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

Mar'20 2010: "Whosoever puts their feet on Shirdi soil, their sufferings will come to an end - Sai baba". It was our that time of the year, when we usually make our annual Shirdi trip.If you didn't know, Shirdi is famous for the shrine of Sai Baba.Couple of friends' cousins who were in city were keen to visit Shirdi, so were we.Hence, without too much of planning, we just decided to go.Shirdi was our next destination.


How to get there :

Personal Vehicle: Its around 300 kms route. You have to take the NH3 - i.e. the Mumbai Agra Highway.There are signs all along the way.You can either go straight to Nashik and then take the Manmad-Ahmednagar highway. The other route is On NH3 itself, there is sign from where you can take a right to Shirdi, however, beware. This route doesn't have good roads like the former one.

Public/Private Transport : Getting to Shirdi is probably one of the most easiest journeys you can make, especially if you are travelling by public transport.There are innumerable options available.Just walk into any tours and travels office, you are bound to find some good options for Shirdi.We booked our journey through redbus. The transport company was Neeta travels.Neeta provides regular bus services to Shirdi, we opted for a day travel instead of the usual night trip.It cost us Rs.400 per person. There were 5 of us.No bargains were entertained.We boarded a bus from Borivali West (near Gokul Hotel) at 5.45 am. The bus had pickups all over Mumbai.We initially moved along the western express highway and then turning over to the harbour side and central side.The last pickup being at Thane (Teen Hath Naka flyover - nr Neeta tours and travels office) at 7.30.It was a video coach bus, fully a/c, with comfortable recliner seats.However, this wasn't a new bus.Our seats were right ahead. Usually those are not the best seats.The curtains were not washed, and there was a distinct smell emanating in the bus.The smell was more evident near the seats ahead. [Always take seats in the middle or rear.] Those are some of the quirks of public transport. The bus has two halts during the journey, one at Neeta hotel and the other one just near shirdi, probably around 50 kms away.Hotel Neeta was good, spacious.Being a early morning journey, we took regular breakfast items like idli,uttappa etc.It  had nominal costs and tasted decent enough(less than Rs. 250 for a good breakfast for 5).The best thing about the hotel was the prompt service. I guess all Neeta buses have a halt there. We could recall that the last time we travelled by Neeta, we had stopped at the same hotel. I guess the hotel is owned by the bus service itself.

One of the reasons of opting for the day travel was getting to see the scenic views on our way to Shirdi.Sadly, that was not to be. Travelling in comfortable A/C buses, we made most of the luxuries - all of  us dozed off for major part of the journey. :) It was just 50 kms more to go, we took our second halt. Cannot recall the name of the hotel, we didn't have any food there.Most of the time we spent there was enhancing our photography talents clicking unique pics. The other important thing we did there was have nice, fresh sugarcane juice just outside the hotel.The sight of the juice vendor extracting every bit out of the sugarcane reminded me of someone....my boss. ;)

Places to stay : We reached Shirdi at 2.00 pm.As you enter Shirdi, the first thing you realize is, its not a rural village/town any more.The place keeps getting busy, more crowded, more hotels, restaurants, more options. And the same has been the feeling in every visit.Usually the bus stops next to some decent hotel.Same was the case.Shirdi has lot of options to stay.Hotels offering Rs. 50 per person just for 4 hrs to hotels offering rooms for full day as well.There is a limited period in which you get the 50 Rs-offer (i guess only till noon). Its primarily for night travellers who need to use the room to freshen up.We got our rooms at the "Hotel Sai Shiv Ram"(Ph.No: 09371915349). It has A/C- Non A/C Rooms.Located behind Hotel M.T.D.C. One of their agents whom we met, just as we got down from the bus, got us there.Yes, as soon as you get down from the bus, you get lot of agents offering you rooms,quicker darshan, nice deals on flowers, offerings etc..Tourism is the only business in this area.We got our rooms - a 3-bed Non-AC room costing just Rs. 600.We could stay there till 9.00 pm some of us were good at bargaining. :) All we had to do was freshen up and leave.So by 3.30 to 4.00, all of us took bath and left for the darshan.

What is there to see : If you wish to go to Shani Shingnapur, there are vehicles available which will take you there. And you can finish the entire trip in 4 hours.Most people do that, when they visit Shirdi.

As you enter :

Shirdi is famous for the shrine of Sai baba.It is maintained by the Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust. If you have never been there,you may want to know how it is structured, where to start, etc. There is a main entrance near the temple road to the extreme end (Now, the mall end). which is the starting point. Now, this is the main entrance to the temple i.e. where the shrine of Saibaba exists. The "temple complex" has many other structures like - dwarkamai,other temples,counters etc. including the main temple aka Samadhi Mandir. This queue which you have joined would take you directly to the main temple and once you get out of it, i.e. after darshan, you can go to the other areas,as mentioned.You can  even go directly to these other temples,instead of going to the main temple, but through other entrances, but not through this main entrance.The main entrance will lead you directly to the main temple - samadhi mandir.In olden days, you needed to hand over mobiles, cameras at a counter just outside the main temple for a rupee or two. Now,that has changed, we were quick to find that at the main entrance itself. The security guard asked us not to carry any mobiles or cameras in the temple complex.Although the counter was not very far from the main entrance.It was just across the road. It was so hot, and we were bare feet too.So you can imagine how hot it felt.Anyway, they accepted our stuff for just 2 Rs. per bag. No need to worry here.Its maintained by the temple trust and its safe to keep your valuables there.Just don't loose the token.

Queues :
There was a huge queue here.Usually visiting the temple around 4 pm, you may face long queues. The last time we visited Shirdi, we had a night trip, which meant an early morning darshan.And at such times, the queues are usually on the shorter side.However, that was not the case this time.There were hordes of devotees waiting in the queues for darshan.Devotees of all races, castes, classes, professions joined the same queue for darshan.Some with huge garlands, some with small flowers, waiting with eager eyes to find a glimpse of the almighty.Chants of "Sai baba ki Jai" erupted regularly. In case of long waits due to the queues, there were counters for water, juices, food items along side the queue within the temple. In about a hour and half, we were in the the main temple known as "Samadhi Mandir".Here, the queue got split into two.Each one moving on either side of the lord's statue. We choose to move into the right. one As that would have meant getting to touch the feet (Paduka) by kneeling down.There are priests near Lord's samadhi (Final Resting place) to manage the queue and also to take our offerings for the Lord.They usually take some offerings and return the rest, as prasad.So within minutes, we reached the samadhi, finished our prayers and were out of the main temple. Yeah, thats how quickly the queue moves.

The temple complex : As you move out of the exit of main temple, you find youself in the temple complex.The temple complex has many temples of other deities too viz. Hanuman, Shiva, Shani Dev.The first thing you notice is the tree under which Sai baba used to sit - Gurustan.If you walk parallel along the main temple, there is a small window in the main temple, which offers you a direct view of the Lord's statue. One of us ended up with an extended session of praying.I won't go into too many details of the temple complex. But, just an overview. Apart from the different temples of Hanuman,  lingam, durga, there are prasad distribution centers.Udi (holy ash) distribution centers, Donation counters, museums, granthalaya (books-center), counters offering water, lassi, butter milk.After our darshan, we moved out of the temple-complex through exit 3. We had to visit Dwarkamai, which as on the right. Dwarkamai is a mosque where Sai baba used to stay. The queue for it was way too long. We skipped Dwarkamai this time. However, inside you would find some of the things Sai baba used in his daily life.We then proceeded towards buying some Shirdi laddoos. This is outside the temple-complex.When you get back to the main entrance road. Just keep walking toward the left. Its called "Prasadalay".We bought 10 packets of shirdi ladoos. Each costs Rs. 10 (4 pieces).Unfortunately we had to stand in a queue each time.Yeah, they give only one packet per person.But, it was a small queue so no worries.

Places to Eat : There are a lot places to eat. There are a lot of restaurants serving Gujrati,Punjabi, South Indian even Chinese food.In fact, I had asked one person, where I could find proper, authentic Maharashtrian  thali. I guess, with that, I might have touched some nerve of his.He erupted, "You would not find even one restaurant which serves Maharashtrian thali". Giving up hopes of finding the elusive cuisine, we stuck to the usual.We had a Punjabi thali, It tasted decent enough for a nominal cost(under 150 for two). As I ate my dinner, made me think for a while..so much has changed in Shirdi..So many shops, hotels,people, crowds, noise.There is even a mall now at Shirdi which has brands like "Tara Bhagatchand" in it. The mall is still not fully functional though.Then the angst of the poor shop owner over lack of traditional Maharashtrian Thali. With all this commercialization..I hope the sanctity of the place is not lost forever...Btw,. I was having my lunch, at dinner time :)

Return journey : By the time we finished our lunch (at dinner time;) It was 8.00 pm.We spent some more time buying lockets, Saibaba photos,etc..Remember, We still had to check out from the hotel.But before doing that, we were looking at options to return back.We walked our way to the S.T. Stand. which was away from the main temple road(Manmad/nagar road). There were S.T. buses at regular intervals to Mumbai. However, some of us wanted to go by A/C bus. There are no dearth of options from Shirdi.So we went back to the main temple road. There we found a bus service( I think Rajhans), which was leaving at 9.30 pm(Rs. 350/- per person). The agent told us, "If you can reach here by 9.30, the bus would wait".It was already 9.00 pm. So we rushed back to our room.And guess what, we were faced with a unique situation - lights out!!! One of the phases was down, and there were no lights. The hotel attendants provided us with a torch light.One of us held the torch - and for the rest..the search was on - did I keep my camera back, my mobile, that towel - was on everyone's mind.Luckily there wasn't much for this trip, so we packed our stuff in that torch light and checked out in a hurry. As we reached the place, the agent was missing!!! Frantic calls!!! The bus was no where in sight!!There was someone else, who said, the bus on the Nagar/Manmad road.We ran our way...as we reached the place..the bus had already left!! Few more calls..the agent had arranged for an auto. The chase began!!!In cities, the max number of passengers is usually 4.Here, there were 12!!We just stuffed ourselves in...Thoughts began.. were...Are we on the right trail? Would we get our bus?...A petrol pump in sight...And there it was...the bus was waiting for us. Rest of the journey was not so exciting - as usual we dozed off ;) But, it was an exciting end to our nice little trip to the land of Sai baba - Shirdi.

Lohagad Fort - How to go, places to visit, things to do

Feb' 27 2010: This time the excursion was with a group known as Breakfree journeys. It was a new group run by a young college bloke by the name, Rushikesh Kulkarni. Quite an enterprising bloke must say. (For more details on the group and its activities - click here) He had published the event on the 'Mumbai Hikers' blog. Mumbai hikers, obviously is the central blog portal where most of Mumbai trekking groups post their upcoming events.Quite a good initiative.It was calling for trekking enthusiasts to join them for a trek to Lohagad fort for a one-day event, with the return journey planned for the evening.Some of my friends had been to the Lohagad fort before. They had suggested it was an easy trek.'Easy' that's what attracted me to this trek.This was going to be my first "real" trek.And after a few calls with Rushikesh on Friday night confirmed my presence for the next day.Lohagad, here we come..!!! :)

The Journey : Pickups were planned at Kandivali, Dadar, Chembur,Kalamboli, Panvel.There started our journey.After picking up enthusiasts along the way, our numbers rose to 17 with a couple of office collegues joining in.All towards our destination - Lohagad.The way to Lohagad was to through a place Malawli - Base Village.

How to reach Lohagad : There are different ways by which one can reach Lohagad. As discussed earlier, you have to reach the base village called as "Malawli".
By Public Transport : If you are planning to travel by public transport, you need to catch a train to Pune.(from Mumbai).On the way, Malawli is the next station after Lonavala.Make sure the train you catch stops at Malawli.Once you get down at Malawli Station,walk towards the end of the station, i.e. towards the Pune side.Once you reach the end, turn right.And keep walking, till you come across a patch of land - we shall call it 'Junction'.That's because you would find  shops, hotels and some houses too.You would also find an open space - courtyard on the left side.Its used as a  parking space.This is the Bhaje gaon.
By Road : We came here by road - the route is even simpler take the Mumbai-Pune express highway, soon after passing through Lonavala, we started looking at signs for Malawli and also asking people at every turn, just to be sure.Soon, we made a turn to the right, i.e. after asking for directions to local people.We then crossed over the railway lines,near the Malawli station and reached the "Junction" - Bhaje gaon.

After parking our vehicle there,We had a nice sumptuous breakfast of Pohe served with freshly cut lemons to go along with it.Not more than 20 Rs.After a few group snaps, we were all set to start our trek.Some of us, me included, bought some water from the nearby shops. Make sure you buy water here, you will surely need them, as there are no other shops on the way to Lohagad.From the junction, you can see some stairs in the distant background,on the left hand side.Those are the stairs to the "Bhaje caves" - our next destination.

Bhaje Caves: They are 2nd century BC Buddhist caves.They are a set of 18 caves, cut straight out of rocks.Amazing bit of ancient architecture. The pictures and links would help you more.For more details click here 
Journey: The journey began with the climbing the steps to the caves. These are unique steps, each step being low in height, and high in terms on length and width.So actually, when you climbing them, its almost as if you and walking instead of really climbing.Still, after a few levels, it starts tiring you out.It took us not more than 20-30 minutes to reach the top.Again, that depends on how fit you are.On the way, we found a few local vendors selling chaas,cucumbers,lime juice.Once we reached the caves, we had to pay some entrance fees to It was Rs. 10 for an adult and Rs. 5 for a child.Finally, after some struggle, we reached the caves.

What is there to see : As soon as you enter the caves vicinity,you see a huge cave in the center.This is called as chaithya, This was used by the Buddhist monks for praying.It is a prayer hall.You can see pillars on the sides, all made of rock.The ceiling of this hall is made of wood.It appeared to be made out of wood,wonder how it lasted for over 2000 years.And then, at the distant end of the cave, you find an inverted cup shaped structure, almost like a bell.This is called the "stupa".It was said that, Buddha's relics were kept in the stupa.You can imagine Buddhist monks meditating near the stupa.Infact, we did try making some sounds in that temple, and it gave a mild echo to our sounds.As we came out of this huge-center cave,on the right hand side, there are broken steps leading to the other smaller caves.Its quite easy to climb.Within those little small caves, you would find small bed-like structures, all cut out rock.Must be the Buddhist monks retired to these smaller caves.After exploring little, we then returned down the broken steps, for first-timers like me, even that is challenging, however, there is always support.So, carefully, we got down from those caves.Unfortunately, the tight schedule wasn't allowing us to explore the "Bhaje caves" more. So, after a few pictures, we turned our heads to Lohagad.

Lohagad : Lohagad fort, one of prominent forts built by Shivaj Maharaj stands tall at 3,450 feet (1,052 m) near Lonavala.Known as the Iron fort (Loha=Iron). It is said to have been used by many dynasties that ruled the Marathi kingdom.There are many structures built on the fort by the people who ruled it which includes a water tank, temple etc. A favorite among the modern day marathas - the trekkers.The fort has always attracted hordes of tourists across Mumbai and Pune.Usually seen as a beginners trek.For more details on Lohagad click here.

Journey: Descent from Bhaje caves: The normal route would have meant getting down by the steps, which we had used earlier to climb. And then turning to the left and travel by the straight ascending road to Lohagad.But things were'nt as simple.As you head out of Bhaje caves, there is a small trail near the entrance.No, I am not talking about man-made steps but, its actually a narrow trail to the side of the hill.Suddenly there was a buzz of trying get down through this trail.After agreement from all, we decided to get down by the trail.I was hesitant, still agreed. This was not the usual way to Lohagad. Initial few strides were easy. Its actually quite helpful to be following someone, as your going on a path travelled.But, soon it became steeper.There are definitely some skills to be learnt for a trekker, especially while descending.Making use of every tree, branch, rope even the person ahead's bag :) Its all a matter of grip. Being in the best of sport shoes, I slipped a couple of times.That's when I learnt the feet need to placed sideways instead of placing them straight.Anything that gets you a good grip.Some of the experienced trekkers were making way for others to follow.Being a novice, I followed it well.Soon we were at the base of the hill.We just turned around and looked back at the Bhaje caves. It was an awesome feeling, looking back how far, how high we were and the manner in which we got down from the trail.

 Trek to Lohagad: The trail to Lohgad is quite an easy one.You just need to follow the straight road ahead.Its not a motor-able road by any means.It might have been motor-able many years back, but, not any more.The route goes spirally upwards.Almost like a zig zag.Some people were climbing up by the small ravines.I was'nt one among them.I travelled by the normal route.All this climbing was tiring me out.Little travel, little water breaks, little sitting breaks in shade was the order.As you climb up, you would find two peaks - the one straight ahead and the other to the right.The one straight ahead is Visapur fort and the one to the right is Lohagad.There are places during the ascent you may not be sure which side to turn.Take the right.There were two such occasions.Also, the local villagers would be very helpful. (if you find any).Usually local villagers travel up to sell water, lime juices etc.Make sure you take help from them.When we were almost there, we found a small juice-vendor to the right, with a nice tent put up, selling freshly made kokam juice.We took a break of 15-20 minutes. After quenching our thirsts, we were back on our way to Lohagad. It was half an hour of journey from here. The journey so far was a good one.It was not a trek which you need to take with any experienced trekker as such. Since, most of the route was a rather straight one, it was quite easy even for first timers like me. The tough part was the tiredness from all the travel., but regular breaks made it quite easy.And soon, after almost 2 hrs  we were at Lohgadwadi ,base village of our destination.You can reach here by a proper motor-able route as well., I guess from Malawli.There were a lot of people there.It was almost like a trek mela there.People turning up from everywhere.It was a festive atmosphere.Young, old, local,city folks - all kinds of people here.There were a lot of trekking groups like ours everywhere in shops, resting,climbing up.We took a shelter at a place called Sai hotel.Our organizer had given an order for our lunch, which we were going to have after visiting Lohagad fort.After leaving all our bags at the place, we were on our way to Lohagad fort.Wondering - again the climb? Yes, we were at the footsteps of the fort.We just needed to climb those.

What is there to see : As you climb up, you find the majestic Pawna lake behind i.e to the right, the village Lohagadwadi in the center and the Visapur fort to the left.The steps were quite high in terms of height.Making it even tougher to climb.But soon in 20 minutes or so, we were at the Ganesh Darwaja - the main entrance to the fort. Lohagad fort has 4 doors called "darwajas" - Ganesh Darwaja, Nayaran Darwaja, Hanuman Darwaja and Maha Darwaja.The Ganesh Darwaja seems to have either painted or built again.Having full of sharp structures protruding out,these are tall doors atleast 10 feet in height.Each darwaja comes up as you climb up the stairs introducing you to a new section of the fort.This section or open space gives a panaromic view.You can see there are small openings in the walls of the fort.You can imagine these openings to be used for cannons on other waring provinces  and Mughals.We found a small cannon or two, we even tried to lift, but it was way too heavy for any of us to lift.The final Maha Darwaja opens up to a vast open courtyard.Its more like a peak of the mountain rather than a fort.Its wide and huge and houses a temple, a few ponds, a dargah and the famous vinchukatta.Most of the time spent up was exploring the different parts, taking pictures.Here is picture showing the layout of the fort.

As we were exploring the fort, we came across quite a nice pond - called "16 koni talav" With shade on one side, all of got down near the pond, took off our shoes and just spent some time cooling off our feet in the pond.The water was quite clear, although there were some frogs and fishes in the talav. Its almost like a hidden spot.Its next to the famous "Vinchukata" - Scorpion’s Sting, a long and narrow fortified structure. This is a finger styled projection of fissure of Lava and the name scorpion’s sting due to its natural shape. The attractive beauty of the pinnacle of this hilly terrain is worth visiting.Since, many of us were hungry, we started our trip downwards. Only few proceeded to the "Vichukata", rest moves towards the base.

Where to eat : We had a nice meal of zunka bhakar at the "Hotel Sai".It cost us 35 Rs. per plate. Also, they added a nice chutney made of mirchi(Chillis).It is the most spiciest thing you can eat.It was just yummy!!!We started munching one zunka after the other.Some had rice plate which included rice, dal and few chapatis and bhajis.All that to gulp it down with a nice lemon juice.After having our fill, we started our journey back.The journey back was a quick one.We clocked a mere 40 minutes on the way down.i.e to Bhaje village.We were the first group to reach the base.Soon, group by group started arriving at the base.All of us had tea at the stall.And then we started our journey back to Mumbai with a small detour planned along the way - Pawna lake.

Pawna Lake: It is an artificial lake formed by the Pawna Dam built across the Pawna River nearby Lonavala. The lake attracts many tourists due to its imposing natural ambience and cool climate.Beautiful, serene, usually used by corporates for holding team building events.

Journey : As you reach the Pune-Mumbai highway,by road, coming from Lohagad, take a left at Lonavala.You need to cross over the train lines and go by the parallel road on the other side tback owards Pune.Make sure to ask local people the route, as you need to take a right.It takes around 30 minutes to reach Pawna lake from Lonawala.After a few turns we were again in the country side (Lonavala is almost a city nowadays).Soon we could see the lake in the distant background, but reaching there seemed like forever.We were getting down to lower plains and the roads were spirally taking us down.Although they are one-way roads, if any big vehicle say a truck or a big car came towards  you, it meant slowing down and going on the side to allow the oncoming vehicle to pass by.Slowly, steadily we manage to reach the lake.There was a big parking place nearby, that's where we parked our 18-seater.We could hear noise of the boats from there..

What is there to see: Pawna lake offers natural beauty. Not only is the water clear, the time being dusk, it offered a spectacular view of the evening sun.Its the kind of place, you would lie down and do nothing, just gaze at the beautiful spectacle.But there is more to Pawna lake.It has a restaurant which offers all kinds of food.Its quite normal to find corporates organizing their team building events at Pawna.Infact we saw a huge delegation of officials holding their annual day there.Now for the boating - It offers two boating facilities - the group boating costing 30 Rs per seat. It took 8 of us at one time.Usually the boat ride lasts for 5-10 minutes which includes a circle around the little island which is seen from shore.The other boat ride is one for the more adventurous -  a speed boat ride. Costing at Rs. 80 per seat - its a 2 seater ride. and the ride lasts for 3-4 unforgettable minutes.Well, I won't go into more details here, its there for you to experience it.Just hold on when the boat operator turns side ways..!!!!

Return :We spent over an hour at Pawna lake, before moving on for our return jorney.Someone had informed our organizer that you do not have to get to Lonavala to get on the highway. There was an alternative route to Mumbai.After asking a few locals we were soon on our way back to Mumbai on the expressway.Overall it was well organized trip by Breakfree journeys -  there was a bit of history, hard work, great food, some adventure, serene breath taking scenes, lots of pictures.Hope this blog helps you on your trip to Lohagad..!!

Arnala Fort & Jivdani Temple - How to go, places to visit, things to do

Jan 2,2010: Arnala, not to be confused with Karnala, was our choice of destination for this early Jan trip.In fact, we had a pretty good discussion, where to go, Arnala or Karnala? Karnala, of course, houses the famous Bird Santuary and the Karnala fort.But, we decided to go to Arnala, which was closer, and was quite a simple trip.

How to get there: Auto ride: Our plan was to explore the Arnala Fort island, which was near the Arnala beach.Virar.So, all of us met at the Virar Station, the west side of the station. Arnala beach is on the West.We all gathered around 11.00 am.Just near the main ticket entrance/auto stand.We took an auto from the autorickshaw stand.We were a group of 5.Its allowed in Virar, i.e. two on either side of the driver, and 3 behind.We asked him to take us to the beach.It cost us Rs.15 per head.It was not the most comfortable ride, especially for two of us, seated ahead.But, we knew it was just 20 minutes of struggle.Yeah,It took us around 20 minutes to reach the beach.

The ferry ride: The auto left us near the jetty.This is where, we get the ferry to the island.This was not the usual ferry ride in many ways, the kinda which you take while going to the Essel World.This was slightly different.It was not a big boat, but a very small one.Usually overcrowded, the entire boat moves, whenever anybody got in, or got out.It didn't dock at the jetty, but, right on the beach.So we needed to walk, towards the boat.The walk meant wading through, the lines of fishes, hanging for drying purposes.Arnala is strictly fishermen's beach,if you didn't know that.So don't be surprised, to see fish,find fish, & smell nothing but fish...Also, another point, the beach is full of human litter all over, so watch where you are stepping.I wasn't lucky though, unfortunately had to celebrate the new year by cutting a human cake..:( Luckily there was water around to clean up.So,finally, when we reached the boat, there was still one minor task to do, to get on the boat!!.The boat is usually a few meters in the sea, so you need to walk through the water.For some of us, who were unprepared, in jeans and shoes,this was uncalled for.They had to remove their shoes, pants, get into shorts and wade through the water.Make sure to keep loose things like keys,purse, money firmly in some bag, as one of us dropped his mobile in the water, while getting on the boat.Luckily, one of the local fisherman on the boat, spotted that, immediately started scouting through,everyone on the boat joining in."It's there..its there.." were the chants, still, there was no sign of it.We all knew, it was a loss,the guy who lost it, admitted, the only thing he needed were the numbers on the phone.And suddenly, eureka, the boy/helper on the boat, found the mobile!!!And everyone on the boat, exclaimed a sigh of relief.Although, each one had a few advices to give,advices like "remove the sim,remove the battery, keep it for drying." followed. The owner, our friend, was just too happy to get it back.The ride cost us Rs. 10. This was the price for return journey.It was going to be a 15 minutes ride to the Arnala Fort island. So much, for the adventure already,now,over to the island...

What is there to see : On our way: Just as geting on the boat, is an art in itself, so is getting out.So once, all of us got out, we were greeted, once again with lines of more fish.If you are planning to take this trip, you better  come prepared, to smell fish.After asking for guidance, to local fishermen, we found our way, which was pretty straight, through the small lane of the fishing village.On our way,we found a local shop, where we purchased some biscuits,water and some chips.For the fort,you need to just go straight along the lane.Nothing too confusing.You can always ask the local people.They are quite helpful.So helpful, that, one of them,assumed himself to be our travel guide, and was actually walking along with us, even joining with us for pictures..!!!After, we got to the fort, and got rid of him,(so much for being helpful,we city people are so ungrateful ;)just kiddin, we did thank him.

The fort, was not as we had expected it to be,it was not as huge, as other forts, which we had visited earlier,it was more like an out house, need to research further, was it really a fort after all, it looked more like an watch place.Still, it was big enough, almost as big as the Shivaji park, with boundaries all around.Don't know, how many of you, would agree with that description. We were greeted once, again with more fishes, actually, this fort is extensively being used by the local fishermen, for drying their fish.The fishes, which I presume are shrimps, of all sizes,were laid along the four walls of the fort with a very narrow, line, to walk along.These are walls of the fort, which you can see in the pictures.So our exploration of the fort, was only limited to walking along the four walls,and inside the fort.There were some odd staircases along the way, we did try and have a peek, by going in, but eventually chickened out, owing due the darkness.

The fort within Once, we got down, we moved towards, exploring the center of the fort, which included a temple and a mosque.The local people were busy washing clothes,near a well, which was right in the center of the fort.We moved towards, a large banyan tree.We relaxed under it, chated for some time.One of us had brought some dosas,all of us,enjoyed a quick bite.Banyan tree, meant vines hanging from it, which meant swings, made by the local kids.There were in fact, couple of swings created by tying the vines, few of us, tried their instincts, and gave a shot, at the swing.It was fun,very raw kind of fun, the kind of fun, you had, whenever, you visited your native place.There was no fear of breaking of the vines, they were really strong vines.Yeah, getting to push people around is a fun in itself, especially, if you push them towards the tree.;)

Soon, it was lunch time.we were told there was a resort on the island, only to find that, the resort was actually on the beach and not the island, this made us bring our fort/island exploration to an abrupt end.This ,somehow dissapointed me,as we could have explored some more places on the island,only to get on the ferry for our return journey.It was slightly confusing, where the resort actually was,That's when,the boat operator, told us there was a resort on the island,itself, and it was worth going, which dissapointed even further, as none of us, was ready to get down, i.e. before the boat started ;) So it was a journey back,again.Might have to come again,here,sometime,to explore other parts of this island.The boat, was thought, not to be plying during the noon hrs, but, we found, that's not the case, the ferry is available, even during the noon hrs, but with lesser frequency.

On reaching the beach, we were told, the resort is just too far, and not anywhere close.,which meant, we skipping that resort plan, and getting back to our base, i.e.Virar station.So around 2.30 pm, our trip ended abruptly, and we were on our way back. Learning curve: make sure to make some provisions for food, or explore on food options, before making any trip.
 

Return Journey : On our way, we decided, to eat at the hotel Shreya just opposite to the station.Also,seemingly dissapointed,as there was still time, we thought,how about, going to the famous temple of Jivdani ? The answer was unanimous...Why not???

Jivdani : After, having our food at the hotel,Shreya,its a purely vegetarian hotel,which served quite good food.We just mulled over, this sudden change of trip, which meant much better, than we had initially planned.Jivdani temple, of course, is the temple made for the goddess Maa Jivdani.The temple, also gives a pictureseque view of the Virar township.For some of us, this was our first trip to Jivdani.For more details on the temple and goddess Jivdaani click here

How to get there : For Jivdani temple, you need to go Virar, East,there are regular autos from there to the temple.It cost us, Rs. 5 per person.Again, five in the auto, 2 ahead.Actually, this  time, we got quite good at it.Traveling, by siting ahead,hanging by the auto comes naturally to us now.Within minutes, we were at the base of the hill.Jivdani temple, is situated on top of hill, if you didn't know that.Getting to the temple meant, climbing up the hill, which means climbing up more than a thousand steps.Well, not an easy task, for people, who have rarely been on any treking expeditions.Let's see how it went.

What is there to see :The first few steps of the climb, din't seem much to bother.It was quite easy.There are shops on both sides, selling pooja prasad,flowers and other puja offerings.You can buy them,there, or at the top, there are a lot of options.You can even keep your chappals at those shops, or at the shoe stand at the base, if you wish to make the climb bare foot.We made our trip with our chappals on.There is a railing, which at the centre of the staircase for the devotees, for support while climbing.Soon, after a climbing 100 steps, fatigue started showing.So we took a break for a breather.Its surprising,climbing steps tires you much quicker than any other activity like sports, running or even lifting weights.There are shops offering water and cool drinks and some eatables too.But, we stuck to just drinking water along the way..It was so tiring,, it was draining each one us, except for one.He looked quite fresh even after climbing the top.He had  done the smarter thing, instead of climbing a lot, he just stuck to walking a few steps and then taking a break."smart boy".There was quite a crowd along the way,same was the case for each of them, little climb, little break So, finally after 40 minutes of climbing, we reached the top of the hill.
 
After purchasing some offerings,and placing our chappals, at one of the shops,we were headed for the temple.The temple at the top had a further, staircase, which led you into the temple.There are signs everywhere.Right in the center, it was the goddess Jivdani,.There were other gods as well around.Its really,an enriching experience, after climbing so much, to pray at the temple.Almost a Vaishnavdevi kind of experience, a trip we wish to take some time in the future.There was one more storey, just to the  right side of the temple, where devotees can relax. It had some shops selling tea,some cold drinks.But, it was more for relaxing and enjoying the view.

Yes, the view from the top was absolutely breath taking, very surreal,very unlike any view anywhere near the city.It was almost a hill-station like feel to it.We spoted a very beautiful view of the township of Virar.But, the thing that disturbed us was the garbage, thrown there.The environmentalist witin our group, was really pissed at the sight.In his own words, "this is garbage which will not be recycled in a 100 years".Yes, it was all plastic. He quickly grabbed a camera, and clicked some pictures.What bothered him the most was, pollution in itself is wrong, that too so close to the temple is something very bad.When will we realize, this is going to hurt us in the long run.We agree, with our environmentalist. here.Soon, the sun started sinking, for the day, which us gave a fanastic view of the clouds and the rays of the sun.So it was time for some more pictures, and finally, we started our descent.

Return journey :The descent was easy, the breaks were lesser,and within no time, we reached the base.There was a Hanuman temple at the base, we prayed for a few minutes there, and after some account settling, we got into an auto, with six passengers this time.Dont ask me how was the ride. And with that, our trip ended.It was again, a sudden trip, made, changed along the way, which is quite normal.In the end, it ended well.As they say, "all's that well, ends well" or should we say.."aal izz well" ;) Have a good time at Jivdani and Arnala.Hope this was useful.