[carzone]

This is not exactly a travelogue but a brief write up of my one day trip to visit our relatives at small village at Chinchani and Boisar. The idea was basically to take my grandparents to the Mahalaxmi temple and to our relatives. Chose a lovely Saturday, filled her up on Friday night and she gobbled up some 20 litres of her regular diet. The plan was leave in the early hours of Saturday and return before sun hides behind the waters. Had nothing to pack except some bottles of water and some dry snacks just in case we need them.

Had asked the watchman to wash the car early in the morning, because my idea was of a photo-shoot on a beach in Chinchani. Little did I know that the rains had another plans. It was raining and as it had to be, the watchman did not come.


Stage 1: Mira Road – Mahalaxmi temple. (90 Kms- NH8) around 1.5 hours.

Mira Road to Mahalaxmi Temple

The plan was to leave Mira Road by 7:00AM, but as is with all the travels, 7:30AM it was. Touched Kashmira by 7:40AM and from there onwards it was bliss to drive. The NH8 has been a dream to drive on. Though have not driven beyond Surat, the roads till where I have driven are in excellent shape. My views are supported by all BHPians here.

Started the journey with the blessings of the almighty

The drive to Mahalaxmi temple was mainly uneventful and by 9:15AM approx. we were there at the temple. The road being bliss to drive on, the truckers create a bit of irritant. Trucks trying to overtake another at speed of 40Kmph reduce the average speed to some extent. This does hamper the mood of driving on such good roads. Finally, after some 90 minutes of some awesome roads, reached Mahalaxmi temple where the car had some time to rest while we took the blessings of the Almighty.






Have to mention, the rains had made my driving experience better but at the same time, it is advisable to be cautioned as you never know when the truck ahead might cut into your lane. The water sprays from the trucks gave my car a wash of slush, which made it look as if it had covered some great distance and had done some off-roading. The next plan was to visit Chinchani, a village some 15Kms from Boisar.

Resting peacefully at the temple


What the spray from the tyres can do to your car

Stage 2: Mahalaxmi Temple to Chinchani (40 Kms on an unknown road) 1 hour approx.

Mahalaxmi Temple to Chinchan

After the blessings started from the Mahalaxmi temple at around 10:30AM for Chinchani. I knew the road that goes via Dahanu, but dad knew a road which would take us through Vangaon. At the junction from where the road starts, asked some locals and got it confirmed that this road leads us to Chinchani and is in good shape.

Little did I know that taking this road was going to be the best decision I had taken that day. The road was a pure delight to drive on with a minimum amount of traffic. It is single lane road with no divider in between. You don’t actually have to worry about the traffic because we faced none. I could have maintained good speeds of above 80Kmph, but took it lightly as I had all the time in the world and wanted to enjoy the picturesque views on offer.
On the same road, I came across a very scenic place near a dam. It had a lake and by what I thought, the water in the lake is used for agriculture. The place is very scenic and this was a reason good enough to stop and enjoy the nature. The Pics actually don’t do justice to the place as they are taken with a mobile cam. The dam, as I later came to know is called as Sakhare Dam (thanks to Google). Went around checking if it was open, but couldn’t spot anyone so continued with the journey.

Sakhare Dam location(Google Maps)

Here are some Random shots taken at the dam















Resting at Chinchani

Also saw this typical village rickshaw with no number plates.

Reached Chinchan at around 11:30AM.


Stage 3: Chinchan to Boisar (15 Kms on BoisarTarapur Road) around 45 Minutes

Chinchani to Boisar

After spending some time in Chinchan and dropping my idea of a photo-shoot on the beach, left for Boisar. The road to Boisar is the same single lane road with some occasional bursts of potholes. We encountered some slow moving traffic here as a result covering 15 Kms took 45 minutes. Overtaking was rare because the traffic from the other side and the famous low end torque of the K10 engines. Had to spend the afternoon at another relatives place. Had some food there and had some shut eye as I had expected it to be another night drive. You know what happens when grandparents meet relatives after a relatively long time.


Stage 4: Boisar to Mira Road(85 kms on some SH and NH8) 1 hour 45 minutes approx.

Boisar to Mira Road

Luckily for me, we were ready to leave from Boisar at 5:30PM. Thanks to dad who knows I hate driving in the night and the headlamps of WagonR are not suited for night drives. The return drive was mostly uneventful except a couple of close shaves due to errant truck drivers overtaking slowly on a single lane highway. Had to go off the road so that I could write this. Had a stop at Anam restaurant somewhere on NH8 to get myself a drink (It was only a sprite).

Reached home at around 7:30PM when the sun had still some contribution left in enhancing the visibility. This trip was taken up after a very long time and thoroughly enjoyed driving the WagonR on the highway. Sometimes it felt that it lacked a punch, but the 1.0L 3 pot engine does bring a smile to your face. Top speed touched was around 130Kmph for around 2-3 seconds. WagonR does feel a bit bumpy at these speeds but is manageable. Cruising at around 90Kmph was a delight till a trucker decides to break all your momentum.

All in all, the total distance covered was about 240 Kms with around 15L of fuel (just approximate value looking at the fuel gauge). Turns out of an average of about 16Kmpl. Not as expected, but nevertheless, I did enjoy the drive.

Total drive for the day

All in all it was a great time spent on the road after a long time. Would be looking forward to many more such trips if the Government allows (Read Fuel Price).

Thank you for going through. Suggestions and criticisms welcomed. My first TL on TeamBHP and I hope to write many more.
Please pardon my photography skills and the text. I am no writer but have tried the best of my levels.

[ranjitp1]

Thanks for the lovely writeup. Loved the line "to get a drink-was only a sprite!!"ROFL

[gauravdgr8]

Nice writeup and trip. I remember I had done the same Mahalaxmi temple way back in Dec 2008. Along with that, I went to Dahanu beach, which was pristine then.

Did an old styled day picnic with home food, some games with kid, a mat on the sand. Not sure if more people have started flogging to these places.

[carzone]

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

Nice writeup and trip. I remember I had done the same Mahalaxmi temple way back in Dec 2008. Along with that, I went to Dahanu beach, which was pristine then.

Did an old styled day picnic with home food, some games with kid, a mat on the sand. Not sure if more people have started flogging to these places.

Dahanu is like our second home and a regular getaway for us. We do have a house there so its been regular visiting for us.

It is the same place (the beach) where I had driven my uncles 800 for the first time. Had the wheels get into the sand. Thankfully, it did not cause us much of the problem and the car came out easily.

The beaches have really deteoritated as of now. They have put some big things on the beaches and recently there were stains of oil all over the beach. Venturing in these waters is a big no no.

The beach is good enough to have a relaxed evening and enjoy some cool breeze blowing in your face.

[carzone]

Undertook a trip to Dahanu the last weekend. It was Mumbai-Dahanu-Bordi-Dahanu-Mumbai trip for 2.5 days.

Leaving Mumbai on 15th at 8:00AM and touching Mahalaxmi temple by 9:00AM, the credit goes to NH8. The roads were empty, truckers behaving, and a constant speed of 95-100kmph got me there in an exact 1 hour and 6 mins.
The GPS on my phone showed an average speed of 77 kmph.

Nothing much to write about the trip, except that had spent some leisurely time on Dahanu beach.

Had a day to spend at the Hill Zill resort swimming and chilling out.

Will let the pics do the talking.

Near the Charoti Toll Plaza, witnessed an nice combination on the ODO




Sunset from the house.
PS: The house in the pic is not ours.


Sunset by the beach














The beach is crowded now a days, public holidays add more to it.
Its not the same old beach now.


After the sun has gone


When the sun rises next morning
















Some pics of the car by the beach

The beach in the daylight


Panorama of the shore


hours spent at Hill Zill resort, Bordi



Sun blazing in the afternoon


Anyone for horse rides?


A goodbye to the amazing views

All in all, great 3 days spent away from the city chores and traffic. Good drive with the car which refreshes the mind and the body.

[Jignesh]

Hello Jigar,

Thank you for sharing the photographs. The write-up is really good considering the fact that this is your first travelogue on T-BHP.

Now coming to Bordi (Zill Hill Resort), it is quite a coincidence that I was planning to visit this place on 17 & 18 November (yesterday & day before) as 18 November was our seventh wedding anniversary. But the plan was nailed by recent events in Mumbai. Now we are scheduled for a outing next weekend.

Can you please let us know your experience at Zill Hill Resort in details, I mean about room & food quality, rates, etc?

Thanks,

[carzone]

Originally Posted by Jignesh

Hello Jigar,

Thank you for sharing the photographs. The write-up is really good considering the fact that this is your first travelogue on T-BHP.

Now coming to Bordi (Zill Hill Resort), it is quite a coincidence that I was planning to visit this place on 17 & 18 November (yesterday & day before) as 18 November was our seventh wedding anniversary. But the plan was nailed by recent events in Mumbai. Now we are scheduled for a outing next weekend.

Can you please let us know your experience at Zill Hill Resort in details, I mean about room & food quality, rates, etc?

Thanks,

What a coincidence it would have been if you were there. Imagine me meeting you about 150Kms from Mumbai even though we live in the same city! Just hard luck of both of us!

We did not take any rooms, but were there just for swimming. My sister and some of our guests wanted to have a dip. We choose Hill Zill just because it was the only one that allows swimmings for outsiders. Rs 100 per person was what they charged to outsiders with some 15-20 bucks for swimming costume if you don't have one.

After swimming, we did want to wait for food, but then we were told there was waiting for a hour and half. Hence we did not have lunch there. We moved on to Crazy Crab resorts in Golvad for lunch. Lunch in Crazy Crab was not as per the hype and the prices. Hill Zill has it much better.

We had been to Hill Zill before around 3-4 years and at that time I did like the rooms as well as the food. Don't remember the prices at that time, but the service was good.

I would advice you to give them a call and check if they have rooms available beforehand. We had inquired in 4-5 hotels, but none of them had rooms available.

If you want something near to the beach, try Crazy Crab in Golvad or Pearline or Beach Classic in Dahanu. My experience with the food in both Pearline or Beach Classic have been fairly good. Note that I have never rented a room there, so excuse me on that front.

Do let us know about your travelogue. All the best.

[PGNarain]

Originally Posted by carzone

The idea was basically to take my grandparents to the Mahalaxmi temple and to our relatives.

Nice writeup carzone!

I along with a few friends and family am travelling on the NH8 this weekend and while searching for tips on TBHP came across your travelogue, which convinced me enough to take the small detour to the Mahalaxmi Temple on the way.

Wanted to ask if you have been there recently and any pointers you think we should keep in mind?

[joybhowmik]

Thanks for this. You seem to have maintained your car quite well. It's sparkling !

[carzone]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

Nice writeup carzone!

I along with a few friends and family am travelling on the NH8 this weekend and while searching for tips on TBHP came across your travelogue, which convinced me enough to take the small detour to the Mahalaxmi Temple on the way.

Wanted to ask if you have been there recently and any pointers you think we should keep in mind?

Thank You PGNarain.

Yes, I was there last month, also passed by it this Monday.

Mahalaxmi temple is nothing great, but I like the atmosphere there.

Things to keep in mind, don't miss the onion pakodas(kanda bhaji) there, they are awesome. Especially when it rains, they are the best feast.


Mahalaxmi temple is bang on the highway, you need not take any detour.

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

Thanks for this. You seem to have maintained your car quite well. It's sparkling !

Thank you joybhowmik.

I like to keep it shining, but have not got a chance since days now. A trip for detailing is loong pending.