Monday, February 27, 2017
Diu is a Union territory located not very close to Mumbai. Total travel time is around 18 hours away, no matter which mode of transport you take.
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| Bus to Diu |
When people say Daman and Diu it gives one the understanding that they are close to each other but in reality they are around 9 hours away from each other. One of the reasons why people use the two of them together is because the official govt offices are in Daman.
There are three ways of reaching Diu. Either travel by road, which is tagged on google maps. Or travel by train to Verangal and from there travel by bus. Or the last is by a flight to Diu airport. The air travel is the shortest, the other two modes of transport take more or less the same amount of time.
After researching all our options we decided to travel by bus. That too a sleeper bus to Diu.
Remember Fathima, she had accompained me to Chinchoti waterfall near Tungareshwar, joined me on my trip to Diu. We booked bus tickets to Diu, just a week in advance. We booked bus tickets from OP Travels, which is located on the Western Express Highway near Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SNGP). Buses to major towns in and around Maharashtra are available here. We got the tickets at a cost of Rs. 700 each for a non ac sleeper bus. Please note, that ac buses don't ply on this route.
I boarded the bus at 1:30 PM at Andheri near the intersection of the metro line and the western express highway. Thanks to the traffic jam, we reached Vasai around 4 PM. The bus was full and travelled by the Mumbai Ahmedabad highway.
As the journey is long, you can do two things, either sleep all the way to Diu or play around on your phones. If you choose the later then do carry a power bank along for charge. One more thing, one can read a book too.
Day turned to Night and the weather changed, it started growing cooler in the bus too. Had to close the windows so that we don't feel the cool breeze. But the very next morning it became hot again.
The bus will take sufficient breaks at hotels for eating and refreshment purposes.
We stopped for breakfast the next morning and all I got to eat was this Fafda Jalebi. Jalebi I enjoyed as it is one of my favorite sweets but not Fafda. Hot tea to gulp it all down.
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| Fafda and Jalebi |
The road passes through fields. The color brown was all over the place. The roads were in good condition, which made the journey a pleasant one.
The roads are tagged on google maps.
Our bus broke down somewhere near the outskirts of Diu, hence we travelled by a auto rickshaw to reach Diu. This is the first time I have travelled by this mode of transport and it was fun.
Though it is slow it will still get you to your destination.
First glimpse of Diu and it is a beautiful. Beautifully constructed roads which are totally deserted. The view of the sea in a distance was also amazing.
We were dropped near the Diu Bus stand, from here buses ply to many towns in Gujarat. Buses ply to Mumbai too from here.
We got our self a place to stay near the bus stand premises. We got ourselves rooms at Hotel Galaxy. It cost us around 1200 bucks plus taxes each for non ac rooms. The ac ones cost around 1500 bucks plus taxes. Which is pretty expensive. I guess it is the location that commands the money. It has a eatery in its premises, where food and liquor is available. Remember Diu is a Union Territory.
We freshened up in the room, had lunch and off course beer and then headed out to see Diu.
As you go away from the Diu Bus Stand, the hotel prices drop. But then commuting to the Bus Stand, again will be a task.
Diu has a lot of historical sites one can visit. I had made a note of the places I wanted to visit on the trip. I had St Paul's Church, Diu fort, Fortress of Panikota, Gangeshwar Temple, Maida Caves, Diu Museum, Shell Museum, Church of St Francis d Assisi, INS Khukhri.
I didn't have the beaches on my list, as they don't amuse me much. It is just the names and the color of the sand of the beach that changes.
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| Our mode of transport to Diu from where the bus brokedown |
Auto Rickshaw are available outside the Diu Bus stand on hire. One has to negotiate the rates with them depending upon the places one wants to cover. The rates differ from place to place
We negotiated and got a rickshaw at a cost of Rs. 500 to see the places mentioned above.
The time was now 3 PM on my watch. We had to hurry if we wanted to cover all the places.
The rickshaw driver first took us to Diu Fort.
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