My first travelogue on Team BHP
The weekend of 8 and 9 of April beckoned, my daughter was at our Native place with her aunt and grandmother. Had my P220 delivered on April 14 and after completing her first servicing, Me and wifey decided to go for a ride to Silvassa. Did my research on the web about the facilities around and decided to go to Dudhni.
http://www.dnh.nic.in/deptdoc/vguide.pdf.
Left Andheri relatively late at 7 am and hid the Mumbai - Ahmedabad NH8, Me and wifey were both wearing protective gear and helmets. Was riding quite sedately and soon reached Hotel Fountain near the Ghodbunder turnoff. After that the procession of trucks began. Since we were on the bike it was fairly easy manoevring the bike without taking undue risks.
I had a fair idea about the route after reading the directions on the various posts and also from google maps.
The idea was to ride till Bhilad, turn off the highway and head to Silvassa and from then on to Dudhni. The heat was relentless and we stopped quite a few times to drink water. We crossed Talasari turnoff and ran right into a massive traffic jam for vehicles headed towards Ahmedabad, for 2 kms there was no end in sight. Thankfully, since we were on the bike, took the left most part of the road and made good progress. At one point got off the road and soon we had left the traffic jam behind. Thank god we were riding, if were driving would have been stuck in the jam for atleast an hour. The cause of the jam was a truck had caught fir on the left most lane and had was burning away to glory. The cops were directing traffic.
Turned off from Bhilad and headed towards Silvassa, the roads were quite nice in the Union territory of D& H. Must add that the NH8 is smooth as silk and we had no problem whatsoever regarding the condition of the highway, traffic too was well behaved. Asked for directions to Dudhni and set our targets on reaching there by 11.30 pm, the road leading to Dudhni is what riding and Driving enthusiasts dream of. Covered by trees, the road snakes through the mountains providing breathtaking views. Reached Dudhni after halting a couple of times on the way. Dudhni is situated on the bank of a lake and the government run holiday resort at Dudhni and the opposite bank called Kauncha. We decided to head to Kauncha, crossing the lake by a ferry courtesy the tourism department. The ferry operates every hour and is free of cost, the ferry easily ferries tractors and my bike wasn't a problem at all. The Kauncha Health resort faces the lake and we had to off road for about 200 metres to get to it. Once we got in, we realised that all the effort that we made to get here was worth it.
To say the least, it is absolutely serene and quite and obviously beautiful. Couldn't take more pictures cause all we did was relax and soak in the calmness. Being a part of a Union territory, the fuel for man and machine is quite cheap. The resort has 10 rooms housed in 5 cottages, 2 rooms to each cottage. The tarriff is Rs.600/- per night, only non AC rooms available. And the booking has to be done at Dudhni. The rooms are extremely spacious and clean. The resort has a hotel on the premises which provides decent food and beer only no hard drinks. Relaxed with a couple of beers and ordered for lunch which was very nice. Decided to take a nap after lunch, however it was so hot and humid that sleep wasn't very easy. the fan provided in the room did not suffice, there was also a warm breeze blowing across the lake which made napping difficult, things will be different once the rains come. Clicked some snaps at dusk and spend some time reading in the verandah. Ordered dinner early, washed it down with a beer and decided to call it a day.
Left for Mumbai at noon on Sunday and decided to take the Talasari route back to the highway. The route cuts off 30 kms from the previous route. And joins the NH8 near the turnofff for Dahanu. All in all, a weekend well spent.
The route while going - Mumbai - Bhilad - Silvassa - Bindrabin - Dudhni
While coming back - Dudhni - Bindrabin - Talasari - Mumbai
Please check the pictures, would be glad to be of help to anyone who wants to go.
