Coastal bike trip from Gholvad to Dahanu (Maharashtra Gujarat Border) India

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

After exploring Aswali Dam, we travelled on the Bordi Aswali Road, to reach Bordi. We travelled on the narrow roads, again the road was very picturesque. Banyan trees, Tody trees, on either side of the roads, we even saw chickoo plantations. I knew we were near Gholvad, as the chickoo plantations are there. We noticed a Ganpati painted on the bark of a tree, it looked nice an it was very innovative. 

En route to Gholvad

Finally we reached Bordi. Not sure if it was the Bordi market, or a Saturday market. Shops on either side of the road. Shops selling all kinds of things, ranging from clothes, under garments, fruits and vegetables, toys and many more.  The streets had turned colorful. The roads were filled with people. 

We then visited the Bordi beach stretch located a few minutes away from the market place. 

Rail crossing

The tide was low and hence the water had receded. The school children had taken full advantage of the situation and decided to play cricket at the beach. Have you played cricket at the beach, do let me know. 

It was a black sand beach. In a distance I could see the mangroves, they looked beautiful, but if we walk it out, it wold take us around an hour's time to reach. So we skipped it.

Ganpati painted on a Banyan Tree

We then decided to travel all the way to Dahanu, the road though narrow and winding was in good condition, to ride on and close to the beach. Even at 12 noon, we were not able to feel the heat thanks to the cool breeze from the sea. 

Bordi Beach

We braked a couple of times and watched the silent water in a distance. The tide was low but not a soul on the beach. How will there be anyone, as there is no one staying close by. The beach stretch was clean. 

Hansel and Me

As we approached Dahanu Beach, we saw a couple of fishing boats anchored in the waters. At last civilization, I said to myself. The water was clear here and no sign of dirt on the beach. I was sure that the closer we get to the beach, the dirtier the beach would be. We gave it a skip.

En route to Gholvad

We met up with Gautam, near Narpad. He was a local, who stays in Dahanu and works in Andheri in Mumbai city.  I felt so jealous, as he is having the best of both worlds. though commuting , cost him around 5 hours a day, but he still lives a good life here. 

That's Me

Coastal road to Dahani

I think I should buy a vacation home here, but who has got the time to travel so far. Gautam told us about a couple of good eating joints around Dahanu as hunger had striked our stomachs. Out of all I remember Hotel Mini's near a bridge on a river. 

Dahanu Beach

Hansel and Me with Gautam

En route, we noticed a signboard that read Dahanu Fort. Fort that rang bells in my head, though I have been to Dahanu Fort a long time ago, I still decided to pay it a visit to refresh my memory. Hansel to had a new fort to explore on the bike trip.

Aswali Dam in Aswali near Bordi near the Maharashtra Gujarat Border (India)

Monday, February 13, 2017

Aswali Dam is located near Bordi. It is around 151 KM away from Amboli in Andheri west. 

Aswali Dam

Hansel, who had accompanied me to Shiv Kalin Vihir in Badlapur, joined me on this trip. 

Sunrise on the way to Aswali Dam

We met at Amboli, near my house at 5:20 AM. We immediately headed to our destination, Aswali Dam.

Hansel and Me

As it was early morning, the roads were empty, so Hansel managed to pickup speed. We crossed the Fountain junction without any traffic, which was good.

Can you spot the aeroplane in the sky

We rode on the Mumbai Ahmedabad highway, as the bike gained momentum, it started growing colder. We were wearing warm clothes, but our hands were numb due to the cold. Hansel added that due to the near water bodies and trees, the temperature will always be lower than elsewhere. He was right.

Every time we braked to stretch, it grew cooler.

Tody trees on the way to Aswali Dam

The directions to Aswali Dam are tagged on google maps, follow the map and you will not get lost. We did the same. 

We exited the Mumbai Ahmedabad highway at Talasari, and traveled by a narrow village road to Aswali Dam The roads are in good condition. The journey was picturesque. We passed by Toddy trees, Banyan Trees and water bodies. Life here was so laid back. Everyone has relaxing. How I miss this kind of life in the city.
Toddy wine, created from the Sap of the toddy tree is a alcoholic beverage. We saw sap being collected from the Toddy trees while travelling to Aswali Dam. Some one is going to have a party tonight. 

Sap from the Tody tree

We travelled in and out of Maharashtra into Gujarat a couple of times to reach our destination. How we know, there were police check post. 

Finally around 9 AM, we reached the school, located very close to the Aswali Dam. I quickly asked one of the school teacher for directions to the dam. He immediately showed me the rocky trail that leads to the dam. I inquired about the whereabouts of Bahrot Caves located nearby. He told me that those caves exist, though he has never been up them. He told me that it would take us around 2 to 3 hours to reach the caves from the dam. The dam, we would reach in 30 minutes. He also advised us to take a local with us , if we planned to visit it. As the trek is through a jungle and there is a possibility of us getting lost as the directions are not marked.
Hansel and I decided to skip the caves for the time being, visit the dam and do the caves later. 

The school near Aswali Dam

We walked on the rocky road that leads to the dam. As the road was not motor able, we parked the bike under the shade of a tree and walked it out.

En route, Hansel, heard a couple of ducks, we immediately located them, took a couple of photos and then headed back to the dam.
Finally we reached the dam premises. The view of the dam was just beautiful. The green waters was surrounded by hills covered with thick forests on three sides. It reminded me of my trip to Pelhar Dam near Vasai. Equally beautiful. 

Ducks on the way to the Aswali Dam

There is only one control mechanism for the entire dam. Access to it is denied. We walked on the small muddy path. There were school kids here, I guess they had bunked school to spend sometime at the dam. 

View from Aswali Dam

There was a tiny hole in the dam wall, from where the water was oozing out. like a mini waterfall post the rains. 

Aswali Dam

We parked ourselves in the shade of the trees and had some mouth watering sandwiches prepared by Hansel's wife. 

That's me

Miniature waterfall

I noticed something very unusual here, I noticed a cow, swim or should I say walk in the water with its head held high so that it can breathe. It walked for around 20 minutes in the water to reach land.
Watching the calm waters, greenery around us, was so soothing to my eyes. I wouldn't mind suspending a hammock between two trees and sipping on some ice cold beer. 

Aswali Dam

Aswali Dam

Now that we have visited Aswali Dam, what do we do next, is the question I had in my mind. I started to research on google. But due to the poor internet connectivity we were not getting any signals. We decided to go back to the village located near the school to try our luck there. 

Aswali Dam

Aswali Dam

Near the school we got better connectivity, as compared to the dam, we then decided to do the coastal road-trip starting at Bordi beach and terminating at Dahanu Beach.

Journey Silvassa to Bordi

Monday, July 2, 2012

The last destination on my road trip was Bordi, a small fishing village near the Maharashtra border.

As there is no railway station at Silvassa, one needs to come to Vapi to board a train to Bordi, a railway station on the Mumbai-Gujarat rail route.

I inquired at the bus station if we could board a direct bus to Bordi. The receptionist said that there was no direct bus. He suggested that I board a bus to Vapi and from there take a train to Bordi and from there a rickshaw to Bordi.

Silvassa to Vapi by bus

Vapi to Bordi by train

Bordi to Bordi beach by rickshaw

Three different modes of transport to my final destination, Bordi.

So I boarded a local bus to Vapi from Silvassa at 8:50 am. Buses ply every 20 minutes to Vapi as it is a junction for people who are travelling to Silvassa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman.

The bus was packed with people, most on their way to work.  The seats of the bus were a bit uncomfortable but when one is travelling, one cannot always expect a comfortable ride.

The roads leading to Vapi are bad; one stretch of road was being repaired to make it better, so the ride was a bumpy one. The amount of dust generated was bad enough. As the bus was not an AC bus, we had to keep the bus windows open to ensure ventilation.

The major difficulties that passengers face in the bus are bad and dusty roads, crowded buses and the unbearable mid-morning heat. But I was determined to get to Bordi and that was the driving factor on this part of the journey.

It took us an hour to reach Vapi bus depot which is located at a distance of 15 minutes away from the railway station.

Alternatively private rickshaws also take you there. They charge around Rs 150 per seat. The bus charges Rs 15 per seat. A difference of Rs 100.

We reached the railway station at 10 am. The Ahmadabad Virar Passenger train was to arrive at 10:10 am at Vapi.

As I was inquiring at the inquiry counter, the train arrived. I had no ticket. What should I do? Should I board the train without a ticket or should I wait in line for the ticket? That was a big question.

I somehow hurried to the ticket booking counter to get myself a ticket. A long line awaited me there. I didn’t want to miss the train either. But I still decided to stay in the line because I didn’t want to travel ticketless.

Guess what? I not only managed to get myself a ticket to Bordi at a cost of Rs 6, I even got a place to sit in the train. I was really lucky. The passenger train was bound to halt at all stations along the journey. I settled down in my seat and prepared to enjoy myself. Through past experience, I knew that train journeys are always fun.

A few passengers got in and as the seats of the train were occupied, they decided to sit in the place meant to keep the luggage. Some people were sitting and even sleeping there. I saw a passenger resting his sandals above the fan. The luggage carrier was broken in places and the poor folks that had settled up there were trying their best to make themselves comfortable on the broken seat. I was afraid that the seat would fall and send them crashing down on the heads and backs of the passengers seated below. But my fears were unfounded. Looks like these guys were used to traveling like this.

A few eunuchs entered the train, hoping to get some alms for themselves. A few salesman were there displaying their food articles and hoping to make a sale. Finally after around an hour’s time, the station arrived.

I got out and saw that we had reached Gholvad station, not Bordi. I knew that Gholvad and Bordi are neighbouring stations.

Luckily I met a Ticket Checker (TC) and he told me that the train didn’t halt at Bordi but that I could get to Bordi even from Gholvad by hailing a rickshaw at a cost of Rs 8 per seat.

I did as told and sat in a rickshaw which would take me to Bordi. The journey offered a lot of green vistas and I was cooled by the breeze rushing at me from the sea on my left hand side. I was beginning to enjoy this ride. Soon I alighted at Goolkush Hotel and from here began my effort to get the best deal to stay  for the night.

Bordi village and the beach are at a distance of 2 km from Gholvad railway station. There are very few hotels here, Goolkush Hotel, Jayee Resort, Tapovan and Anand Resort, to be more specific.

The tariffs of all these are almost the same. They range between Rs 1000 to Rs 1500 for a twin sharing room.  There are very few restaurants here.

The journey was fun as I had again travelled by three modes of transport just as I did on my way to Udvada from Daman. I have begun to get a feel of travelling. I hope to increase the modes of transport I travel by in the future.