February 2020
Ireland…Ireland is where we were supposed to go come 2020. My dream destination. And where did we ‘land’? Gujarat; my birth place 😀
Talking of international trips, 2019 was PP’s. South Africa! You know where we went instead? Goa; his beer place 😛
South Africa didnt happen because we had a reality check; ‘Kill’imanjaro. After several videos and blogs of research, we concluded there was a long way to make it to the top; metaphorically and physically!
Ireland’s story was different. My passport expired in Oct 2019 and I finally filled the application in Jan 2020. OK OK, PP did it! (That raised eyebrow and scowl made me correct it*)
Guess what? That passport is still on HOLD 😛
Think think think… what to do!? Where to go!?The best solution in terms of budget-time-comfort turned out to be Gujarat.
Itinerary:
15.02. Statue of Unity
16.02. Dasada
17.02 – 19.02 Rann of Kutch
20.02 Gir National Park
21.02 Random Halt
We chalked out this plan in just two days and we did no pre-bookings for the stay except in Dasada because;
1) Not peak season + Weekdays
2) When on the bike, plans need tweaking at times
Blog note!
FYI: For. Your. Information
SNAP: Stop. Notice. Admire. Photo
Stay feedback criteria: cost, cleanliness, comfort, class!
First stop – Statue of Unity (SOU)
Stay: Hotel Rajtilak and rooms, Rajpipla – 23 kms from the Statue site
Feedback: 2.5/5 (Average but Manageable)
FYI:
1) Mondays closed
2) Buy your online ticket at least a day prior
3) Target the 8 am slot on weekends to avoid crowd
4) About the Laser Show, the official site of SOU says 7.30 pm onwards BUT do enquire with the locals
Imagine my dismay when I found out the show ended at 7.30 pm. Maybe the timings change seasonally but that caused us to miss the show 😦
SNAP: The road towards the Statue is a beautiful sight at night! It’s decorated with a long line of colorfully lit up artificial coconut trees!
Since the laser show didn’t happen, we headed to ‘Ekta Mall’ a km away from SOU. That’s where you go to buy your souvenirs and khadi products.
We had an online booking for Sunday morning 8 am. We parked our fully loaded bike at one of the tea stalls and completed our tour in two hours. I liked what I saw, let me tell you that! The efforts that have gone into constructing that 182 meters high Statue is commendable!
Second Stop: Dasada
FYI: Dasada is a sanctuary for birds like the Flamingos, Pelicans, Storks, Quails and many more. The Jeep takes you to what they call ‘Little Rann of Kutch’ to spot these beauties.
Stay: Rann Riders (pre-booked online)
Feedback: 5/5 (The buffet was yummy, the cottage was cosy and the horses shiny :P)
The bird-watching tour comes as part of the hotel package and its a good four hours of patient spotting and sighting! Don’t worry if you don’t have a pair of binoculars on you, the guide does.
SNAP: Zoomed flamingos. zoomed so much that the pink turned white 😀 but believe me you, they were in the ‘pink’ of health, those birdies!
We were also taken to a salt-pan that was bang in the middle of nowhere giving it a mirage effect! There was a hut and in it lived a family of three laborers that made an earning out of that salt. Those crystals are really pretty, priced less yet priceless. The irony!
SNAP: PP bent down and found a flamingo feather that he gifted me..aww! What more can a girl ask for! 😀
Third Stop: Rann of Kutch
Stay: Rann Rajvi (had googled earlier and settled on it after checking out the place)
Feedback: 3/5 (decent but the cement bed gave me a stiff back)
The nice thing about the place was it had such a laid back feel to it that we enjoyed one full day of guilt-free resting on those charpoys (googled that word*)
SNAP: PP managed to capture my Eureka moment, only I was Picasso not Archimedes 😛
FYI: There’s a Tent City with a private stretch of white sand but if you want to spend 1/5th of your budget on a night stay in a tent, you’d rather it have a bathtub or a private pool! Besides you can’t even check if the property does come with that desired luxury because of those bouncer-like guards!So consider the other options available and spend wisely.
In the evening we headed to the location of the Utsav. Maybe it was because it was nearly the end of the Nov-Feb festival but there was hardly any crowd and stalls to boast about.
SNAP: Those dressed up camels, they made me regret my choice of clothing 😛 An endless stretch of white, you hope to find peace. Well all you need is to find a lone spot and watch the sun set!
FYI: Mind your step unless you want to experience something similar to the effects of quick sand.. only this won’t be quick, it’ll be muck 😀
Fourth Stop: Gir Forest (unfortunately, NOT)
FYI: The tickets to the National Park, unlike the sanctuary, are only sold through the official site. Don’t expect resorts/ hotels to arrange for private tours. Check your dates and slots in advance.
Basically, we learnt about this a day before we were scheduled to leave for Gir. We didn’t find any slot that suited us so it was time for a change in plan.
Where to go????
Fourth Stop (reset): Mount Abu
On the bright side, we covered another state on bike; Rajasthan! Well not covered but you know what I mean!
Stay: Sterling Resorts (booked the earlier day)
Feedback: 5/5
Upon reaching the hotel reception, I’m told there’s no booking in my name! Ta-da!!! So apparently I’d spoken to the central customer desk and made the payment BUT I was required to send the guest details to this property for the reservation!
FYI: Don’t be like Sneha
After a few calls and talks, turns out there was a room available only for that night and the rest of the amount would be refunded..urrgghhh!! We took it 😦
Sterling stay was about doing justice to their buffet and relaxing! Oh yeah, we also had to arrange for the next night’s stay! So search + call + confirm (By the way, they don’t have a bathtub. Damn!)
Next morning after a heavy breakfast, we checked out and moved into our next hotel in Mount Abu.
Stay: Hotel Agroha
Feedback: 5/5 (small property but surprisingly spacious rooms. Overall very US feel to the property! scored big with me!)
SNAP: The front porch and the wall of flowers just outside our room! I hope I have pics of them without me in the foreground 😛
Soon thereafter we set out for lunch and some sightseeing. Talking of lunch, we had googled for authentic Rajasthani food, so it only made sense to finalize on ‘Rajasthani Bhojanalay’. Oh maaaaannn, the Dal Baati..I just didn’t want the meal to end! It was sinfully delicious with generous dollops of ghee! We went back to the place for dinner too 😀
SNAP: Simple food, modestly priced but one of the most enjoyed meals of my life!
Guru Shikar: This is highest point in Mount Abu. Thats no reason to go see it but at least it would make for a good bike ride 🙂 and then there’s always my favorite activity – watching the sun set.
Oh by the way, just so you know im like totally into The Big Bang Theory lately!!! It’s the first series of my life and probably the last but at least it’s all physics and brains. (Okay the only person I connect with is Penny because the only thing I know about Physics is the spelling :D) So imagine my delight when we go exploring the path and come across this huge building that looks all secretive and has a science feel about it!? You know what it was? Infrared Observatory! How cool is that! The guards at the gate stopped us and that’s when we learnt about it!
After a halt at the temple in Guru Shikar we found this hideout atop a tree, just the perfect spot to watch the sunset 🙂 somehow we’ve always been lucky with such discoveries! And all you want to do is listen to the birds chirping, feel the wind blowing and watch the sun setting while listening to ‘Shikayatein mitaane lagi’ 🙂
Next morning we packed up and decided on our final stop on the way back home; Vadodara – midway and convenient.
Stay: The Oasis Hotel
Feedback: 3.5/5 (centrally located, decent property AND with a bathtub!! So an extra star :D)
On the next day since we had some time to spare, we decided to visit the Lukshmi Vilas Palace. I don’t know why the entry tickets are so nominally priced because I think it deserves more!
FYI:
1) Audio guide: You know what’s super cool!?As part of the cultural tour they give you an MP3 player with detailed audio description that serves as a guide through the palace! The delivery is done with so much perfection, with the right pauses at the right time that you’d think he’s invisible and around you!
2) You only have access to the ground floor, apparently the royal family resides on the other floors! Wow, royalty!
3) Inside the palace, no photos.
Two hours later, we finally set off on the last leg of our journey from Vadodara to Panvel.
You know the most painful part of the whole bike trip??? Traffic on the Thane-Godbundher stretch! It was spread across three centuries! What I mean is, I finished reading the history of the Royal family of Gaekwads from 1721 to 1947 while seated on the bike 😛
Aaaaannnddd FINALLY we were home at 20.00 on 22nd February after having completed an adventurous and amazing road trip to Iyerland. Yeah, it is the land of Gujjus but this Iyer was born there 😉
Few NICE photos from the trip…
P.S. Special thanks to,
My pop- For ensuring I finish the sketch, he even took me to the market to get me a black felt tip pen 😀
My uncle Radhakrishnan- For instilling in me the habit to write about my holidays since I was a kid! I may even have those copies in my shabby scrawny writing 😀
My mom- For editing my blogs and encouraging me to get mad at her!
My husband- For taking me on these trips with his bike and helping create these memories!
C.A.: Confused Aquarian 
👍
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