The Vengurla Backpack Trip: Day 2, 3 and Closing Notes

Day2: Sunday, 26th April, 2015

Continued from Part 2

1730 hrs:
Our train is announced. It is on time. We've successfully spent an hour doing nothing. Just freshened up a little. There's not much available at the Sawantwadi station, so we pack a few snacks and water for the return trip. Neither of us are very hungry anyway.

1733 hrs:
The train arrives and leaves almost immediately after we board.

1915 hrs:
Vada pav at Vaibhavwadi is our final snack for the day. We pack off to sleep. Luckily we have upper berth tickets so we can do so without disturbing anyone else.

-x-x-x-

Day3: Monday, 27th April, 2015

0300 hrs:

Tejal frantically wakes me up. The train is already at Panvel. Bang on time and least expected. We scramble out of the train with our minimal luggage. The train leaves after a few minutes. And with that our trip ends. A good trip, and totally worth doing again.

-x-x-x-

Some Important Contacts:

1: Hotel Sagar Darshan, Bhogawe

Homestay at Bhogawe, ideally set overlooking the Devbag Sangam. And isolated too.

Room rates start at Rs 600. Group accommodation available.

Contact: 7588448424

2: Simran Tours & Travels, Sawantwadi

Two wheelers on hire. Rates start at Rs 200 per day. 

C/O at Mujib Video Game Parlour

Contact: 02363-274587, 9404448030, 9423051556

3: Pappu Tours & Travels, Sawantwadi

Two wheelers on hire. Rates start at Rs 200 per day. 

C/O at Kadar Watch Dealers

Contact: 02363-275392, 9823147407

-x-x-x-

Some Insights:

1: Train travel through Konkan region can be very unpredictable. If you are planning to backpack through the region, always have a contingency plan at the back of your mind if you don't want your trip to be thrown off track entirely

2: Road travel is no less unpredictable though. Narrow winding roads are aplenty here. Add to that the inclines and declines and you have a very tricky combination. The road quality is good though.

3: Best time to be in Vengurla is sometime after the monsoon to about new year. The beaches are at their best and you can expect a decently cold night. Noons will be hot though.

4: There are plenty of mango orchards by the roadside. But they are guarded very well. Beware in case you plan to 'borrow' some.

5: Apart from mangoes all local fruit is easily available at local markets. The Vengurla cashew is famous too.

6: Quite a few accommodation options are available. The MTDC Bed & Breakfast list for Sindhudurg is a good directory of places and rates.

7: The people of this region are generally good-natured. Though the ill-effects of the easy tourism money is beginning to show. Be aware of the rates and beware of cons.

Yewa ... Konkan aaploch asa ...

The Vengurla Backpack Trip had us travelling through places like Sawantwadi, Vengurla, Kondura, Mhapan, Bhogawe and Nivati. These places are as yet unexplored and hence offer a very rare kind of solace. In all the places that we touched, we were the only non locals and that too at the peak of the vacation season. 

It has been a great trip. There's a lot of ground to be covered as yet: Amboli, Mochemad, Airavali, Terekhol beckons ... Fingers crossed ... 

© Kapil Pilankar

The Vengurla Backpack Trip: Day 2, Part 2

Day2: Sunday, 26th April, 2015

Continued from Part 1

1215 hrs:
We arrive at Nivati Fort bus stop, park the bike and head to the beach. The bus stop is about 80-100 feet above the sea level so one has to walk down a slope to the beach. The beach is a dual beach, the northern and southern sections separated by the Nivati Golden rock - called such because the composing rocks apparently tend to glow during sunrise. The southern beach was the one seen by Tejal from the boat. This section can only be approached after wading through thigh deep water. So, we head to the northern section.

1220 hrs:
The beach is small and cute and with calm welcoming waters. However there is some algae in the water so we don't go in. There are some rocks with shade at the far end. We have a seat here with a very good view. We finally decide to have the little hearts. From now on we decide to rate beaches by little hearts. This one gets 3.5 out of a possible 5.

The Nivati Goden Rock in the distance

1225 hrs:
We head to the Golden Rock. There's a pathway that we can see from our seat. We think that it might lead us to the southern side. We ascend the rock. Its a steep fall on the other side, but the view is simply magnificent. Clean turquoise blue waters, a white strip of sand, idling waves and a smallish lagoon. We rate the beach 4/5 hearts.

A magnificent view and a poor picture

1235 hrs:

We descend from the rock to the northern face and head to the bike. A mad-ish dog is tethered next to the parking area. It thrashes around to free itself. Nearly succeeds. We inform some local people.

1240 hrs:

The locals seem to take no notice of the dog. We flee from there. Its back to Mhapan for lunch.

1315 hrs:

We are at Bhogate's Mess. This time its chicken thali with surmai fry for both of us. We make our love of solkadi known to the owner. He might run out of it soon if we continue our expression of this love. The food is, again, very good. We have a bill of Rs 500 - surmai is expensive after all.

1400 hrs:

We leave from Mhapan. We have to reach Sawantwadi by 1630 hrs. We decide to use the Parule-Kudal-Sawantwadi route rather than the Vengurla road. This is a better road - better quality, less inclines and less curves - and hence faster. 

1450 hrs:

We reach Pinguli, bypass Kudal and head to Sawantwadi through the Goa highway. We take a watermelon break once on the highway. It seems the fuel would barely last us till Sawantwadi. We decide to fuel up a little ahead.

<insert witty caption :P>

1530 hrs:

We are back to hotel Viva Konkan from where the action started yesterday. We have refuelled at a new petrol pump opposite to the hotel. It took some amount of convincing to get fuel worth Rs 30. The attendant was adamant on Rs 50 minimum value. We have some time to freshen up, which we do.

We call up the bike owner to ask if he can collect the bike at Sawantwadi station. He readily agrees. Well, we just saved at least half an hour worth of the bike ride and a round about of at least 15km.

1605 hrs:
We leave for the station. There are no signboards so we ask our way around.

1630 hrs:
We reach the Sawantwadi Station. There's still an hour for the train to arrive. We relax our bike-sore-bums. We pick a little snacks. We wanted fruits, but the station has no fruit vendor. We while our time away.

© Kapil Pilankar

The Vengurla Backpack Trip: Day 2, Part 1

Our Day1 ended at Nivati. We were still left with a bit of northern Vengurla section to be covered, and the entire southern stretch. There were no concrete plans as such when we woke up on Sunday morning apart from the fact that we had to be back in Sawantwadi by 1630 hrs in any case to be able to catch our return train.

Oh yes, and we had missed clicking photos of Nivati beach, so we planned to head there for the sunrise.

-x-x-x-

Day2: Sunday, 26th April, 2015

0815 hrs: 

Just woke up. Checked the time - its long past sunrise. I wake up Tejal as well and we mutually decide to skip the morning beach plan. Its a lazy start.

0900 hrs:

We have ghavne (a type of local dosa-ish dish) and omelettes with tea for breakfast. and then pay up the bill. Total amount comes to Rs 1000 including the room rent, evening snacks, morning breakfast and water bottles. Seems OK for the setting.

0930 hrs: 

Before heading out of Nivati, we go to the beach for a quick sight and pic. Its low tide now and the waters are very welcoming. We repent not going earlier. Take a pic, console ourselves and return to the bike.

An eyeful of early morning repent

0945 hrs:

We decide to head to Bhogawe beach to the north. Last time at during a boat ride from Devbag, Tejal had been shown a relatively isolated beach. She thought it was Nivati, but not so. It might be Bhogawe, I suggest and we plan to go and check in person, if that's the case.

After Bhogawe we would turn south, cross Vengurla and check out Mochemad and Aravali beaches.

1030 hrs:

We reach Bhogawe beach. We check the northern shore first. The Devbag sangam on the opposite side looks as alluring as ever. I've fond memories of the place. The tsunami island is seen too, with another sandbar popped up due to low tide. We also see people para-sailing in the distance.

We then move to the western shore. Its as beautiful as ever. A few months ago, when I was here with a bunch of friends, we were treated to one of the most amazing sunsets. The beauty of the beach, the setting and a longing led me to pen. It feels great to be back here, but the thought remains the same - Wish You Were Here. 

In any case, though, this is not the beach Tejal had in mind.

I still wish you were here

1100 hrs:

We are back near the bike. We ask around for accommodation options here and are directed to a place at the far end of the northern shore. 

1115 hrs:

The property is actually a wadi sandwiched between the shore and a hill. Its called Sagar Darshan. The setting is pretty, the people are good, and the rates are good too. Ideal for a family and friends outing. We take contact details for the future.

The water is surprisingly sweet

Fanas-poli in the making

1135 hrs:

We decide to check out Nivati fort between Bhogawe and Nivati beaches. It is possible that Tejal's beach in question is located there. People here have alluded to it.

1145 hrs:

We start for Nivati fort. The bikes takes a certain amount of pushing up the slope.

© Kapil Pilankar

The Vengurla Backpack Trip: Day 1, Part 4

Day1: Saturday, 25th April, 2015

Continued from Part 3

1720 hrs:
Accidentally reach Kelavi Bundar instead of Mobar beach. Seems an OK place. Turn back quickly. That wrong turn cost us at least 6 km worth of fuel. Chances of us making it back to Vengurla to refuel are getting dimmer. We take another chance - we decide to head to Nivati and camp there. We can sort out the fuel problem in the morning if needed.
We drop Mobar since there were no accommodation options there and we are already short of time for the day.

Kelavi Bundar - pre sunset

1740 hrs:
We reach the turn-off for Nivati. Inquire with people there regarding the fuel. To our surprise, they said that it is availabe at Mhapan - just 0.5 km down the road. It is not a fuel pump though. That's not a deal breaker for us - similar fuel outlets are found in many larger villages in Konkan. We head to Mhapan first.

1742 hrs:
Fuel was available at Mhapan at a rate of Rs 80 per litre; about Rs 15 higher than the fuel pump. No big deal at the moment. We inquire at Bhogate's mess for dinner; I'd eaten here earlier so was confident of the quality and I say such to the owner. He's surprised and asks to come between 2030 hrs to 2200 hrs. We head to Nivati to hopefully catch the sunset.

1800 hrs:
Arrive at Nivati. We book a room at My Dolphin Cottages for Rs 600. Asking price was Rs 1000. We miss the sunset while bargaining.

1830 hrs:
At Nivati beach. Water here has a high drag too. So we don't enter the water here too and decide to walk along the shore. Should have carried the cell phone.

1835 hrs:
A meter high wave suddenly crashes near us followed shortly by another. I remember a night spent watching the waves crash into the lower walls at Kunkeshwar almost two years ago - the roar of the waves was never this loud before. Its not scary but surreal. Flushes away all thoughts that dare to make their way to your mind. Its just you and the waves. No one else can come closer to your mind then. No one. Not even your heart.

1910 hrs:
Its dark and we head back to the cottage. Have an omelette and tea before retiring to the room.

2010 hrs:
We leave the room after freshening up. Time to head to Mhapan again. Its a drive in the dark with flatering headlights. Tejal is a bit scared of the drive. I try to narrate Jim Corbett's tiger tales to help her out; no, not the scary ones, only happy stories. Doesn't help her.
The bike's horn croaks too. This bike needs a name: "La Poderosa" immediately pops into mind, but nope, will have to think of something else, probably frog themed.

La Poderosa - The Mighty One - Norton 1949

2040 hrs:
At Mhapan finally. Not the time to eat yet so we check out the market. Tejal excited to see her products on sale. Enquires about their market performace, demand, supply, etc. I fool around with nothing better to do.

Apparently, soap sells here best in packets of 4

2115 hrs:
We head to Bhogate's Mess for dinner. It takes 5 minutes for the space to clear for us. I somehow manage to doze off and snore. Must be the tireness speaking. It has been a long day so far.
Its going to be chicken and bangda (mackarel) fry for both of us. Chicken sukka is a surprise bonus. Its not usually on the menu.

2145 hrs:
Mangoes!!! Its a surprise dessert. Our dinner costs us Rs 280.

Pratham darshan

2200 hrs:
We head back to the cottage. Tejal uses my head-torch as a backup headlamp. Its getting cool here.

2230 hrs:
We are back at Nivati but head to the beach instead. Its a nice starry night with wisps of clouds. Cool weather.

2300 hrs:
We are back at the cottage and immediately off to sleep. End of a long exhausting day.

© Kapil Pilankar

The Vengurla Backpack Trip: Day 1, Part 3

Day1: Saturday, 25th April, 2015

Continued from Part 2

1420 hrs:
The northwards coastal road from Vengurla that connects the beaches is a proper ghat road with inclined twists and it thoroughly tests Tejal. There's a diversion for Wayangani beach midway, but we decide to skip it: Kondura was after all the beach that had driven the trip in the first place and had to be prioritized.

-x-x-x-

About Kondura

Kondura beach is located about 10km north of Vengurla along the coastal highway. The beach is small, about 300 meters end-to-end, and is flanked by hills on either side. As seen from the sea, one sees a small Lingeshwar Temple near the right flank, a crescent of sand, followed by an arrangement of coconut trees along a slope that descends from a higher plateau to the sea. A small freshwater brrok descends from a cleft in the plateau and meets the sea near the left flank. The water - when we came last September - was clear and approachable. Further seaward, the water had a bluish tinge.

The approach road to the beach ends at the plateau, some 100 ft above the Lingeshwar Temple. A staircase takes one to the temple and onwards to the beach. The pic that drives this trip was taken from the road-head.

The Kondura Pic: Lingeshwar Temple @ Bottom Left, Sep 2014

The sands of Kondura, Sep 2014

This beach is very cozy and hardly sees much tourist flow. Locals from Kondurawadi frequently hang out by the temple. The beach is idyllic and the availability of exactly one homestay makes this a destination for a relaxed, do-nothing kind of a beach outing.

Needless to say, this is one of my favorite beaches in Maharashtra.

-x-x-x-

1430 hrs:
We arrive at Kondura Beach. This scene is somewhat different from the one I'd seen last September. There's a new kutcha road going from the road-head to the beach and is broad enough for a truck to pass. We descend along the staircase next to the Lingeshwar temple.
There's too much sand deposited on the beach. The water is unapproachable due to the drag. The brook no longer reaches to the sea; the sand deposit has stopped it midway. I am disappointed and suspect foul-play. The beach still is a pretty sight.

The Kondura Pic: Today's edition

1445 hrs:
I curse my luck for a while - Tejal is happy as a bird though. We decide to check out the hill on the northern flank. I'd seen a pathway earlier in Google Maps that crosses the hill and reaches to the next beach. We explore this path.

The path winds through the rocks and trees

1450 hrs:
A smallish walk along the cliff edge leads us to a hut on the hill - highest point of the path, barely 100 ft above the sea level - with many chicken and a strong aroma of kokam. Wikimapia lists this place as 'Kondura chi attya' (Kondura's Aunt). Beyond this hut, taking a few steps opened up the expanse of the Haricharangiri Beach (named after a Math of the same name). This beach is larger compared to Kondura. But again too much sand deposited.
We turn around to return.

Kondura chi Attya, with Haricharangiri Beach in the background

The view from Attya's balcony

1520 hrs:
We are back at the Lingeshwar Temple. We decide to rest. Tejal sleeps off on the bench outside, while I doze off in the inner courtyard (too small for a courtyard actually, but cant find a better word) of the temple.

1600 hrs:
I wake up to a crackle of laughter of local kids nearby. Tejal tried to wake me up once but gave up and is now busy with selfies. We decide to explore the southern flank as well. There's some ongoing construction on this hill that we saw from the other hill. We ask the kids to guide us and they agree. Should be fun this ...

Local kids at Kondura: a.k.a. my alarm and guide

1620 hrs:
Halfway up through the hill the kids stop. Here iss the gate to the under construction place and a fork to go to the other side of the hill. The kids would not go further. We see a solitary worker at the site and ask for permission to enter and see the property. We are turned down - entry is forbidden.
We continue on the track, round the hill and come to face the long Wayangani beach. This beach also has a small freshwater brook running to the sea and the Sagareshwar lighthouse at the hill on the far end. However, like Kondura, there is too much sand deposited which obstructed the brook and raised the slope of the beach. We turn back.

The expanse of Wayangani

1640 hrs:
We again request for admission to the under construction property. We are again denied. The owner is expected soon, so we cannot be let in. We learn a few things though: the property is 8 acres in area, the construction in question is supposed to be a farm-house for family and friends and at current rates the plot was atleast worth Rs 3.5 crore. Its just marginally beyond my budget at the moment, so we say we are not interested and make our way back to the bike.
Also, we learn that sand deposited on the beach was a natural phenomenon. It would be least at the end of monsoon, i.e. September, the time I'd come previously.

The boat perch

Villa overlooking the cliff

1645 hrs:
I make a detour to the Lingeshwar Temple and make a small donation before joining Tejal at the bike. She's found some ratambas (raw kokam fruit) and tried it. The juices have glued to her teeth she says. Our water supply is finished. We push the bike on the slope and at the first house ask for water. This house is quite beautiful and has mango orchard. We see some nice fruit within grasping distance, but control our greed.
We realize that we are running low on fuel. We ask around and learn that the closest fuel pump is at Vengurla.

Mangoes ... just removed

1700 hrs:
We leave Kondura and continue further north. We plan to check the sunset from Mobar beach and then return to Vengurla. We may have just enough fuel to pull it off.

© Kapil Pilankar

The Vengurla Backpack Trip: Day 1, Part 2

Day1: Saturday, 25th April, 2015

Continued from Part 1

1130 hrs: 

We have crossed through the Vengurla town and its old marketplace (built by the Dutch in 1836 apparently) and approach the Vengurla bandar (bandar = harbour). An expanse of turquoise-blue punctuated by white spans to our left. 

We park the bike and head to the farthermost point. The view is simply amazing. Mesmerizing even.
There are a few local guys angling and we head there to check the view. Suddenly the guys give a roar of surprised awe. We divert our attention to the object they were looking at - dolphins, a pair, had surfaced at a distance of 50 feet from us. A truly amazing sight. We wait and see as the dolphins surface again at some distance. They surface again but the distance increases. 

Sights ...

1200 hrs:

We return to the bike. We see a half buried cannon nearby. We decide to head to the small beach that was seen from the road. 

Cannon: Delighting you always

1220 hrs:
There are some rocks in the shade on this small beach. A signboard warns against venturing into the water. We sit here for a while. This is one of those magical places where you can sit by yourself and contemplate and the thoughts just keep flowing. 
I'd purchased two packets of little hearts at Dadar station the previous night. We decide against having it right now. 
Conversation sampler: "We go to such beautiful places without our hearts in the right places and think of having little hearts ... We will have it at Kondura"
We leave for Vengurla town to find a place to lunch.

No 'Little Hearts' for now ...

1240 hrs:

We are advised by the locals to try out Narvekar's khanaval (hotel, marathi equivalent of bhojanalay). To our dismay, as we ask for directions through the narrow streets, we learn that there are two such Narvekar's khanaval in the same area. We choose a place called the 'New Mango".

1245 hrs:
A pomfret thali costs an astronomical Rs 550. I opt for a soundale thali. Tejal goes veg. We order a side dish of prawns fried as well.

1300 hrs:
A new customer walks in. Asks price of the pomfret thali. Abuses the staff on hearing the reply and leaves.
Meanwhile our food arrives. Strictly OK

OK?

1400 hrs:
Our total food bill here was Rs 280: Rs 130 for soundale thale, Rs 120 for prawns, Rs. 60 for veg and Rs 10 for the extra glass of solkadi.
Apparently solkadi servings were free as long as we had them as shots. Glasses cost us Rs 10.
We wrap up the lunch and freshen up a bit. We decide to leave for the beaches north of Vengurla. Kondura was to be the first stop.

© Kapil Pilankar

The Vengurla Backpack Trip: Day 1, Part 1

Day 0 ended with us semi-sleeping in the general compartment of the 22629 Dadar-Tirunelveli Superfast Express. The plan for today was to somehow reach Sawantwadi, collect the bike and then move on to Vengurla. There was no plan for what to do after reaching Vengurla.

-x-x-x-

Day1: Saturday, 25th April, 2015

0300 hrs: 

The train reaches Ratnagiri. It is delayed by half an hour - acceptable on Konkan Railway. Half the compartment alights here. Its time to stretch a bit.

0400 hrs:

The train hasn't yet left Ratnagiri. I wonder what's the holdup. A Ratnagiri-Madgaon passenger train, scheduled to leave Ratnagiri at 0315 hrs is also parked next to our train. I've pinned my hopes on this train taking us to Sawantwadi after we alight at Kankawali from the Dadar-Tirunelveli Superfast.

0415 hrs:

The train finally departs from Ratnagiri. They were apparently waiting for a goods train to show up. There's at least an hour and a half to go for Kankawali. Time to stretch again.

0530 hrs:

We alight at Kankawali an hour behind schedule. The Ratnagiri-Madgaon passenger was actually supposed to arrive at this time. We enquire at the booking counter. They say that the passenger is not expected anytime before 0645 hrs. And they will not be giving the tickets. Nice ...

0605 hrs:

We decide to try for a bus to Sawantwadi. The highway is just 10 minutes walk from the Kankawali station. We would try our luck for a bus plying on that route. Else, return to the station by 0640 hrs.

0630 hrs:

We get a sleeper bus for Goa that would drop us at Sawantwadi bypass. Rs. 60 for a 55km ride and an hour of proper sleep. Seemed reasonable.
We check online for the position of the passenger train. It has just left Ratnagiri. This decision pays off.

0740 hrs: 
We alight at the Sawantwadi Bypass. The ride was simply maska. The rickshaw at the junction asks for Rs 150 to drop us at the Sawantwadi bus stand.
We call up Mahesh. He dosen't pick up. Probably still asleep. We decide to freshen up at a hotel nearby and call up again after some time.

0755 hrs:
Ussal pav arrives, followed by omlette pav. There's not much ussal in the ussal pav much to our dismay. We follow it up with another omlette pav.
Our phone batteries are low. We use this time to charge them up a bit.

The omlette and the pav

0830 hrs:
No word from Mahesh yet. We've tried calling him a few times now. We freshen up at this place. We will leave in 10 minutes if he dosen't respond.

0845 hrs:
No word from Mahesh yet. We leave the hotel - Viva Konkan - to head to Sawantwadi. The rickshaw guy has changed now, but the fare is the same. Rs 150 - just too much for a 10 minute ride. An ST bus passes us. Dosent stop. We decide to walk to the nearest bus stop, some 5 minutes away according to the rickshaw guy. A tumtum (6-seater) stops for us. Rs. 20 per seat to Sawantwadi. We hop in.
Meanwhile Saurabh Walkar - he'd joined us for the Tadoba Safari in March - offers to find a bike for us.

Hotel Viva Konkan @ Sawantwadi Bypass

0900 hrs:
We alight near the ST depot. Saurabh has managed to arrange a bike for us. His contact is presently at Banda (near Maharashtra Goa border) and will return in about twenty minutes. After a quick visit to the ATM, we proceed to Salaywada area - the location of my ancestral house. Apparently, Dr. Lele, the tenant, is more famous than the Salaywada area itself. We easily locate the house.

0910 hrs:
We have darshan of the Mulpurush at the home. That's the only remaining strand of connect I have to this house. This is just my third visit here - I managed to get my wrist dislocated the first time I came here, and the second visit was barely two months ago.
We enquire locally for bike rentals. They are easily available here on prior booking. Today, however, all bikes were hired off. The rate is Rs. 200 per day without fuel for any bike.

The Mulpurush and Temple

My ancestors had AC too

0940 hrs:
We get our bike - an ageing Splendor+. We will have to make do with whatever we get. No other option. Tejal is a bit uncomfortable with the kick-start though.
We purchase Rs 5 worth of jaam (wax-apple?) and Rs 200 worth of petrol (2.8l) and set off for Vengurla.
We dont bother with Mahesh. He has not yet called back.

1020 hrs:
Tejal is uncomfortable with the neutral gear. She misses it a few times. We take a halt midway so that she can get a hang of things. We have a bottle of Sagar - local version of Limca - and are off.

© Kapil Pilankar

The Vengurla Backpack Trip: Intro and Day 0

Its about to be an year since I've started this blog. 26th April, 2014, was the day I'd written my first blog: Stumbling Upon Tom's Random Love Story

Today I'm here in Vengurla on a short backpack trip. The aim being to explore around the area, check out a few virgin beaches, some unspoiled nooks and private crannies. Also, the plan is to make this a live blog of this trip: note down everything ... as it happens, when it happens.

The pic that drives the trip

The blogger app on my phone will be my aide in this quest. Of course the battery and network play important roles too. I'm using the classical pen and paper for backup though.

Tejal is partnering me on this trip. A much needed reality connect. I did not ask many people for this trip in the first place. And since me and Tejal are the only people on this trip, I've tried to arrange a bike for us to roam around. Tejal drives of course.

We have confirmed sleeper tickets for the return journey in the 01090 MAO-CSTM holiday special. We board at 1730 hrs from Sawantwadi on Sunday, 26th April and reach Panvel at 0300hrs on Monday, 27th April. However, we don't have tickets for the onward journey. Two attempts on two days for the tatkal ticket resulted in failures. Why did IRCTC not have SBI listed for debit card transaction on that day? No answer. 

Effectively, we have to travel from Mumbai to Sawantwadi cattle class. Well, ain't this the true romance of the backpack trip ... May God save us from such unruly thoughts. Back to work now. The trip begins soon.

Found this as a result of a cursory google search for "Cattle Class"

Fingers crossed. Wish us luck.

-x-x-x-

Day0: Friday, 24th April, 2015

1825 hrs: 

I'm at the Dadar Terminus ticket counter. Two Dadar-Kankavali general tickets in the 22629 Dadar-Tirunelveli Superfast express cost us Rs 370. The clerk at the counter was a poster-boy for the 40-something disgruntled government employee. Dismissed me with a wave of his hand after handing me the ticket. 

I try to call up Mahesh - our contact for the bike at Sawantwadi. He doesn't pick up. Mahesh is a cousin of my my friend and ex-colleague Abhi (-shek) Dalvi. Abhi has been helpful with arranging the bike. 

1830 hrs:

I make my way to platform #8 at Dadar central. The line for the train is already in place and three coaches long. It's almost two hours for the train to depart and still we have this huge line. The plus side - for this train atleast - is that the train has six general coaches. So there's a decent possibility of us getting a seat. I get in line and dial up Tejal. She'd leave office shortly she says.

Our plan as of now is to get to Kankavali in this train and then check whatever means we have of reaching Sawantwadi from there. The people around me says that the general compartment gates open at 1900 hrs. I hope Tejal makes it by then.

1850 hrs:

The train has come on the platform. There are three general coaches on either side. We should get a seat today. No signs of Tejal yet.

1905 hrs:

Tejal arrives. Gates have not yet opened. She sees the line and gasps. I explain her the concept of the general coach line and the ensuing chaos in absence of one. 

I gasp at her backpack. Its merely 10l large. To put it into perspective, its as big as my two arms put together. I wonder what she's stuffed there. I hope its enough.

1930 hrs:

Gates have not opened yet. We are bored. Tejal had brought a pair of vada-pav for both of us. We've finished that. We need some water, but cannot leave the line. Gates may open anytime.
Got through to Mahesh. He's asked us to call him when we reach Sawantwadi tomorrow.

2015 hrs:

The gates have finally been opened. And its chaos. Everybody apparently forgot that a line had existed here moments before. We rush in, but get no seats, despite being among the first dozen people in through the coach. We alight, dejected. No point standing for eight hours straight.

2017 hrs:

There's an empty bench in the next coach. We enquire , if its taken. The lady sitting there welcomes us. She'd fought for the berth for her husband and family but the husband found nice seats elsewhere. So we get seats! We are elated!

The strap of Tejal's watch broke in the process of us not getting a seat. A fair casualty one must say.

Tejal will curse me when she reads this :).

2025 hrs:
I go get some snacks and water for the journey. Tejal orders a veg Biryani in the train for both of us. There's no chaos anymore in the compartment. All settled.

2040 hrs:
The train leaves. All well. Except for the kid on the opposite bench. She's a cute little annoyance.
My phone's battery is down. Give a call home and shut it down. It would be better to maintain the blog with paper and pen instead of the mobile. Anyway, I'm not hoping for a decent network in most parts of our trip for the next two days.

2105 hrs:
Train reaches Thane. All window shutters and doors are closed so that no one enters. The space inside the coach is precious. Not that many people try to board in Thane though.
Most of the co-passengers are from Ratnagiri. Seems like the coach will be 50% empty after Ratnagiri. High hopes of some decent sleep.

2155 hrs:
Same scenes at Panvel. But hawkers do get in despite the best efforts of the Ratnagiri musclemen. We finish our biryani with the help of some chips. We try to sleep in the sitting position.

2330 hrs:
The train is moving good. We've passed Roha some time back. Not much sleep possible. But try to doze off once in a while.

© Kapil Pilankar