Re: Gujarat Extravaganza

Nice as usual dada! Please carry on!

Re: Gujarat Extravaganza

thank you krishna da! again

Re: Gujarat Extravaganza

What can I say !! Afterall, dada jab bolte hain baki sab sunte hain !! Bring it on more Suvra da !!

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waah baka waah!! moj aavi gayi.. never thought of visiting this side of Gujrat.. but now it is on my list..

Re: Gujarat Extravaganza

Day 10 (9th February): Ahmedabad - Mumbai - Lonavala

I and Sunil woke up early in the morning, around 4am and the target was to reach Vadodara and catch up with Tapabrata and Ashish. However, as we woke up, we found out that there is no electricity and hence we are almost out of mobile charge. It was too early to inquire around about the possibilities when the electricity would be coming back so we impatiently waited and waited, until around 5am the electricity was back. I called up Ashish and explained him the situation, and hence advised them to go ahead towards Pune because it would now take more time to reach Vadodara itself.

We got ready and by 7am we started off from Ahmedabad. I remembered the trouble we had faced while coming from Vadodara to Ahmedabad on the 2nd day and told Sunil about this. So, we both, extra cautious, started from the hotel. To my surprise, the road did not seem that bad at all, the only problem we found was the number of diversions but with the lesser amount of traffic, it was quite manageable and by 9am we reached Vadodara. Both of us were quite hungry and decided to have breakfast after we cross Bharuch. To my surprise, again, there was very less traffic on the Golden bridge and it did not take much time for us to reach Bharuch. We pulled over to a dhaba for having breakfast cum lunch, called Tapabrata and Ashish to find out that they have already crossed Surat and their plan was to stay at the same guest house which we stayed on the first night near Pune. They were a good 75 kms ahead of us and it was difficult for us to catch up with them enroute, hence me and Sunil discussed about it and decided to continue our pace as it is and not to push much.

After the sumptuous meal, we started off slowly our next leg. This leg was quite boring all the way till Thane as because it was a dead straight road and with the temperature rising, it was getting more difficult for us to concentrate on the road. Thankfully, there was literally no traffic on the highway all along (except Vapi, where we met a train of trollers and trucks waiting to cross into the Maharashtra border) which helped us maintain a healthy pace though. We took only one small break in the middle to make sure we are not completely drained out of energy and liquid. A picture taken by me on the way to Thane.



Some time around 3am, we were approaching Thane, surrounded by hills on either side of the National Highway. We were a bit tired by them and needed a short break.







The mammoth task for us was to cross the traffic of Mumbai and it was the peak time, with the people heading home from office. So, when we reached the outskirts of Mumbai, we took one final break, just to set the location on the GPS, towards Pune. Sunil, in the meantime, took my camera to capture the lovely surroundings.



Sunil told me that his phone is already out of charge, so he had to rely on me. We both headed into the heart of the city, target being the Panvel bypass. Unfortunately, while passing through the numerous vehicles and traffic jams, I lost Sunil where he missed one turn. I waited for couple of minutes, hoping that he will be taking a u-turn and come back, but he was nowhere to be sighted. The only option left for me was to head as per the map directions and hope that Sunil gets the right directions from the locals and head the same way. So, once I crossed all the traffic-infested city, I decided to wait for sometime, to see if I can get a sight of Sunil. Within few minutes, there he was! We both grinned and discussed about our next destination. It was already passed 6pm and reaching Pune seemed unlikely for us. Sunil suggested we stay at Lonavala for the night so that next day morning we can do some sightseeing and leave towards Bangalore. I called up Tapabrata and told him about our plan and headed towards Lonavala.

On our way, to Lonavala, we stopped at a small hotel by the highway to have some heavy snacks, thanks to the early lunch, we both were outrageously hungry. We reached Lonavala sometime around 8pm and started hunting for a cheap accommodation. On the way to Lonavala though, we stopped at one particular place to get a view of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and click some pictures.



After multiple searching, we finally got accommodation at Hotel Shreeniwas, just beside the highway with the pricing, just suiting us. We parked our bikes, unpacked and headed out for a light dinner. We were dead tired already and the last thing to do was check with Ashish and Tapabrata about their whereabouts. We both were relieved to find out that they had bunked as well to the same guest house near Pune and are on the verge of crashing for the day. We conveyed our whereabouts and also told them that the plan for us is to roam around Lonavala for some time the next day and head towards Bangalore so basically, they can continue towards Bangalore, without waiting for us. And then we crashed, watching some bollywood hits on TV.

Accommodation for the day:

Hotel Name: Hotel Shreeniwas
Hotel Address: Old Mumbai Pune Highway, Lonavala, Maharashtra 410401
Contact: 09850152933
Price: 1500 for double bed room.

End of Day 10, Day 11 to follow soon.

Re: Gujarat Extravaganza

The last capture is simply awesome!

Re: Gujarat Extravaganza

thank you dada

Sent from my Panasonic P81 using xBhp Connect mobile app

Re: Gujarat Extravaganza

Both dada (s) chatting through posts.... utha le re baba!

Re: Gujarat Extravaganza

Day 11 (10th February): Lonavala - Amby Valley - Matheran - Lonavala

We were not in a hurry to head out even though both me and Sunil woke up as early as 6am in the morning. We freshened up and headed out for some sightseeing, breakfast planned on the way. This was my first time in Lonavala, not for Sunil though and hence he took the lead. Our target was to roam around as much as possible till 12:30 pm and then come back to the guest house and check out and then ride towards Belgaum. Roads were in utmost shape till the view points, but after a certain distance, we saw a detour that headed towards Lavasa, which was not in great shape at all. It was this stretch which took most of the time to travel, however, we were blessed by some spectacular scenes along. Posting below the pictures taken by me during the little bit of exploration which we did around Lonavala.









































By the time we reached our hotel, it was around 1pm and we were damn hungry. We packed our luggage, ready to check out and went to the nearby restaurant to have lunch. Discussing things over lunch, suddenly Sunil asked me if I was ok to stay back at Lonavala for the day and if that is the case, we can head over to Matheran. I thought over the plan for a bit and since it was already late in the day, the plan sounded fine for me. The only hurdle would be to cover around 900 odd kms the next day from Lonavala to Bangalore. Sunil seemed fine with this idea and hence, without further delay, just after we finished lunch, we walked over to the reception and extended our stay. I called up Ashish, finding out that they are on course towards Bangalore and would be reaching Bangalore by sunset. I told him about our plan that we would be reaching Bangalore the next day. So, around 2:30pm, we started off towards Matheran. Below are the pictures which are taken enroute and at the spot.















By the time we reached back to Lonavala, it was around 7pm and knowing that we would be having a lot and tough day tomorrow, we had an early dinner and went off to sleep. The plan was to start as early as possible to next day and head towards Bangalore.

Accommodation for the day:

Same as the previous hotel in Lonavala.

End of Day 11, Day 12 (The Final Leg) coming soon.

Re: Gujarat Extravaganza

The sight of the rail track with the unprotected downhill besides it - just fascinating!

Re: Gujarat Extravaganza

Mast hai re

You should always ride with others, else you are never in the pics..

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yes it is dada!

haha..haan sahi kaha..me thus quit solo riding

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Dada please complete the final leg. We are waiting!

Re: Gujarat Extravaganza

Hi Good, well narrated and great images. I have heard that Rann of Kutch is great on Full moon days, Hope to see that some day

Re: Gujarat Extravaganza

on normal days..