We (Moralfibre and me) had a lovely drive to Mahabaleshwar yesterday in my 1973 Premier President, here's my poor attempt at a travelogue.
Sunday the 9th, the Fiat Club set out for a leisurely drive (from Pune) to Wai, upto Hotel Anandvan for lunch, and back. While we were scheduled to leave at 9 30 am from Katraj, the Mumbaikar contingent's late arrival meant we were delayed for a bit, but no complaints. Kiran and me were enjoying waiting at the new bypass watching various camouflaged Tata motors prototypes zip past. So some time later (I wasn't keeping track) 27 of us in 11 cars, (1 Zen, rest Fiats/Premiers from 1955 to 1996) left in a convoy. Since I rarely get a chance to drive my Fiat on a road like this, I was in no mood to stick with the convoy, and we pushed on ahead.
The road right through was lovely, not a pothole in sight. The weather was perfect, cool, without the rain clouds looming large. We pressed on and made it in good time, with a short stop for the customary (delicious!) wada pav.
Anandvan is a charming setup, owned by club members the Kondalkars. Its very clean, picturesque and all the food is grown in house, only salt and a couple of other items are bought from outside. Fantastic! A little bit of chatting later, food was served. Standard maharastrian fare, we enjoyed it!
The time is around 2 30, and since Panchgani is only 19kms away, Kiran and me decide to drive down since we're so close. We leave at 2 35, and soon spot this familar taxi.
More here
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...agon-past.html (An Indian station wagon from the past)
The road just gets better and better. Lovely twisty ghats, hardly any traffic and I have this goofy grin on my face the entire drive. All fears of the car acting up have been allayed, and im doing a steady 80-90, going upto 115 at one spot, no more.
Im visiting Panchgani after years, and I'm glad to see it exactly the way it was, green, calm and tranquil. I suppose the fact that there werent too many tourists helped. Again, lovely weather, with fog gently creeping in, me still grinning like a school boy. Especially when I saw this! The place belongs to a friend, and theyve been adding a digit to the number every ten years, and its still ***50.
And since we're upto Panchgani its only natural to drive all the way up to Mahabaleshwar and make my usual pilgramages, my Uncles house, Imperial Stores (some things never change!), and top of the list, Bohemia. Speedy, this ones for you.
We cruise around, hunting for stereotypical Parsee bungalows, hoping to find a classic or 2, but settle for a landmaster, a burnt Peugeot wagon and some Jeep stationwagons. Sigh...no active jalopy taxis anymore. Couldn't even find the junked Ponton and 57 Fiat parked by the side of the road for the last 20 years.
A quick bite, gas up, and we're off, rains being on the back of my mind. I guess it must have been around 5 30. I must mention here that nowhere in Panchgani or Mahabaleshwar was I stopped to pay the entry toll. The others were! Kiran thinks I was mistaken for a local taxi and hence exempted! Hehe.
The drive back was less enjoying, with the sun going down and traffic levels rising, and I was a tad weary. We were back in time for a mini meet at 7 30ish(?). All in all a thoroughly enjoying drive, looking forward to doing it again on the 30th.
Over to you Kiran. Thanks, I had a blast!