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Originally Posted by heman_369 Super travelogue Ajay. The kids really had a good time i believe. You must have driven at 'Amba Ghat'. It is simply the best ghat for driving. Lots of twisties with less traffic and superbly tarred road. My Native place in Konkan is near sakharpa just at the base of Amba ghat. From ganpatipule you shoud have headed to Pawas using the sea touching route via ganeshgule. This road is simply awesome and you feel like driving on californian coast roads. |
Thanks Himanshu. Like I mentioned before, I have been to all places in Konkan at least twice before this trip. So for me and everyone else, except the kids, nothing was new. This trip was just for the kids so that they can spend some relaxed time at the beach. And frankly/honestly/truly/madly/deeply, whenever I set out on a nice & leisurely trip, I try to visit least(tending towards ZERO) number of temples and holy places. I am not an atheist, but don't like spending too much time in standing anaconda-length queues outside temples. Temples are everywhere, but beaches are not.
BTW, while going from G'Pule to Ratnagiri, we did take a new route called Are-Vare route. Superb route all along the coast and a pretty short route.
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Originally Posted by padikpanther Hey Ajay,
Good, informative travelogue. Konkan is the place to be in winter. The house and the beach at Malgund was awesome. Thanks for the most important info about 'Amantran' @ Ratnagiri. Been to Ratnagiri a few times, but my in-laws never allowed me to venture out and savour anything other than 'ghas-fus'... |
Ha ha ha! Eating ghas-pus in Konkan is next to impossible for me. Please do try Amantran. They serve amazing fish.
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Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar Ajay, what a lovely account of the trip!
The lil one looks very cute in all the snaps! Specially the one with you in the hammock .
Ganapatipule is an awesome destination and an anytime visit place. I adore the beach and the temple there. Such a serene feeling that place has. So, did you gorge on the famous " ukadiche modak" at the various khanawals in G'Pule?
Ajay, I was just about to ask the details, but Amit beat me to it. Thanls for the details. Also, would you mind sharing the cost for the Innova hire? Where did you book it from? What options were available?
P.S: I havent read the whole thing yet, but shall do so with leisure. Please do expect tons of questions .
EDIT: Why the route via Shirola? You could have taken the NH17 also. Much more scenic a route that is. |
You best Swanand. Kids had terrific time, especially, my little one.
Re the Innova. We hired the Innova from Girikand Travels. The charge was 16/- per KM. Their logic is that how many ever days you hire the vehicle for, you gotto pay for 300 KMs per day flat out at the time of booking, whether or not you consume all those KMs. Also, I had told them that I will take care of tolls/parking charges, which are negligible on this route. They charge 1k for tolls and parking, and even if it turns out to be like 200 bucks, you lose the 800 bucks, since everything is non-refundable. So make sure you don't pay them for tolls/parking charges.
Secondly, it seems 16 Rs/Km is pretty high rate in the market. One of my team mates had got a quote of 10 Rs/KM from a local tour operator. But, frankly I am not sure how reliable these local guys could be, especially when you have senior citizens and small kids traveling with you. Better not take chances, just to save some bucks.
The other option was Xylo for 12 Rs/Km, but I thought Xylo would not be as comfortable as the Innova, considering the road conditions on this route.