• Places

    Five Monsoon Weekend Drives from Mumbai

    August 31, 2010 - By 

    If getting out of Mumbai means Lonavala and Khandala for you, then read no further. Not that Lonavala and Khandala aren’t beautiful. They are indeed. But then, let us grow up. Here are five weekend monsoon getaways from Mumbai. 1. Go beyond Malshej Ghat. Malshejghat is a regular and hugely popular monsoon weekend getaway. Misty mountains and unlimited waterfalls. An MTDC resort facing the valley. Most people from Mumbai travel to Malshejghat via Kalyan for a day trip or a weekend trip. Here is another alternative: Hit the Mumbai–Pune expressway and take a left at Wadgaon to Chakan and then…

  • MTDC Harihareshwar
    Hotels - Nature's Wonders - Places

    MTDC – Budget Traveller’s Delight

    October 20, 2009 - By 

    In the past three years or so, we have visited a few places in Maharashtra. One thing that has been common in many of these visits was MTDC ( Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation) resorts that offer reasonable boarding and lodging. We have now become a fan of MTDC resorts albeit it’s difficult to get accommodation without advance booking. (Mahabaleshwar) MTDC is present in most of the important tourist places in Maharashtra. Simple and basic accommodation. Clean toilets. No fancy stuff. Will fit any backpackers / travel lovers’ budget. Some of these resorts are leased out to private contractors, who have…

  • Places

    The Rubber Waste Yard at Harihareshwar

    June 14, 2009 - By 

    A rubber factory is an unlikely place to be written about in a travel blog. And certainly not a rubber factory in Harihareshwar, a quite village known for its temple and pristine beaches. Harihareshwar for sure did not have a rubber factory. But we did find something closer to that. More like a factory’s waste yard. A little away from the beach, on the rocky coast, we saw loads of abandoned, worn-out, damaged pieces of footwear. Laced with a few plastic bottles as well. Plastic bottles are no surprise, since they already form part of our natural environment, nurtured carefully…