Vacation in September

deepakchiniwal · 9th September 2009, 22:33

Ok, Folks here it is. The much awaited decision for me. After much of deliberation and thoughts, its now decided that we are traveling to Pune.
Mode of Travel will be Air to pune, Drive is canceled :(
People traveling: Little Honey, Wifey and Me

Since wifey's cousin's stay @ pune we might end up using their Scorpio or Santro with a Driver, again no driving for me. All i heard from my wife's cousin is we can drive back to pune after visiting places late evenings and start next morning.

This is our first trip to Pune and whom else can I rely on to make this a memorable vacation. Its you folks, TBHP.

Onward and return journey is fixed. As usual rest all days in anticipation of TBHP idea's

Sep 18. BLR - Pune
Sep 28 Pune - Blr

deepakchiniwal · 10th September 2009, 13:54

hey, no replies. Thats strange :(

kannan666 · 10th September 2009, 14:03

If you are the religious kind, don't miss out on an oppurtunity to visit Shirdi ! And if you are a hillstation lover, Mahabaleshwar should be on your list of places to visit ! A drive to Mumbai on the famous expressway should also be on !

sgiitk · 10th September 2009, 14:16

The major problem in end September is that the roads will be at their worst. If you go outside the GQ and some other major arteries, you may be in for a shock.

frequentflyer · 10th September 2009, 21:52

Well I will cross you on GQ on 18th as I drive from Pune to Blr..of course you will be 30000 feet up in the sky. But if you look out of your window you might see a Ford Fusion heading South.

deepakchiniwal · 10th September 2009, 22:27

@ Frequentflyer, I shall try and peep through the window

but otherwise, can you suggest me places around pune.

deepakchiniwal · 11th September 2009, 15:16

where have all the Pune TBHPIANS vanished

advaitlele · 11th September 2009, 15:27

No Worries Deepak.
You can go to Karla. There is a MTDC Resort; the place is good; nice ambience and surroundings, but dont expect great food. From there you can go to Lonavala, Karla and Bhaja caves if you are explorer kind.
About 40 km from Pune is Sinhagad; a must visit if you are first time in Pune. Don't miss Jhunka-Bhakar and Buttermilk on top of Sinhgad but dont drive there as the road was in terrible condition last time I was there and after rains it would be craters not road.
And everyone's favorite - Mahabaleshware and Panchgani. Don't miss corn there and Mapro Garden jumbo sandwitch and strawberries / strawberry juice / ice-cream / strawberry cream..well the list is endless there. Again good MTDC resort. I liked it more from the location point of view but nothing else to write about it.
If you dont want to miss the pilgrim places, visit Shirdi and Ashtavinayak tour. Ashtavinayak are the eight Ganpati temples around Pune and you can do it in two days. There are conducted tours for that if you dont want to take own vehicle. They arrange bus journey and food etc. for two days.
Within Pune dont miss Chitale Amrakhand, Vaishali on FC road, German Bakery on Koregaon Park, Ganesh Bhel on Paud Road / Bavdhan, if you eat Non-Veg - Kolhapuri food - I dont remember the name but its near Abhishek Hotel opp Mehendale Garage in Kothrud.
You can actually PM me as the list is ongoing and the foodie that I am, Its going to be a very long post. So I will end here.

deepakchiniwal · 28th September 2009, 22:48

I am back from the Trip, and the travelogue shall follow pretty soon with pictures.
Places Visited.
Balaji Temple
Shirdi
Ajanta Caves
1 of Ashtavinayak Temple @ Ranjengaon
Lonavala
Khandala
Matheran
Mahabaleshwar
Panchagani
Dandiya night in Pune

Since one of the cousin;s had a major accident in pune we had to cut down on lot of travel.

Mode of transport had been very varied and fun.
Air, Cars (Innova, Scorpio, Santro, Indica), Horse Back, Rail, Man pulled cart, Horse Pulled Cart, Bus and finally Auto

Its been majorly my Wife, little honey and me. Few places cousin and his family accompanied us before he met with an accident :(

@ Mods, Request you to edit the subject to Trip Around Pune and move to travelogue's.

deepakchiniwal · 1st October 2009, 15:34

18th evening we strated from bangalore and was pretty much uneventful travel to pune. We reached my wife's cousin's home pretty late.

19th, woke up very very late and it was almost lunch time. Her cousin's suggested we go to Balaji temple. We started driving in the santro and headed towrads Bangalore from Pune. About 25kms from pune is this temple run by some private business group. The temple was good and reminded me of Tirupati. Post the Laddu prasadam we headed to a dam nearby from there about 10 kms. The dam as told by the locals is a pretty old one. My little honey enjoyed the sight of large quantity of water. Some photography and back to pune. On the way stopped at some eatery outside pune for a Chai Pani, the place was "Kailash Bhel".
Started plannig for the next day's plan and it was decided we are heading towards Ajanta Caves, which was pretty much not on our list of to-go. Her cousin arranged for a Innova and everyone @ home was going along and 7 in number.
Had a sound sleep. Guess just the thought of not having to wake up the next morning for work is soo relaxing and tends to get out the kumbhakarna out of me.

20th, woke up @ 5.30 AM and the cab was alset and waiting @ 6.00 AM. Everyone bundeled inside and headed straight to Ajanta Caves. On way we stopped for some breakfast and guess this place was after Ahmednagar, it was "The Smile Stone". Had some good breakfast with some mouth watering sabudhana wadas. And time again for me to have a small nap, daughter kept waking me up and decided its time for me to let go the sleep. The Road was pretty good condition unlike the state highways in Karnataka. I must appriciete the roads compared to Karnataka, were super good. Had lot of Punto's and Linea's being driven back to Pune, must say they were not driven like baby's :(.
Had some good rajasthani food in Aurangabad and headed towards Ajantha caves.
Did some good sightseeing in Ajanta caves and headed back to Pune. Reached back pune @ about 4 AM in the morning. The innova driver was very very cautious and bored everyone, never crossed 100 kmph mark.

21st, everyone pretty much tired decided we shall go around in pune market. As it is we had woken up late and had a early lunch @ 12 PM. Sitting idle and there goes the phone ..second cousin of my wife had met with an accident. Its raining heavy, elder brother and me rushed to the spot to only find a scorpio had jumped the signal opp to City Pride and rund over cousin's leg. Pretty bad shape. Thankfully the scorpio guy did not run off, rather he had made him sit inside the scorpio and had parked the bike on Footpath. Entire day we spent in the Hospital and Ortho said he would need to be operated and need rods to be put. :(

22nd, They did not want us to cut on our vacation, and elder cousin had booked a cab already last evening. We were heading to Shirdi. Nothing to pen about on the way, we took the Pune - Sangamner - Shirdi route. Not much of rush in shirdi and we got a darshan. And while heading back we came back through Ahmed Nagar route where we stopped @ Ranjengaon and had darshan there.

23rd and 24th. We decided to head to Matheran, on the way covered Lonavala and Khandala. Purchased some Chikki at lonavala and headed to Khandala, the view was excellent. The View of mumbai pune expressway was just too beautiful. Must say we enjoyed the route through Matheran. Reached Matheran @ about 2 PM and from the local drop off point on top of matheran we took a Horse for wife and a hand pulled cart for self as i was scared of horse and had my little honey along with me.

Had done booking at Regal Hotel in Matheran and the rooms were good. The Food was very good too. Did local sightseeing in matheran for the entire day and had some delicious corn. Horse ride while back for me and hand pulled cart for wife.

25th, Headed back to Neral from Matheran with a local cab and took the Train to pune. The tunnels, view upto Khandala was as usual excellent. Went back home and paid visit to her cousin in the hospital. He was opertaed upon and is fine

26th, Little honey had cought up with cold and we did not want her to be exhausted. Blessing again for me, it was India Pakistan Match and we decided we stay back home.

27th. Mahabaleshwar and Panachagani visits. Malpro we stopped for B'fast and lots of takeback items from Malpro. I would not run this long as there are specific threads of trip to mahabaleshwar. Back home @ about 10 PM and paid a visit to Hospital again to wish her cousin for speedy recovery.

28th Morning. Back to Bangalore. We had flight early morning 6.45 from pune. Reached home safely back @ 11 AM.

I know we have missed many a places, but had no other choices.

I shall upload random photos sooner.

deepakchiniwal · 12th October 2010, 13:24

Hey Folks, Yet another year passes by bringing in some holidays and giving us an opportunity to go on a Vacation. This time around, it would be from Oct 29 to Nov 8.
Guys as usual. Please suggest!

9th September 2009, 22:33	#31
deepakchiniwal BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Melbourne Posts: 353 Thanked: 28 Times	Ok, Folks here it is. The much awaited decision for me. After much of deliberation and thoughts, its now decided that we are traveling to Pune. Mode of Travel will be Air to pune, Drive is canceled :( People traveling: Little Honey, Wifey and Me Since wifey's cousin's stay @ pune we might end up using their Scorpio or Santro with a Driver, again no driving for me. All i heard from my wife's cousin is we can drive back to pune after visiting places late evenings and start next morning. This is our first trip to Pune and whom else can I rely on to make this a memorable vacation. Its you folks, TBHP. Onward and return journey is fixed. As usual rest all days in anticipation of TBHP idea's Sep 18. BLR - Pune Sep 28 Pune - Blr Last edited by deepakchiniwal : 9th September 2009 at 22:34.
	() Thanks

10th September 2009, 13:54	#32
deepakchiniwal BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Melbourne Posts: 353 Thanked: 28 Times	hey, no replies. Thats strange :(
	() Thanks

10th September 2009, 14:03	#33
kannan666 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: KA-02 Posts: 1,002 Thanked: 128 Times View My Garage	If you are the religious kind, don't miss out on an oppurtunity to visit Shirdi ! And if you are a hillstation lover, Mahabaleshwar should be on your list of places to visit ! A drive to Mumbai on the famous expressway should also be on !
	() Thanks

10th September 2009, 14:16	#34
sgiitk BANNED Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Gurugram Posts: 7,969 Thanked: 4,788 Times	The major problem in end September is that the roads will be at their worst. If you go outside the GQ and some other major arteries, you may be in for a shock.
	() Thanks

10th September 2009, 21:52	#35
frequentflyer BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Pune Posts: 223 Thanked: 34 Times	Well I will cross you on GQ on 18th as I drive from Pune to Blr..of course you will be 30000 feet up in the sky. But if you look out of your window you might see a Ford Fusion heading South.
	() Thanks

10th September 2009, 22:27	#36
deepakchiniwal BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Melbourne Posts: 353 Thanked: 28 Times	@ Frequentflyer, I shall try and peep through the window but otherwise, can you suggest me places around pune.
	() Thanks

11th September 2009, 15:16	#37
deepakchiniwal BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Melbourne Posts: 353 Thanked: 28 Times	where have all the Pune TBHPIANS vanished
	() Thanks

11th September 2009, 15:27	#38
advaitlele BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Pune, Vadodara Posts: 528 Thanked: 463 Times	No Worries Deepak. You can go to Karla. There is a MTDC Resort; the place is good; nice ambience and surroundings, but dont expect great food. From there you can go to Lonavala, Karla and Bhaja caves if you are explorer kind. About 40 km from Pune is Sinhagad; a must visit if you are first time in Pune. Don't miss Jhunka-Bhakar and Buttermilk on top of Sinhgad but dont drive there as the road was in terrible condition last time I was there and after rains it would be craters not road. And everyone's favorite - Mahabaleshware and Panchgani. Don't miss corn there and Mapro Garden jumbo sandwitch and strawberries / strawberry juice / ice-cream / strawberry cream..well the list is endless there. Again good MTDC resort. I liked it more from the location point of view but nothing else to write about it. If you dont want to miss the pilgrim places, visit Shirdi and Ashtavinayak tour. Ashtavinayak are the eight Ganpati temples around Pune and you can do it in two days. There are conducted tours for that if you dont want to take own vehicle. They arrange bus journey and food etc. for two days. Within Pune dont miss Chitale Amrakhand, Vaishali on FC road, German Bakery on Koregaon Park, Ganesh Bhel on Paud Road / Bavdhan, if you eat Non-Veg - Kolhapuri food - I dont remember the name but its near Abhishek Hotel opp Mehendale Garage in Kothrud. You can actually PM me as the list is ongoing and the foodie that I am, Its going to be a very long post. So I will end here.
	() Thanks

28th September 2009, 22:48	#39
deepakchiniwal BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Melbourne Posts: 353 Thanked: 28 Times	I am back from the Trip, and the travelogue shall follow pretty soon with pictures. Places Visited. Balaji Temple Shirdi Ajanta Caves 1 of Ashtavinayak Temple @ Ranjengaon Lonavala Khandala Matheran Mahabaleshwar Panchagani Dandiya night in Pune Since one of the cousin;s had a major accident in pune we had to cut down on lot of travel. Mode of transport had been very varied and fun. Air, Cars (Innova, Scorpio, Santro, Indica), Horse Back, Rail, Man pulled cart, Horse Pulled Cart, Bus and finally Auto Its been majorly my Wife, little honey and me. Few places cousin and his family accompanied us before he met with an accident :( @ Mods, Request you to edit the subject to Trip Around Pune and move to travelogue's. Last edited by deepakchiniwal : 28th September 2009 at 22:50.
	() Thanks

1st October 2009, 15:34	#40
deepakchiniwal BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Melbourne Posts: 353 Thanked: 28 Times	18th evening we strated from bangalore and was pretty much uneventful travel to pune. We reached my wife's cousin's home pretty late. 19th, woke up very very late and it was almost lunch time. Her cousin's suggested we go to Balaji temple. We started driving in the santro and headed towrads Bangalore from Pune. About 25kms from pune is this temple run by some private business group. The temple was good and reminded me of Tirupati. Post the Laddu prasadam we headed to a dam nearby from there about 10 kms. The dam as told by the locals is a pretty old one. My little honey enjoyed the sight of large quantity of water. Some photography and back to pune. On the way stopped at some eatery outside pune for a Chai Pani, the place was "Kailash Bhel". Started plannig for the next day's plan and it was decided we are heading towards Ajanta Caves, which was pretty much not on our list of to-go. Her cousin arranged for a Innova and everyone @ home was going along and 7 in number. Had a sound sleep. Guess just the thought of not having to wake up the next morning for work is soo relaxing and tends to get out the kumbhakarna out of me. 20th, woke up @ 5.30 AM and the cab was alset and waiting @ 6.00 AM. Everyone bundeled inside and headed straight to Ajanta Caves. On way we stopped for some breakfast and guess this place was after Ahmednagar, it was "The Smile Stone". Had some good breakfast with some mouth watering sabudhana wadas. And time again for me to have a small nap, daughter kept waking me up and decided its time for me to let go the sleep. The Road was pretty good condition unlike the state highways in Karnataka. I must appriciete the roads compared to Karnataka, were super good. Had lot of Punto's and Linea's being driven back to Pune, must say they were not driven like baby's :(. Had some good rajasthani food in Aurangabad and headed towards Ajantha caves. Did some good sightseeing in Ajanta caves and headed back to Pune. Reached back pune @ about 4 AM in the morning. The innova driver was very very cautious and bored everyone, never crossed 100 kmph mark. 21st, everyone pretty much tired decided we shall go around in pune market. As it is we had woken up late and had a early lunch @ 12 PM. Sitting idle and there goes the phone ..second cousin of my wife had met with an accident. Its raining heavy, elder brother and me rushed to the spot to only find a scorpio had jumped the signal opp to City Pride and rund over cousin's leg. Pretty bad shape. Thankfully the scorpio guy did not run off, rather he had made him sit inside the scorpio and had parked the bike on Footpath. Entire day we spent in the Hospital and Ortho said he would need to be operated and need rods to be put. :( 22nd, They did not want us to cut on our vacation, and elder cousin had booked a cab already last evening. We were heading to Shirdi. Nothing to pen about on the way, we took the Pune - Sangamner - Shirdi route. Not much of rush in shirdi and we got a darshan. And while heading back we came back through Ahmed Nagar route where we stopped @ Ranjengaon and had darshan there. 23rd and 24th. We decided to head to Matheran, on the way covered Lonavala and Khandala. Purchased some Chikki at lonavala and headed to Khandala, the view was excellent. The View of mumbai pune expressway was just too beautiful. Must say we enjoyed the route through Matheran. Reached Matheran @ about 2 PM and from the local drop off point on top of matheran we took a Horse for wife and a hand pulled cart for self as i was scared of horse and had my little honey along with me. Had done booking at Regal Hotel in Matheran and the rooms were good. The Food was very good too. Did local sightseeing in matheran for the entire day and had some delicious corn. Horse ride while back for me and hand pulled cart for wife. 25th, Headed back to Neral from Matheran with a local cab and took the Train to pune. The tunnels, view upto Khandala was as usual excellent. Went back home and paid visit to her cousin in the hospital. He was opertaed upon and is fine 26th, Little honey had cought up with cold and we did not want her to be exhausted. Blessing again for me, it was India Pakistan Match and we decided we stay back home. 27th. Mahabaleshwar and Panachagani visits. Malpro we stopped for B'fast and lots of takeback items from Malpro. I would not run this long as there are specific threads of trip to mahabaleshwar. Back home @ about 10 PM and paid a visit to Hospital again to wish her cousin for speedy recovery. 28th Morning. Back to Bangalore. We had flight early morning 6.45 from pune. Reached home safely back @ 11 AM. I know we have missed many a places, but had no other choices. I shall upload random photos sooner.
	() Thanks

12th October 2010, 13:24	#41
deepakchiniwal BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Melbourne Posts: 353 Thanked: 28 Times	Hey Folks, Yet another year passes by bringing in some holidays and giving us an opportunity to go on a Vacation. This time around, it would be from Oct 29 to Nov 8. Guys as usual. Please suggest!
	() Thanks