Alibag from Mandwa, in hope for a bus to Kashed (approx 30mins)
Alibag bus depot (Bus duration shown to be 3-4 hours. Bus crowded.)
Murud/Kashed plan aborted

Auto for Nagaon taken (~140INR, 30 mins)
One statistic that the auto waala shared with us – an auto typically earns a mere Rs. 300 in a day!

Acco options
Tough to get accommodation on weekends without prior booking

Not many next to the beach

1. Shingle Resort
Nagaon Bunder Road
Off Revdanda Road
Nagaon

Proprietor –
R. V. Correia

Tel –
022 2867 2712 (O)
98690 27099 (M)
98204 82195 (M)

Email –
rolancorreia@rediffmail.com

2. Shintre Wadi

Tel –
022 2536 0626 (O)
98230 33892 (M)
99203 37892 (M)

Cottages, bungalows, farmhouses and villas – approx 250 per person with differing requirements for minimum people (e.g. farmhouse requires minimum of 12 people)

Beach quality:
Shallow but rocky
Gets crowded in evening. Empty otherwise
Water has some colored froth to it in places

Enroute to Nagaon from Alibag bus depot, got the auto to take a detour to a naval lighthouse between a fort and a desolate stretch of sand (perfect for camping though with the lighthouse offering modern amenities, if needed)

The caretaker of the lighthouse is a very cool guy who willingly gives a tour of the establishment and takes one upto the top point where the lamp is operated from, for a nominal fee.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

2D 1N trip to Mandwa – March 2008

South of Mumbai

Transport
Ferry both ways. Auto to our destination from the jetty @Mandwa.

Acco options
One popular place is Ravi Apte's bed and breakfast place. The catch – is open for families only. They seemed like nice people but were absolutely closed to accomodating bachelor guys.

Forgot we stayed but it was a run-down cottage place with a couple of cottages right on the beach. We took it. Frogs in the bathroom later which was a bit of a bummer since these frogs were the Olympic medalists in high and long leaps combined.

The place worked great for us as we had a sumptuous desi meal outside in the open and then shifted our cots out in the open under the stars. Easy drinks and discussions on varied topics through the night.

We later attended our college reunion party at a high profile place in Colaba in our as-is (i.e. run-down conditions. We decided to stay close to the bar!)

Beach quality
Clay sand; very “mouldable”. Not much crowd.
Shallow but rocky