Smoky Mountains - How to go, places to visit, things to do

 

Smokies



Aug13'2010: "How to celebrate India's Independence Day in a foreign country ?" , was the question on everyone's mind. In fact, even more important question was, "How do we make it memorable ?".Most people in the group had already visited the usual places like Chicago, New York, Niagara - the places Indians must visit.Not sure who made that rule.We wanted to spend the weekend at a more peaceful place, a more natural place - Smokies was the destination chosen.Six of us left from Cleveland. We were to supposed be joined by another friend who was on his way from Atlanta, which was just 3 hrs away from Smoky Mountains. Was the trip memorable? Read more to find out.

How to get there : Smoky Mountains a.k.a. Smokies is one the many national parks that exist in the United States. Vast in size,with over 760 sq.kms spread out forests makes this national park a mighty one in terms of size alone. In fact its actually called as "The Great Smoky Mountains National Park". I would discuss how to reach Smokies from the city we resided in i.e. Cleveland.However, it would be of useful only to readers residing in the northern part of United States. But, having well laid out maps and having advanced GPS capabilities, you don't really need guidance while travelling in the U.S.We took the I-71 S route from Cleveland till Cincinnati.Then we took the I-75 S.The major cities on I-71 S were Columbus,Cincinnati(Ohio). The major cities on I-75 S were Lexington(Kentucky), Knoxville, Pigeon Forge then our final destination Gatlinburg(Tenesse). Gatlinburg exists in Tennesse state.Any GPS or maps from Google Maps can help you find the route.We left around 6.30 pm on Friday. After having an interesting dinner and even more special indian drink near a popular local restaurant, we started off to a rather slow start to our trip to the "The Great Smokies".



Kitchen



Places to stay / eat : We reached Gatlingburg, thanks to our loyal GPS which guided us way inspite of the forests and mountains almost accurately.GPS's in the past have had this habit of breaking down mid-way. Since most of the journey was overnight, except for the guys driving the vehicle,rest of us dozed off. I guess we had taken just a couple of breaks since our dinner.We had booked a cottage with Mountain Laurel Chalets Inc. We reached the office around 5.30 am. We took cottage keys from the main office and from there proceeded towards our cottage. they even provided a map to the cottage along with the keys.With two storeys and a basement, made it ideal for staying in these parts i.e in forests. There were signs to keep doors closed. We wondered why? The reason was simple. To keep the Wild Bears out!!! Gulp!! Our friend had already checked in. I mean the friend from Atlanta and not the bear ;) After spending couple of hours checking the house all over, around and within ;) it slowly sinked in that we are actually staying in a huge cottage with a lot of amenities. Just read this - 1) Two bedrooms on each floor including basement - Six in total. 2) A vast drawing room with a large dining table. 3) Neatly arranged kitchen with all the cutlery one might need. 4) Fire place on every floor waiting to be lit up. 5)Toilets, bathrooms with all the towels,soaps, etc. 6) Balcony at each level with table and chairs 7) A pool table 8) jacuzzi 9) Two Huge LCD Monitors with a massive sound system, enough to shake the cottage.There were books, maps and novels, DVDs  too. And finally the view from the cottage - staring right down the valley with huge forest trees all around. The highest peak in Gatlinburg in sight, right across. The atmosphere too helped create an aura around the place. Being early morning meant being greeted with the birds chirping, the entire smell of freshness spoke volumes about the place. Just too enchanting.

Dining Hall



Breakfast



What is there to see / Things to do :

Breakfast @ River Road Pancake house & Grill

After everyone got ready, we decided to have a brunch. We went to the main busy area in Gatlinburg and tried some of the local delicacies available especially in breakfast. We tried out this place called River Road's Pan cake house. It was run by some Thai immigrants. So much for local.:) We tried out some of the omeletes. Does sound very regular breakfast, but it wasn't anywhere close ot being regular. Omelette's made of 4 large eggs with filling of America's most famous accessory - cheese. There were fillings of two different cheeses - Mozzarella and cheddar. Top it up with some nice sauce.Hash browns and some toasted bread with salted butter. Boy!!!! Was that some brunch ? I wondered if any of us could finish that kind of breakfast.Well, we did finish it though.And what more there was enough space in our tummies to order some more stuff.How about some Waffles?Why not? Brunch almost became a heavy meal. It cost around 10-12 $ per person. Well, now it was time to sleep..oops I mean to do some sight seeing.

Site seeing tips :

Smokies offers a lot of activities - white water rafting, rappelling, rock climbing,mountain biking, etc. The lazy guys we are- we couldn't do either. ;) we tried the usual stuff - simple hiking. And there are plenty of options for that too. Smokies has lot of trails spread across. In fact hiking is the prime activity.Simply because people of all ages can take this up.Most trails are well planed with a proper walkable road and signs to the place. There are variety of options too - river, waterfall, mountain peaks.etc. There are different visitor centers in the Smokies. The centers are often the starting points for all these trails. We went to the closet one - Sugarlands visitor center.They have friendly and experienced staff who can guide you the trail to take up according to your liking.There is also a store there for memorabilia or stuff you might need on the trail - ponchos etc. There are maps available for 1$. The maps are really informative which tell you all about all the trails - how to go, difficulty level, distance,the duration etc..In fact, that helped us plan better.



Trail to Laurel Falls



Trek@Laurel Falls :

We chose to go to the nearest one - Laurel Falls.As expected, the trail was well maintained- a proper walkable road leading up to the falls.On the way,we could see many people - young, old, families, couples all enjoying the walk in the nice weather. There were even forest officers patrolling the trail for any incidents, just in case.There were signs everywhere to guide you to the place. The weather was a bit cool because of the light drizzle, but manageable. We reached the falls in around 1/2 hr. However, the fall was a bit of disappointment. It was just too small to be considered as a fall. Anyway, it was a nice walk.If you are visiting the smokies, make sure to have enough time to explore various places. We were on a short trip, so there wasn't any time to explore. Also, if you plan to do whitewater rafting, make sure you do it early morning. We were too late to try that, and the next day being a Sunday, it was closed.Missed!!!

Trek @ Clingman's Dome :



Way to Clingman's Dome

Next, we tried the highest peak in Smokies - Clingman's Dome. (6643 ft.) We need to reach the base of the trail by car. It was an interesting drive to the base. Lots of turns and low visibility due to fog meant the skill of the driver getting tested, especially as we were ascending the mountain to reach the trail. In almost an hour or so, we reached the base of the trail. the trail was around 5 miles.It was a steep trail. So it took a lot of effort to reach the top. However, it didn't take us more than 40 mins to reach the top.It was fog all around us - no wonder it was called the smokies.

Shopping@Walmart's

On our return, we ate food at the restaurant - No Way Jose's which offered pretty good Mexican food. In case people want to do any shopping, you would find almost every store in Gatlinburg. We did some shopping at Walmart. It was nice to have walmart close by. So we did spend some extended time at the Walmart shopping. We reached the cottage around 10.00 pm. After some interesting and unique attempts at lighting up the fire place, we had a little party before we retired for the day.

Horse-riding@Cade's Cove

The next day, we packed up and left around 1100 am. We had to hand over the keys to the cottage authorities as we were checking out. We then proceeded to Cade's Cove horseback riding center.It was far from Gatlinburg. Spent most of the way listening to some memorable and now unforgettable numbers.It almost took an hour to reach there. All of us took horses - they provide helmets. The ride cost around $75 per person. The ride was going to be of one hour. Obviously none of us had done horse riding before. They gave us horses of varying heights may be depending on our heights. They took us through the jungle.Almost 8-10 horses following each other, with the expert horse leading the way. We spotted some deers in the jungle. Riding on the horses and observing how they handled a rabbit, or a car or even a stream of water was a good experience.  The horses were well trained. Still the moment they found some grass, they would stop and grab a bite.Did learn a thing or two on horse riding.The ride was one of the highlights of the trip.



Scenic Views



Lunch@Thai Thani :

Our last stop in Smokies was the hotel Thai Thani. The restaurant had variety of oriental food including Chinese,Japanese and Thai. Mostly non-veg. Luckily for me, they agreed to make a special vegetarian lunch.The food was as usual.I guess the non-veggies enjoyed more.Well, that wasn't really the last stop - we did stop at a couple of places more before bidding the smokies a warm good bye.We visited some local shops. Please Note - Tennessee is the state of Pepe Jeans. So you would find lot of jeans stores here in Smokies.

 Return journey : Return journey was rather smooth - most of us dozed off. We had a couple of breaks in between. However, it was a nice journey back home. We reached around 6.30 am. With that our little trip came to an end. Hope our exploits mentioned above guide you on your trip to Smokies. 

P.S. Things 'not' to do in smokies :

1. If you have ordered dinner on phone, when you visit the restaurant to take your parcel, it is perfectly ok to eat at the restaurant itself. - You don't take the parcel and eat it in the car parked just outside.
2. Never order tea at the time of dinner - especially if you are in a hurry and the restaurant has run out of milk.
3. You shouldn't be waiting for an hour for tea.
4. When  you are briefly checking out the place you are going to stay - you don't open every cupboard and every drawer hoping to find if someone has left something behind.
5. When you go out for a picnic - Walmart shouldn't be on your must see places
6. On a picnic, if you do end up going to Walmart - make sure you don't end up buying a whole load of stuff almost as if its the month's groceries.
7. Never try to light the fire place during summer.
8. Never use petrol to light up the fireplace.
9. While lighting up firewood stand away from it doing so - if the fire lights up suddenly you might end up burning your eye brows.
10. Make sure the chimney is open before trying to light up the fire place or else your room will end up becoming smoky mountain.
11. If the fire turns big, its o.k. to use water to extinguish the fire. You don't blow air tiring out your lungs out.
12. "Jungle Jungle baat chali hain pata chala hain" from Mowgli is not supposed to be on the list of most memorable songs.
13. When you go to places like Starbucks especially if the there is a huge queue, make sure you buy everything at one go - You don't keep going back and standing in queue for everything.
14. Last but not the least - when you go out for a picnic, the places you visit should be the highlight of the trip - not the food!!!
15. The question on your mind should be "Which site shall we visit next?" and not "What shall we eat next ?".

Site seeing places visited 3 - (1) Laurel's falls, (2)Clingman's Dome, (3)Cade's Cove

Restaurants visited on trip 6 - (1)Delhi Darbar, (2)River Road Pancake House, (3)No way Jose's, (4)Thai Thani, (5) Starbucks,(6)Apple Bees

Btw the above 15 were points were lessons learnt from our personal experiences learnt on the trip. Yes, it was truly a memorable one. Enjoy@Smokies.

Kolhapur - How to go, places to visit, things to do

12th June'2010 : Kolhapur - a destination that usually would find it tough to get on most travellers' must-see list. However, a friend's marriage prompted us to have a visit to this southern Maharastrian city. Googling Kolhapur gave as an overview of places to visit, things to do. But, we weren't sure if we would get enough time to visit those places. Our plan was to leave on Saturday night and return either early Monday morning or late Sunday night, depending on the availability of buses. Private bus transport was chosen to be the mode of transport.

How to go : There are lot of private buses available to reach Kolhapur. redbus is a good place to book your tickets.It is the premier site for booking tickets for private transport(buses). You can purchase tickets to and from all parts of India on buses provided by different transport companies.Konduskar Travels was the transport company chosen.They provided Volvo buses to Kolhapur at regular intervals. It cost around Rs. 525 per ticket. The site sends you a confirmation e-ticket which you need to produce while getting on bus.

     The bus started from Borivali picking up commuters from all across Mumbai. Cannot tell which route the bus traveled, had dozed off almost immediately. I guess the bus traveled via the western express highway before moving on to the eastern side.

     If you are travelling your own vehicle, there are two routes that you can take to reach Kolhapur. NH4 or NH17. If you take the NH4 you would have to go via Pune, Satara, Karad.  If you take NH17 you would go through Panvel, Roha, Khed till Karad.

Places to Stay :  Reached Kolhapur bus stand around 5.30 am. Our friend had booked rooms for us in a nearby hotel named Majestic. Since others were arriving in a different bus, I checked into a room. Others who were on a different bus, were meant to arrive an hour later.Went to the bus stand after an hour to receive others.Had a cup of Kolhapuri chai' at a local tea stall.Was surprised to find that Kolhapuris love their tea sweet.Or was it just me.Anyway,The room was big one with four beds, a T.V. and bathroom attached.There was a provision for hot and cold water. Must say that the location of the hotel being central with bus stands(most private buses had starting points to various destinations just below the hotel), railway station and a lot of restaurants nearby to choose from made the hotel favorable.Rest, I would suggest you to check out the place on your own.

Places to visit : Autos seemed to be the common mode of transport in Kolhapur. We found ourselves an unusual auto to travel in. Behind the customary three-seater bench, there were two benches laid perpendicular on both sides. The structure was similar to imagine a Tata Sumo with an auto like portion in the front seat.The auto rickshaw costs were found to be nominal.We traveled a lot of places, the fare never went beyond Rs. 40-50.Perhaps, not being a huge city reduced the distance too.But then not every city is Mumbai.Also,There is no meter-system here. The fare depended on the deal you made at the start of journey.After attending the marriage, we visited the famous Mahalaxmi temple.

The visit started with purchase of some offerings.There was huge queue, but it was manageable.One noticable thing about Kolhapur is the heat. With Mumbai, being close to the sea, there is a lot of moisture in the air which helps to reduce the heat, but here in Kolhapur that's not the case.The Kolhapur heat really hits you. A prolonged moment out in the sun would probably cause some heat burn.Although there were shades provided in the queue, still, there were some unshaded portions.As a result, there were some occasions where we had to stand in queue in the Kolhapur heat on barefoot.The stoned tiles didn't help either.Must admit, it was not the most pleasant moment.

The temple was built during the shivaji times. The architecture of the temple is breath taking, pristine, ancient, it tells more about the Shivaji times. No wonder, you find a lot of devoteess turning up at the temple here.Although, the temple is still intact, there are some portions that are being restored.  As we approached the temple, the queue split into two - one for male devotees and the other for female.Even after entering the temple, the queue extends till the main diety statue. The pushing around only gets more intense as you approach the main diety. And its not even a moment that you pray that you are pushed away. Did make me think, visiting a temple should offer serenity and peace of mind and not this struggle.The temple authorities have tried their best to manage the crowd, I felt there could have been a lot more that could have been done.May be they could learn a thing or two from Shirdi.

After our visit to the temple, we decided to take a break and travel back to the hotel to have a s-nap (short nap:).  It was around 4.30, all of us got ready to visit another famous place in Kolhapur - the Rankala lake.It took us 20 mins to reach the lake by auto. In tems of size it was slightly smaller than the Powai lake. However, there was a lot more activity happening out there. There was a lot of crowd. People of all ages enjoying the nice atmosphere around the lake.There is a walking track around the lake. The lake looked clear by normal standards. There was a stretch near one end of the lake, which extended almost to the middle of the lake. People could walk almost upto to the center on that stretch.Then there were the eateries at one end. Bhelpuris, Panipuris, Baloon shooting stalls, bubble sellers. Almost all the elements that make up a normal indian mela were present there.After our share of shooting ,We tried out a special bhel known as the "Indian bhel". We asked the vendor to make it spicy. And boy!! Was it spicy !!!We then had one of the most popular items - "The Falooda" from one of the Mewad icecream walas present there. There were options for chocloate, vanilla, stawberry, mix.Truly Mewad originally from Rajasthan have some sort of monopoly on faloodas and icecreams in these parts and now we knew why? The falooda was just too good.Each one of us had an extra helping.It was around 6.30 pm we left for hotel again.  

 Places to Eat : We decided to have an early dinner.Just near the hotel, on the other side of the building across, there was a restaurant named "Saawan".The non-vegetarians in the group tried out the special non-veg thali, which seemed to be a specialty there.And they tell me, it was just yummy - the kheema bhaji, the masala in each of the bhajis had an entirely different taste, probably a special kolhapuri touch to it. No wonder they just enjoyed it thoroughly.Also, there was  a special thaak (kind of buttermilk), they really seemed to enjoy it.I had to contend with regular veg. mixed bhaji and chapatis.After we completed our sumptuous dinner, there was hardly any time to do anything else. We had to just pack up and leave.Reached hotel, packed up and off to go.

Return Journey : The return journey was a rather short one. We again traveled by Volvo, this time it was a brand new Neeta Volvo.They charged us around Rs. 800. The journey started around 10.30 pm. Most of the journey was spent in dozing.The bus reached Borivali around 6.30 am.An rather short trip - a few places missed out - the Panhala fort, Vishalgad..probably some other time. Hope this helps you on your trip to Kolhapur.

Diveagar - How to go, places to visit, things to do

April 17, 2010: Divenagar, Divaghar, Divyaghar...well, these were the names that we used to identify the place, until a villager told us....its Diveagar (Dee-ve-ah-ghar).We have had enough of reunions in restaurants..etc.Now, it was time to reunite at an outdoor location.Although, we had been planning this for a quite long time, things just were'nt materializing. Our age old rule of "Last minute kulti Not Allowed" was'nt working ;) But, somehow this time everyone seemed to be serious.Mumbai is lucky to have a lot of beaches around - Kashid, Murud, Alibag, Daman, Kelve to name a few.However, we wanted to go to a relatively unknown beach. The internet was quite helpful here, a few searches - we found this place.Attributes such as serene, unknown, clear waters, white sand were all over the net. It was quite appealing and at the same time hard to believe.So we decided to check it out ourselves - Diveagar here we come.....

How to get there :  
By Public Transport: There are S.T. buses which ply from Mumbai to Diveagar. They leave from Mumbai Central Bus Station to Diveagar Bus Stand.Although, there are just two buses, it won't be difficult to assume, they would be crowded. There buses from Thane too. Checkout the MSRTC site for more details.The journey takes roughly 6-7 hrs.

By Personal Vehicle : Although, we had the bus option, we went by one of our friend's vehicle.We got in from Matunga around 9.30 a.m. and picked each of our friends along the way. One of us got just 1/2 hr to wake up, decide, pack and leave!!!Last of our friends got in from Panvel. We picked up a few vada pavs from the famous Shri Dutt snacks in Panvel. Well, you must have guessed it already, we were on our way via the Mumbai-Goa highway.Diveagar is a 200 kms drive.Its kinda drive thats not too far and not too close. The viallages that come along the way were Pen (69 kms), Wadhkal (71 kms), Nagothane (93 kms), Kolad (111 kms), Indapur (123 kms), Mangaon (132 kms) along the highway. It is in Mangaon, that you need to take a right towards Mhasala (159 kms).

             As you go through Mhasala, look out for sign boards that will guide you to Diveagar. Usually at important turns there are signboards put up to help you in your journey.The government is not that bad after all.. ;) Refer to the map attached.It was around 2-3 pm, we were still at Mhasala. One of the villagers advised us to have our lunch at Mhasala.The reason being most places would be closed for lunch by the time we would reach Diveagar. So, we stepped out at a local place to have lunch, thali was the preferred food snack.Other feasted themselves on some chicken.We started our journey post-lunch. The journey was scenic and somewhat a careful drive. It was through ghats with lots of blind turns. Infact, there were lots of places where there were signs to blow horns.It was scary at times, especially when there is a vehicle all of a sudden in the opposite direction.However, the guy at the back of the steering wheel was a good one.

Locals are helpful and sometimes funny too !!! :        
The villagers are usually helpful, but, sometimes interacting with them can be an altogether different experience. There is no frequent public transport in these parts. So, you can imagine, people would always like a free lift, if they can get one.At one particluar turn, we saw an old man.He had this long white beard.His face structure suggested he didnt have any teeth. We decided to ask him the way to Diveagar. His reaction was euphoric.There seemed to be sudden burst of energy on his face.He rushed towards our car. There were already five of us. Two seated ahead & three in the rear.So there was'nt any place anywhere.Still, he was trying to forcefully get into the rear from the left door. God knows, where he was intending to sit.!!!  The old man was calling out "ho ho Dighi Dighi". What's going on?? That's when one of us calmly told him, we needed the way to Diveagar and not Digha..suddenly he stopped, and guided us to the way to Diveagar.He had a dejected look on his face.Poor guy, he thought we were going to take him to Dighi. All this while our friend seated near the left door was scared to hell!!! ;p

Places to stay/eat : Soon, after the funny incident, we were back on our journey to Diveagar. It was'nt too far from the place. As you enter, the zilla or village of Diveghar greets you a warm welcome.No, they dont come and offer you garlands, but, there is large structure at the entrance, welcoming all. As you enter Diveagar, you need to pay a toll of around 30-40 Rs.As you proceed,you can see cottages, hotels along the way. Some of the bigger hotels like Exotica, Hotel Prathamesh, Bapat Khanawaal, Pinakin have even kept directions to their hotels.We opted for Exotica Beach Resort (9869068676), which has a partnership with MTDC. For Exotica, you need to go straight ahead along the road and then turn left. Watch out for signs. The reason for us opting for Exotica was purely for its proximity to the beach.Although there are direct routes to the beach from other hotels as well, this was the closest. The resort was spread across with really some nice cottages with check in check out at 1200 PM.With trees and flowers all around, the silence, chirping birds and to top it all the sound of the whispering waves, gave it the perfect ambiance. There is lot of parking space. A large area for sitting,relaxing. For recreation purposes, there are carrom boards and table tennis as well. The resort has its own pantry and offers good palate of veg. - non. veg food.There is a huge dining space attached to the office. We opted for a room with two extra beds. Well, they don't allow that, but, I guess it was a matter of just one person and they adjusted.It was an A/C room which cost us around Rs.3000  along with the extra beds.There is a problem of load shedding in these areas.They have generators for every room. although, you won't be able to use the A/C all night.That was fine with us.The rooms were neat, so was the bathroom. They provided us with neat towels,bedsheets,pillows, soaps and even a free complimentary fruit basket. Each room is also provided with a Television with all the regular channels.The room even had a small balcony, where you can sit down for a while and enjoy the nature.All in all, there is good value for money for these rooms.Alas, we reached at 4.00. Had it been earlier, we could have availed more. Lesson : Plan better & Always Leave Early!!!

Places to visit/ Things to do : 

The first glimpse: As soon as we took the room, we freshened up, took the camera, the bat the ball, water and we were off to the beach. All this while, we hadn't seen the beach yet. Although our resort was close to the beach, there is no way you can see the beach, because of a thick, dense of growth of trees near the beach.In fact the beach, in a way is protected from people's eyes with this dense forestation. This was going to be the first glimpse of the beach.All the stuff we had heard, read about the beach was going to be realized now.As we walked towards the beach, we could see people, kids, vendors through the narrow lane to the beach.And in minutes, we crossed the thick forestation and we got our first glimpse of the beach.S-p-e-c-t-a-c-u-l-a-r-!-!-!White sands, clear waters, lesser crowds and clean. This is how beaches are meant to be.You often seen in movies, photography magazines..the scenes here were pretty much the same. If you are a nature lover, this is one place you cannot miss.Hard to believe , but, its true.Such a nice beach and so close to Mumbai and not many know...Good for it.

Cricket, cricket, cricket : After a nice sighter, we got on with the game.As expected, everyone was out of form.We hardly were able to get a ball on the stumps.It was a more of a session of cricket photography, than actually. Guys wanting to get themselves photographed either bowling or batting.Until then we were pretty much well restrained the whole trip. Cricket brought the raw energy out..Abuses flew here and there. It was sledging of the worst kind.Bit of cheating, bit of masti and only photography. Some kids wanted to join us. We allowed them to play with us, some of us feasted on their bowling. Whats more, we even asked them to field on their own bowling. Well, some of us got back their form with kids bowling..!!! ;)

Royal Bath, the jog & the camel ride : It was a low tide at the time.Clothes out and off to the water!!!We had to walk a long way into the sea to get into the water.We walked until the water was till our thighs. None of us knew swimming, so we didn't go any further.The water was quite clean too. It was fun waiting for the waves to pick up slowly and hitting you with force.
After bathing there for some time, some of us went for light jog - me included. Wasn't sure if I would be able to make it after all the exertion of the day. But luckily the jog was a light one.However, our mission of the jog failed - No, there weren't any foreigners sunbathing on this beach ;(

         Now, it was time for some photography. After taking a few scenic sunset pictures, we were on our way back..until...one of us spotted a camel.God knows what got into us, camel ride was the top priority. The ride cost us 30 Rs. per ride per person. The camel sat down, and it was an easy climb. If you try something like this, hold on to the camel tightly, when he stands. It was fun, as the camel moved slowly.Wished he would have been quicker, then I realized this is no horse. If you fall from the camel, the damage is not going to be nice!!!!Watch out for the landing, it ain't gonna be smooth ;)

Dinner & games : After each one of us had a bath, we went to the dinning space to have our dinner.  They even deliver the food in your rooms.We felt, eating in our room would make the room dirty. The food did cost more than usual.However, that was fine.  Some opted for Mutton Biryani, while others chose a veg. cuisine.The food was sumptuous and descent enough.After the dinner, while some decided to rest straight away. Few of us had a night stroll on the beach followed by a few games of T.T. On our cards was also a little party which continued till 2.00 am. That's when we decided to hit the sack.

Return journey : Some of us woke up by 6.00, as watching the sunrise was on our mind. We thought, the white sand can be captured best when there are early rays. We went for a long walk taking pictures of the morning scenes. Yeah, the white sand did look whiter. In fact, our walk took us two hours to complete.We didn't realize, how time passed so quickly. As we returned, we had a nice breakfast of omelette and fresh fruit juice.  Later, we took our bath and packed our bags as it was time to leave. Yeah, our journey was cut short because some of us had some important meetings to make. A few pictures, the payment and we bid a farewell to Diveagar.The return journey was quite smooth.As we knew the route, we were able to return quicker. Overall, it was nice weekend getaway. Planned quick, executed quicker. The only regret being not able to eat at Bapat's Khawaal which is known to serve one of the best the elusive Maharashtrain Thali and not able to visit the Suvarna Ganesh temple, which a must see.There is always a next time. However, we witnessed one the best beaches close to Mumbai.  You got to see it to believe it!!! Hope you enjoy your trip to Diveagar.