Another Konkan drive in the Gypsy

Sawyer · 3rd December 2009, 12:07

If one is driving through Mahabaleshwar one needs to pay only a Rs 5 toll and I checked that at the booth entering the city. However since I find it impossible to just drive through, that remains academic and once we got there, walked around a bit in the market to enjoy the noon day sun ( not too many places one can say that in India ), we found ourselves in the little sit out at the Grapevine...
A picture of the car parked, taken over a mug of beer!!

Another Konkan drive in the Gypsy-img_0227.jpg

And before that, the car at a break in the climb up from Poladpur. The Gypsy again ran flawlessly with no glitches of any kind, and in winter, it is a fantastic car to do these drives in. With the windows down, one can smell and feel the changes in the scenery and I am not talking about the varying smells of pollution here! Driving through forests, one can hear the forest sounds too...Summer in India, now that may be a different story altogether though!

Another Konkan drive in the Gypsy-img_0220.jpg

Another Konkan drive in the Gypsy-img_0222.jpg

We rounded off lunch with the superb irish coffee that Rayomand has on offer, that has a lot of irish in it!
And finally, a small diversion on the road, for our preferred strawberry and cream place, just after climbing the hill that takes the road to Kates point.

Another Konkan drive in the Gypsy-img_0229_1.jpg

Abhay · 3rd December 2009, 12:22

Amazing pics as has become the norm in your threads Sawyer. The dam which you mentioned is the new Nira-Devghad dam and its backwaters look amazing, especially if you are coming the other way (from Mahad) as with every turn of the road you see a bit more of the lake.

Sawyer · 3rd December 2009, 12:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abhay

Amazing pics as has become the norm in your threads Sawyer. The dam which you mentioned is the new Nira-Devghad dam and its backwaters look amazing, especially if you are coming the other way (from Mahad) as with every turn of the road you see a bit more of the lake.

Thanks, I am glad you enjoyed them. Noted about the dam - is that how it is commonly known? And it needs to be on maps now, it as big enough to be.
I have never come the other way, up Varandha and I am sure it will look very interesting and different that way too. A lot depends on the time of the day and orientation of the place with respect to a rising or setting sun too. Maybe the next time we will do that, the only problem is that coming back Mahabaleshwar and lunch come together very easily, and there are not too many decent lunch options on the Varandha route.

Abhay · 3rd December 2009, 13:03

Opps its is Devghar, sorry for the typo - and agree about the lack of lunch options part too

slowdrive007 · 3rd December 2009, 15:50

Hi Sawyer,

Can you comment a little more on the road conditions on the Bhor Varandha section of your journey. I am contemplating taking that route from Dapoli to Pune. What would be the approximate time to cover the distance the turn off from NH 17 to joining NH4. From the maps, i see that distance to be approximately 80 kms.
I will be traveling in a Zen Estilo.

Thanks in advance.

Rossi · 3rd December 2009, 15:59

A M A Z I N G!
Excellent travelouge! What camera do you use? The pics have really come out well...

Sawyer · 3rd December 2009, 17:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by slowdrive007

Hi Sawyer,

Can you comment a little more on the road conditions on the Bhor Varandha section of your journey. I am contemplating taking that route from Dapoli to Pune. What would be the approximate time to cover the distance the turn off from NH 17 to joining NH4. From the maps, i see that distance to be approximately 80 kms.
I will be traveling in a Zen Estilo.

Thanks in advance.

Dapoli to Pune, I would use the Ambenali ghat from Poladpur. Although the ghat is a little patchy and allows for slower progress in parts, once you are past Pratapgarh it is a good road all the way down to Surur on NH4, and overall, better than the Varandha option as a road. But if you want a change, then Varandha is not too much behind as an option and my estimate of the time between the two NH would be three hours. Three and a half with some breaks. The road gets bad after the main climb, and is riddled with potholes for ten kms before getting to Bhor from Varandha. No issues with the Estilo, just drive slow over the bad parts is all the care you need to take. Travel in daylight hours only, I am not sure it is a good road to use at night.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rossi

A M A Z I N G!
Excellent travelouge! What camera do you use? The pics have really come out well...

The camera is a very good camera, but not quite in the way you would think. It is a newly launched Canon D10 point and shoot style camera with the small sensor of the breed, but what makes it really special is that it is an all weather camera that can be taken safely underwater in pools, and in the sea up to a depth of 30 feet, in any kind of weather, and is shock proof, therefore robustly constructed. Just the camera for a Gypsy!
And small enough to be worn and carried on the belt of ones pants, and does not need to be babied like SLRs need to be. Not pro quality, but what use is pro quality if the thing sits inside the case, is what I have discovered! At Rs 23k it is expensive, but for what it brings to the party, its a great buy. It has enough options for getting the exposure right as well as an auto mode, and I was pleasantly surprised at the picture quality for what is essentially an underwater camera. With a small sensor.

s@tan2s@int · 3rd December 2009, 19:12

Hi Sawyer,

Awesome trip, beautiful destination and equally good pics…I did a trip in August to the exact same place to Dapoli. Karde beach.

The beauty of this place in monsoon is out of this world. With Greenery and Nature in abundance, this is an ideal place to take relax, unwind and enjoy the nature.
We stayed at Sea face guest house, as you mentioned one of those painted in outlandish colours, which is just before “Sagar sawali’ hotel.
There’s a small village and a fresh water stream just ahead of the resort that you stayed at.
Did you happen to go that far? The fresh water stream is soo clean and inviting that you can’t resist to get your feet wet…
Couldn’t resist adding few pics of my trip. Please excuse for Hijacking your thread.

Sawyer · 3rd December 2009, 21:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by s@tan2s@int

Did you happen to go that far? The fresh water stream is soo clean and inviting that you can’t resist to get your feet wet…
Couldn’t resist adding few pics of my trip. Please excuse for Hijacking your thread.

No worries, more the merrier!
I am going back there later this month, and I will make sure I check the stream out, missed out on it this time, thanks. And is the parasailing a weekend thing? It wasn't around this time.

Sawyer · 3rd December 2009, 21:22

We stayed at Sagar Sawali at Karde and the hotel is a clean and modern building, with airy and large beach facing rooms with all the usual fittings. There isn't any tv in the rooms at this time, which is fine with me! Service is excellent and people are anxious to please, if not fully trained to city standards of hospitality. Again, we were fine with that, the attitude is the most important thing where service is concerned, and no complaints on that score at all.
But purely from a view basis, Kinara hotel that is owned by a sister from the same family is better placed. For a return visit with a larger group later this month, I looked to see if rooms were available. They were, but only one of the two we needed and was available, had the attached balcony. Step out into the balcony and the view is to die for! The building is not as open and airy as some others, but the location and the balconies makes it the preferred location on Karde beach, with the beach access steps just across the road that runs in front of the hotel.
There are a couple of other hotels that are on the same stretch with identical views, but I am not aware of their food and service standards.
Food at the hotel was good - but not to Malvan standards of taste and variety. To the best of my knowledge, as a foodie destination in the Konkan region of the state, Malvan is at the top. If anyone that has visited both places is able to point me in the direction of a place at Karde that serves food as good as, say, Chaitanya in Malvan, please do so asap!

s@tan2s@int · 3rd December 2009, 22:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sawyer

No worries, more the merrier!
I am going back there later this month, and I will make sure I check the stream out, missed out on it this time, thanks. And is the parasailing a weekend thing? It wasn't around this time.

The parasailing is available all time through except for rainy season. The owner of the resort that we stayed at arrainged it for us. The charge was Rs 250 per person compared to rs 1000 charged in Goa.

Few pics of the stream and the resort we stayed at

Sawyer · 4th December 2009, 05:53

Good input, and I will look to do the parasailing when I am there next, it sounds like excellent value for money. Boat pulled with landing and take off from the beach, I imagine.
All of the Konkan is that, value for money. And the locals are very helpful, polite and soft spoken.
We did see the bridge in your picture in the distance, but did not venture there, and it does look like a nice place to explore and enjoy! Thanks for the feedback.
And because it is always good to have options, how is the resort you stayed at, besides the location which is excellent.
I am also looking forward to see the dolphins in the water - Rs 100 per head for a 40 minute boat ride into the sea for that, again excellent value. A small concern is the fact that no life jackets are provided, and I need to put that out of my mind for the duration!

Abhay · 4th December 2009, 09:15

No life jackets? I do feel the need of that as I can't swim (much)
But compared to Rs500 in Goa (and that was a few yrs ago) for a few dolphins, Rs 100 is very cheap..unfortunately the guy we called did not turn up.

ASHISHPALLOD · 4th December 2009, 10:09

Another Konkan drive in the Gypsy-img_0026.jpg

@Sawyer,
you made my day.
The above pic you posted is the thing i was looking for.

The rectangle marked is fort named Kavalya at varandha ghat and it is now in two sections due to that road.

Karde beach is treasure unknown to many.
Kinara hotel has best views and i always recommend it to fellow Bhpians.
There is one more beach in between malwan and vengurla which is unknown to many and i will not post name and location of that beach.

Sawyer · 4th December 2009, 10:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

Attachment 238847

@Sawyer,
you made my day.
Karde beach is treasure unknown to many.
Kinara hotel has best views and i always recommend it to fellow Bhpians.
There is one more beach in between malwan and vengurla which is unknown to many and i will not post name and location of that beach.

Ashish, happy to help.
And at the rate the lot of us here are talking about Karde, it will not remain either unknown or a treasure for very long, though the beach is so huge that it will take some time for it to get messed up!
And I am sure each of us has our own private beach that we shall not publicise out of our personal interest in keeping it untouched!

3rd December 2009, 12:07	#16
Sawyer Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pune Posts: 2,677 Thanked: 1,786 Times	Mahabaleshwar for the usual specials! If one is driving through Mahabaleshwar one needs to pay only a Rs 5 toll and I checked that at the booth entering the city. However since I find it impossible to just drive through, that remains academic and once we got there, walked around a bit in the market to enjoy the noon day sun ( not too many places one can say that in India ), we found ourselves in the little sit out at the Grapevine... A picture of the car parked, taken over a mug of beer!! And before that, the car at a break in the climb up from Poladpur. The Gypsy again ran flawlessly with no glitches of any kind, and in winter, it is a fantastic car to do these drives in. With the windows down, one can smell and feel the changes in the scenery and I am not talking about the varying smells of pollution here! Driving through forests, one can hear the forest sounds too...Summer in India, now that may be a different story altogether though! We rounded off lunch with the superb irish coffee that Rayomand has on offer, that has a lot of irish in it! And finally, a small diversion on the road, for our preferred strawberry and cream place, just after climbing the hill that takes the road to Kates point.
	() Thanks

3rd December 2009, 12:22	#17
Abhay BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 727 Thanked: 11 Times	Amazing pics as has become the norm in your threads Sawyer. The dam which you mentioned is the new Nira-Devghad dam and its backwaters look amazing, especially if you are coming the other way (from Mahad) as with every turn of the road you see a bit more of the lake.
	() Thanks

3rd December 2009, 13:03	#19
Abhay BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 727 Thanked: 11 Times	Opps its is Devghar, sorry for the typo - and agree about the lack of lunch options part too
	() Thanks

3rd December 2009, 15:50	#20
slowdrive007 Newbie Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 19 Thanked: 0 Times	Hi Sawyer, Can you comment a little more on the road conditions on the Bhor Varandha section of your journey. I am contemplating taking that route from Dapoli to Pune. What would be the approximate time to cover the distance the turn off from NH 17 to joining NH4. From the maps, i see that distance to be approximately 80 kms. I will be traveling in a Zen Estilo. Thanks in advance.
	() Thanks

3rd December 2009, 15:59	#21
Rossi BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 125 Thanked: 8 Times	A M A Z I N G! Excellent travelouge! What camera do you use? The pics have really come out well...
	() Thanks

3rd December 2009, 19:12	#23
s@tan2s@int BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 129 Thanked: 130 Times	Karde Trip Hi Sawyer, Awesome trip, beautiful destination and equally good pics…I did a trip in August to the exact same place to Dapoli. Karde beach. The beauty of this place in monsoon is out of this world. With Greenery and Nature in abundance, this is an ideal place to take relax, unwind and enjoy the nature. We stayed at Sea face guest house, as you mentioned one of those painted in outlandish colours, which is just before “Sagar sawali’ hotel. There’s a small village and a fresh water stream just ahead of the resort that you stayed at. Did you happen to go that far? The fresh water stream is soo clean and inviting that you can’t resist to get your feet wet… Couldn’t resist adding few pics of my trip. Please excuse for Hijacking your thread. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by s@tan2s@int : 3rd December 2009 at 19:20.
	() Thanks

3rd December 2009, 21:22	#25
Sawyer Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pune Posts: 2,677 Thanked: 1,786 Times	Karde hotels We stayed at Sagar Sawali at Karde and the hotel is a clean and modern building, with airy and large beach facing rooms with all the usual fittings. There isn't any tv in the rooms at this time, which is fine with me! Service is excellent and people are anxious to please, if not fully trained to city standards of hospitality. Again, we were fine with that, the attitude is the most important thing where service is concerned, and no complaints on that score at all. But purely from a view basis, Kinara hotel that is owned by a sister from the same family is better placed. For a return visit with a larger group later this month, I looked to see if rooms were available. They were, but only one of the two we needed and was available, had the attached balcony. Step out into the balcony and the view is to die for! The building is not as open and airy as some others, but the location and the balconies makes it the preferred location on Karde beach, with the beach access steps just across the road that runs in front of the hotel. There are a couple of other hotels that are on the same stretch with identical views, but I am not aware of their food and service standards. Food at the hotel was good - but not to Malvan standards of taste and variety. To the best of my knowledge, as a foodie destination in the Konkan region of the state, Malvan is at the top. If anyone that has visited both places is able to point me in the direction of a place at Karde that serves food as good as, say, Chaitanya in Malvan, please do so asap!
	() Thanks

4th December 2009, 05:53	#27
Sawyer Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pune Posts: 2,677 Thanked: 1,786 Times	Good input, and I will look to do the parasailing when I am there next, it sounds like excellent value for money. Boat pulled with landing and take off from the beach, I imagine. All of the Konkan is that, value for money. And the locals are very helpful, polite and soft spoken. We did see the bridge in your picture in the distance, but did not venture there, and it does look like a nice place to explore and enjoy! Thanks for the feedback. And because it is always good to have options, how is the resort you stayed at, besides the location which is excellent. I am also looking forward to see the dolphins in the water - Rs 100 per head for a 40 minute boat ride into the sea for that, again excellent value. A small concern is the fact that no life jackets are provided, and I need to put that out of my mind for the duration! Last edited by Sawyer : 4th December 2009 at 06:02.
	() Thanks

4th December 2009, 09:15	#28
Abhay BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 727 Thanked: 11 Times	No life jackets? I do feel the need of that as I can't swim (much) But compared to Rs500 in Goa (and that was a few yrs ago) for a few dolphins, Rs 100 is very cheap..unfortunately the guy we called did not turn up.
	() Thanks

4th December 2009, 10:09	#29
ASHISHPALLOD Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: MH42 Posts: 2,006 Thanked: 334 Times	@Sawyer, you made my day. The above pic you posted is the thing i was looking for. The rectangle marked is fort named Kavalya at varandha ghat and it is now in two sections due to that road. Karde beach is treasure unknown to many. Kinara hotel has best views and i always recommend it to fellow Bhpians. There is one more beach in between malwan and vengurla which is unknown to many and i will not post name and location of that beach.
	() Thanks