Manori - So near, yet so far...

There is no place on Earth where I remember the phrase 'So near, yet so far' more than when I am in Manori - a small island just north of the Marve - Malad jetty in the northern suburbs of Mumbai.

Manori is not a place that many will write odes to, but it remains one of my oft-visited and most loved weekend getaways from the city. Why you ask? Well really, there is no rocket science to it. First, its really conveniently located. Beat this -it takes me a total of 45 minutes from when I step out of my door at home to get to the resort room and THAT to any Mumbaikar is the biggest boon. I mean, who wants to drive 3 hours to a destination when you spend an average of 15 hours traveling on the city roads during the week? I sure don't.Second, it gives me the chance to get a ferry ride - I have always liked ferry rides since I was a kid, so this 2 min ferry ride is quite perfect. Third,in just 45 mins and a ferry ride across a creek I reach a beachside resort that's quiet, clean, and filled with the sounds of the sea and some lilting music on Worldspace radio.

I am talking of Manoribel - a midsized beach resort which is remarkably unpretentious, wellkept and green.And why shouldn't it be? Managed that it is by a bunch of village ladies who run everything from the resort kitchen, reception, bar and sometimes even the tandoor!Most of the women here come from the Catholic or the fishing community and Manoribel's food has the distinct home-cooked Malwani flavour to it.I swear by their prawns masala and steamed rice, which I chase down with a cold beer. Even writing about it here, makes me slurp! :)

Manoribel has a combination of both AC and Non AC beachfront cottages, so you can take your pick. I have stayed mostly in the AC cottages and I don't have much to complain about except that they could provide guests with better towels. However, if you are looking for 5 star luxuries, and down feather duvets - you will be disappointed. The resort rooms are neat but sparse with basic furniture - plain white sheets, and normal brown blankets...oh and they have mosquito nets - how very quaint! The toilets again are basic, but clean. If there's one thing I love about the cottages are the sitouts, they are killer - step out of your room and you come face to face with the sea - it's such a peaceful easy feeling, sitting there staring out at the sea, possibly with a beer to keep you company :)

And hey - you are here to get away from it all, right? So what do you need a TV for?
None of the rooms at Manoribel have a TV and I think that works brilliantly. You can spend time hanging out in the many hammocks with a book, or maybe play some carrom at the restaurant, if you are especially sporty try your hand at badminton or volleyball - both of which are provided by the resort. As for me, I usually cling to the hammock or sit out under the small gazebos looking out at the sea. The beach is not exceptionally clean (as is the case with most of the beaches in Mumbai), but of late I have seen their beaches cleaner than before. Anyways, a walk down the beach watching the sunset can be very therapeutic,so take time out to do it!

Manoribel provides some good tandoori fare for on the weekends, so make sure you order your share of tikkas when you settle down to enjoy your evening here. It's usually packed on the weekends with couples and families, but in all the times I have been there, I havent really found wailing, shrieking or badly behaved kids and that's such a relief - most people are busy amongst themselves and don't really bother with others. Also, Manoribel bar only serves beers and wines - if you want to drink something else, I suggest you get it along with you - the management here has no problems with it - so drink up!

A day at the Manoribel can take away weeks of fatigue and frustration. This is the place to go if you are looking for instant R&R away from the city yet within easy grasp. And if you don't want to stay the weekend, no worries...you can make a day trip here and still sample the quintessential Manori experience.

Its Instant Nirvana!

Ahem! Ahmedabad....

The name Ahmedabad doesn't really conjure visions of a great vacation spot or even a place which can give you enough options for chilling out. I mean what could you possibly get out of a city called Ahmedabad?It sounds like a regular city out of urban India with a rash of supersized malls filled with young shoppers,concrete roads and well hellish traffic!

Atleast that's what I thought until last year when I traveled to Ahmedabad only on day-long business trips, returning to the comfort of Mumbai's chaos by the evening. I didn't particularly like what I saw - Ahmedabad was every bit the stuck-in-the-middle Indian city that I thought it to be. This year when I got the opportunity to spend sometime getting to know Ahmedabad past my office hours is when I realised that, well, I was wrong.

Ahmedabad has it's share of gooodies and can be interesting if only we have the time and the inclination to scratch beneath the surface and look beyond. So here I put down a few things that are absolute must-do's in Ahmedabad if you have a few hours to spare.


1. Vishala - A rustic experience in the middle of the city, Vishala takes you by surprise. It is remarkably unpretentious,does not overtly peddle rural India and offers you some lipsmacking Gujarati fair on a brass plate! While you are there, they will entertain you with puppet shows, folk music and dances in addition to the fortune teller, swings and merry go around - usual fare that you might find in a village.There also some stalls with handicrafts you can purchase, and if you really wanna know what's been cooking in India all these years - do visit their small but charming utensil museum - which ends up making a Vishala an entire plateful :)


2. Law Garden- The Janpath of Ahmedabad so to say, Law Garden is a bright and colourful streetside stretch where you can buy homegrown Gujarati handicrafts and clothes. This is the place to go if you want to lay your hands on economical but fabulously pretty chaniya cholis, mirror work kurtis, hand embroided borders, Kutchi embroidery patches etc. You can even pick up hand embroided cushion covers, bedsheets, saris from this place. And yeah, while you are shopping here, be prepared to haggle your head off. No, really. I bought 2 handembroided, mirrorwork bedsheets for a brilliant price of 550. Can you beat that??

3. Swati Snacks - One of those legendary eating places that any Ahmedabadi worth his salt would swear by, Swati Snacks is located in Law Garden too. Finger licking good 'farsaan' is what you can get here - Pankhi is one of the popular dishes, so are the bhelpuris, sevpuri, khaman dhokla, khandvi etc being the other usual suspects. And oh yeah - there is also a Green Tea Icecream

4. Agashiye at MG House - Located in the old city of Ahmedabad, Agashiye is the inhouse restaurant @ Mangaldas Girdhardas House (MG House as popularly known), which claims to be the only heritage boutique resort in Ahmedabad. Agashiye, which means 'terrace' in Gujarati is an alfresco dining option in Ahmedabad that you have to sample. Here they serve you the most amazing Gujarati Thali in a style so traditional that it take you back to the good ole Gujju hospitality of yore. The spread is huge and they keep serving you till you threaten to burst at the seam. The service is polite and this is one of the premier places for fine Gujarati dining in the city.




5. Sabarmati Ashram - No trip to Ahmedabad will be complete without a visit to a site dedicated to it's Prodigal Son - Mahatma Gandhi, hence a trip to Sabarmati Ashram is a given. Located on the banks of the river Sabarmati, the Ashram is a tribute to the Father of the Nation. It is a green and peaceful haven which transports you back to the days when Gandhi might have walked its length and breadth. The museum located in the Ashram is an awe-inspiring experience - a similar feeling of hair raising pride in my counntry that I felt when I visited the infamous 'Kaala Pani' jail in Port Blair. Without their sacrifices, I probably wouldn't have had half the priveleged I have had so far!

So if you are in Ahmedabad, with a few hours to spare do try and include any of these awesome places in your itinerary - you will be pleasantly surprised with the simplicity that Ahmedabad still nurtures within a glitzy, shiny facade.

Why I love Goa in the monsoons...

Goa, as most of us know it, is a haven for the beach bum, for the high-on-life hippie,for the trance-lover on Hilltop or for the salmon pink foreigners who turn a lobster red by the time they leave the sunkissed beaches of Goa! In season Goa is like a kid high on sugar - hyperactive,brimming with chaos,loud, and can get out of hand sometimes when you are looking the other way. Not that I don't like Goa in season, no sir, I do - but it's just that I love Goa more when its born again in monsoons.

Rolling vistas of green,rowdy waves and near empty roads are what greet you, when and if, you decide to visit Goa in the months of June-September.Goa goes into a deep healing slumber every monsoon - the beach shacks are in hibernation, resorts slowly retreat into their shells to rejuvinate for another season and the tourists flock to other destinations leaving Goa to her true patrons - the Goans.

And if one were to talk from a purely economic point-of-view, Goa is unbelievably easy on the pocket during the monsoons. Everything in Goa comes at a price atleast 30% less than what it would have costed you during season.Sure, a lot of places -open air eateries and joints are not functional at this time - but who needs them anyway when some of the best places to eat and drink are still functional. Take for example Brittos, Infantria, Cavala, St. Anthony's and Souza Lobo on the Baga - Calangute stretch.

The beaches are devoid of people and touts - and if you think that's your idea of Goa Bliss,then pay a visit in the monsoons. When I am there in the rains, I just like to sit at one of the rare functional shacks on Baga reading my book and looking out at an uncrowded beach and the roaring sea beyond.



Monsoons is also a great time to drive around Goa - the roads are practically empty, there are no traffic jams, and the drive is as verdant and green as it can ever be. You might run the risk of getting caught in one of the monsoon showers, but even the Goa rain during the monsoons is clear, clean and devoid of any muck.And honestly,driving around a Green Goa in scooty getting drenched in the rain is one of the best things about monsoons in Goa! It makes the subsequent drying up and consumption of cocktails even more worthwhile. :)

Goa in the monsoons is not for the typical tourist who wants a full itinerary and baking on the beach.Goa in the monsoons is for those who would like to put their feet up and watch the world go by to the tunes of Bill Withers.