Fansad Trek Part 1

I have no words to explain the Bike trek…..It was just ausomn…My 1st Date with my “Royal Enfield Bullet Classic 350” was a Grand success……I was supported by my Darling throughout the Tour……On the NH17,Kaccha rasta to Alibaug….On the Beach of Naigaon..In the Dense forest of Fansad…& all the way back home at night….I simply love you my Dear…Muuuuaaaa. …

The Bike trek started as decided at 05:00hrs on 16/10/10 (Saturday).Dilesh & Nilesh (On Pulsar 150) came to my place with fullon winter accessories assuming that it would be cold…..Which was soon proved wrong.I was also on of them Wearing woolen jacket on my full sleeves TMI T-shirt..I tied My sleeping Bag to my Red Stallion (My Bullet Classic 350) & started off with Dilesh as my pillion. Nilesh vroomed to Kalwa naka where Pragati(On Aviator) & Meenakshi ( Rangusky/Rangoo) were surprisingly waiting before time…..Without wasting much time we started off to Kalamboli Mac Donald’s, on the way Pragati lost track near CBD but soon used her wits to call us & got back on track.In another 5 mins we reached Kalamboli MacD’s where again Pragati blindly went ahead of the turn only to come back in reverse.(Same incident happened with Nilesh a few mins Earlier & the excuse was-“yaar wo Mac D’s ka Board Glow nahi ho raha tha”).
Any ways..this was the first meeting point where Pritam & Shashi on their Passion + were already waiting for us…..After hugging & squeezing each other as if we had met after ages(when actually we had met last just 7 hrs ago for the Times Bandra Festival “Euphoria Show”) we stared to discuss the further tour plan. In the short time we were blessed with the company of Abhishek & Sachin with their CBZ Extreme. Again the Same Hugging & Squeezing but in their case it was almost after 2 months. By the time this was done we got the company of Parikshit & Sheetal (Mai) with their Pulsar 150.Here we had a Bike appreciation session & finally an Introduction round with a few inputs on Road safety & Tour plan from Nilesh when he himself locked his Helmate behind his Bike & relied on his cotton Bandhana to protect his Empty head. Pamphlets with every member’s name & number were distributed so as to get in touch in case of emergency. As soon as this was done Dilesh wasted no time in striking off Pragati’s Name & number from the list . Then we headed to Wadkhal naka. By this time we were already 11 of us (Nilesh, Dilesh, Parikshit, Sheetal, Meenakshi, Pragati, Pritam, Shashi, Abhishek, Sachin & Me (Apurva)). We reached Wadkhal naka by 07:45 hrs & were surprised to see our faces all black…..The pollution,Smoke,Dust had deposited badly on our face. After a quick fresh up session we sat in a nearby restaurant for the Breakfast. Now Shashi took the charge to order for dishes on our table. We were 3 on our table & he started the order…3 Wada plate, 3 Pohe,3 god shira, 3 Misal Pav, 1 kothimbir wadi plate…….unfortunately the waiter listened to just the 1st order & left….thus giving Shashi a chance to irritate him…There on Shashi ordered all the above things in much more quantities but 1 by one…Once an order for 1 misal pav was placed he would sau “ Are ajin 1 aan na…By the time this was done he would say..” are shira nahi aanla….” In that half an hour the waiter had almost ran ½ marathon. Then we rang up our remaining companions who were yet to join us, Ravi & Sachin with their new CBZ Extreme.
Sachin was a bit late & it was mandatory for Ravi to stay back until his pillion arrives. In the mean time we had finished our Breakfast & decided to visit Alibaug 7 adjoining beaches…..We also had a few suggestions that we should now change the plan ..It would be exciting…& bla bla…..Bt some of us had an opinion to stick to the previous plan & add some more points to the same if time permits.
All Tummies loaded & Tanks of the bikes full…we headed to Alibaug. On the way we encountered a lot of bad roads..(Actually Raste me khadda nahi tha ..Khadde me rasta tha). Dodging all those potholes we reached Nagaon beach. There I discovered a way out to the beach & then gave my Bike a Stroll of the beautiful beach I was followed by Pragati…..By this time we were all feeling very hot & had drenched in sweat. The plan of taking a dip in the sea was in progress when a local Water Sports agent asked for Banana Boat Ride. We all stared at each other….I,Sheetal,Abhishek & Sachin were ready & we needed 3 more members..Parikshit , Pritam & Shashi also agreed ..thus Hum 7 went on the Banana ride mission with a Lot of protective gear on us & after a nautanki photo session. Banana Ride was mindblowing……Tumbling the banana Boat in the middle of the sea….wow what an experience…this tumbling down was repeated thrice from which I toppled the Boat twice…..The Driver was irritated the 3rd time & left us in between waves much away from the shore…To my surprise, no one panicked..everyone was confident that I would save them….yaar nanhisi jaan 6 logonko kaise bachaunga???Itna bharosa mat rakho mujhpar…After that I took a Swimming training session for Parikshit & Ravi ,mai also took some tips Free of cost….Then finally at around 11:00hrs Ravi & Sandeep joined us…..Again we did some masti in the waves & returned to our bikes. From there we headed to the Shiv temple Of Chaul..It was a very peaceful place before we reached but soon we controlled our vocal cods & rested for some time after the darshan….From there we left for Kashid Beach But decided to have Lunch on the way.
Via Revdanda which has remains of the Revdanda fort we reached the venue for lunch…As usual we ordered for Chicken & Fish with a Few exceptions of vegetarians……
Now Its Lunch break…&... will continue the rest part after Lunch……You too may go & have your meals.

Nature's Call!

The raindrops touch my soul and set me free, the mountains are calling me! A walk in the clouds is all I crave for. I jus wanna grab a piece of that cloud…to comfort me whenever I need ! 

The vast ocean engulfs me…I want to drown my emptiness and fill my soul 

with all things good! The soul of the earth calls out to me and nudges me…to connect with her! Each time she invites me, I hide behind excuses… of work, responsibilities, money…when all I wanna do is reach out my arms and embrace her with my heart and soul! When im with her, I feel complete… like there’s nowhere else id rather be! 

The breathtaking beauty stumps me… an experience like never before. 

The more I see it, the more I wanna experience it. My soul craves for a bit of her… like my life is meaningless without her. The sand reminds me of the soft, warm hug that he would engulf me in, dissolving every frown instantly. The cloud-covered peaks call out my name. 

The white skies – an invitation to fly away from all things worldly. The sunset – a reminder of a day well spent; the sunrise: another blessing, a brand new day!The fresh green grass: soothes my soul and refreshes me with a new energy to get through the day. The endless night sky… filled with a million bright stars… shine through my being and light my spirit. She infuses life in my lifeless soul and make it dance with unending joy. Mother Earth – you’ve given me more than what I deserve. Time to answer nature’s call! (no, not that one silly! ;)

Chandari… ready or not, here I come ! :) 

Trek to Chanderi Fort - Sat 4th July:with Trek Mates India

You wanna join in? Cool, first log in:  

http://trekmates.blogspot.com/2010/06/tmi-trek-to-chanderi-on-4th-of-july.html

a walk in the clouds, thats all im asking for !

Even though its been quite a while now since i have trekked, all the memories attached to my previous adventures are as vivid as ever! i still remember the time when i scaled the peaks of the sausage mountains at khandala, walking through the clouds at 5.30 am...taking in the picturesque green lawns...with various shades of green. And even though I had a camera * with no role in it *
i clicked the pic wanting to capture it forever. and when i realized that i did not have any pics to jog my memory about that trek, i knew that the scene i saw that day would be etched in my mind forever !  ;)

and the time when we went on the waterfall trek, the rains washed away every bit of tension/ worry from my body. and the mahabaleshwar trek *albeit a casual walk with family, which turned out to be quite an experience*    was a walk in the clouds *literally* ;)

it feels like its been ages since i reconnected with mother nature, but the experience would never leave me. for the rest of my life. And now i set out to capture many such moments and weave them in my list of memories forever. So that each time i need some comforting, all i need to do is pull out these memories and cling to them with all my heart ! 

lush green fields, pure blue skies, fresh wateralls and an exhilarating experience *that ive been craving for* here i come! ;)

Trek Tales - Conquering Chanderi With my Trek Mates! :)

Ok, I know im a little late... I wanted to get to my blog right after my trek! But trekking after 4 years, that too with bare minimum physical activity.... took a toll on me! :P 

Anyway... better  late than never! TrekTales, here I come! ;)

Chanderi : 4th July

Ahh... preparing for the trek: I overacted like i was travelling to some village with no idea when i was gonna be back! lol :P 

I loaded my backpack with almost all things to the to-do list provided: including 2 litres of water, lunch, windcheater blah blah blah... which left me with sore shoulders before the trek even started. he he he! So...we land up at the trek site; elated and thrilled to see a beautiful, enormous mountain hidden behind thick clouds awaiting our ascent! 

PS: i did not check the endurance or difficulty level of the trek before setting out to conquer Chanderi. What was the nature of the trek? of course, dramatic life that mine is: it was a medium to difficult level trek. 

And since i hadnt trekked in ages... that seemed ok for me. Started a mini trek searching for a secluded place to answer nature's call :P Next up: crossing a dam... damn, this wasnt difficult at all!  As the trek began... we got a clear view of the giant we were gonna climb! As we walked uphill, i was already panting! *i definitely wasnt thanking the 70 kilos i had on me...not forgetting my baggage which felt like another 30 kgs*

My ordeal had begun... no sooner than i walked a small distance, i was convinced i could not go through it! :P Then came the easy part....trekking through a waterfall! wow! Pure bliss! Also it made the climb easier and a whole lotta fun! Kept refreshing myself with the crystal clear aqua that mother nature offered. Then we had to proceed on to the rocks.... the climb was for about 4 hours and i thought I would die, if it wasn't for Manoj or Niraj...truly Trek Mates! ;) 

 

Amidst catches, sprains and a whole lotta relispray...not to forget insect bites, pricks, slipping and falling into the slush... banging against huge rocks, coming sliding down using my ass as a cushion, getting mighty scared of heights as we neared the peak, i managed to make it to the top in one piece! 

 

It didnt matter that I was last... I achieved what I set out to do...and my reward was waiting for me! A breathtaking view! I finally felt what it was like to be in heaven:)

The descent was easier... refreshing and relaxing as we came down via the waterfalls. I was dead tired..but it was all worth it! And again... I was helped by Abhishek & Sachin! :) 

Chanderi was pure bliss. And that's where the trekking bug had bitten me! 2 weeks later, I was back for more! 

Stay tuned for the next trek tale! Wohooooo! :)