Satmaliya Deer Sanctuary in Dadra and Nagar Haveli (India)

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Satmaliya Deer Sanctuary is located in Dadra and Nagar Haveli (Union Territory). It is located very near to Silvassa and Khanvel. One has to travel on the Khanvel road to reach it. 

That's us at Satmaliya Deer Sanctuary

Indragad was around 35 KM away from here. It took us a little more than an hour's time to reach thanks to the narrow roads. 

Directions to the Satmaliya Deer Sanctuary are tagged in google maps, so follow the instructions.

Entrance to Satmaliya Deer Sanctuary

There was a crowd gathered outside the Sanctuary premises. We got ourselves tickets. It costs us Rs. 100 for four. Outside vehicles are not allowed in the Sanctuary premises. 

This is my first trip to a wild life sanctuary. I have been to zoo and national parks before. So I was very excited. 

Sambar at Satmaliya Deer Sanctuary

We waited our turn and finally traveled by the bus to reach the spot where the Deer were. 

This is the closest I have been to the Sambar Deer and Chital or Cheetal aka Spotted Deer with no barring or fencing between us. The experience was just thrilling as I was not sure how the animal would react with us humans all around them.  

Sadly the animals kept walking in the woods thanks to some idiotic animals who got dangerously close to them to shoot selfies. No prizes for guessing who these animals were?

Sambar at Satmaliya Deer Sanctuary

There are more of sambar here, in comparison to the spotted deer. To this Raj added, again thanks to the humans, the animals are not getting any privacy, hence they can't mate. Lol.

After spending an hour here. We decided to head  back to Dadra and Nagar Haveli to have some lunch. I hope Raj and Martina had some good time clicking some amazing snaps of spotted deer and sambar. 

More Sambar at Satmaliya Deer Sanctuary

We stopped at a local bar to have late lunch and drinks. As Dadra and Nagar Haveli is a Union territory, liquor is cheap here. The quality of liquor is better than the one served in Daman. 

Spotted Deer at Satmaliya Deer Sanctuary

Four near bottles of 650ml costed us just Rs. 310. You read it right. We payed a bomb, around Rs. 800 bucks for starters and chinese food. Now that is a expensive deal. 

Lone Sambar at Satmaliya Deer Sanctuary

Now it was a long way back to Mumbai. 130 KM to be more precise. That would take us roughly around 3 hours to reach taking into consideration the traffic. 

The journey was smooth wall the way. The moment we were nearing Hotel Fountain the traffic jam started. It was a mad traffic jam. It ate around 30 minutes of our time. 

The woods at Satmaliya Deer Sanctuary

Finally at 9 PM, Raj dropped me at Borivali, from there I boarded a train to Andheri.

Spotted Deer at Satmaliya Deer Sanctuary

Long distance travel on the bike is painful. My back and legs were in pretty bad shape. An experience similar to the one I had while travelling to Indurigad near Pune. But then I was happy that I got to explore new places. They bought a smile on my place.
Now you too can read it and go a exploring places over the weekend.

Tribal Museum in Silvassa

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

If you want to know the history of Silvassa, how the tribals here used to lead their lives all these years then the place to head to is the Tribal Museum.

The tribal office is located near The Tourist Office of Silvassa. The tourist office of Silvassa was not of much help, considering that the inquiry desk was unmanned.

No photography is allowed in the museum. The museum timings are 9 am to 5 pm. The museum hosts some photos that feature the lifestyle of the tribals, the agricultural instruments used by them in farming, the household items used by them etc.  It also features their musical instruments and the various masks of Ravan and the Pandavas and other deities.

Entrance to the Tribal Museum

Liquor seems to be everyone’s favorite. Tribals prepare their own liquor. The instruments for the preparation of the same are up on display here.

Fishing used to be one of the primary activities here, so their traditional fishing equipments are also on display. As are instruments used for hunting. Warli Art is also on display on the walls of the museum.

The most interesting exhibits here are the 3D houses of the tribals.

It takes around 30 minutes to see the entire museum and to top it all, you can view the exhibits here at no charge at all. It is completely free of cost.

So to know the origins of Silvassa, do head to the Tribal Museum.

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.

Journey Udvada to Silvassa

Monday, June 25, 2012

After visiting the old Parsi houses in Udvada, I headed off to the rickshaw stand hoping to get a ride to Vapi station.

When I spoke to the rickshaw drivers about my ride, they warned me that I would have to hire a special rickshaw and that the fare would be high. Just then I saw a bus approaching. The rickshaw driver told me that it would take me to Udvada railway station. I immediately headed off to the bus stop 10 metres away from the rickshaw stand.

The bus was empty and the fare to Udvada railway station set me back by just Rs 7.

The view outside was good; all around was open country. There were houses in the distance surrounded by mango and coconut trees as well as fields. It was a refreshing sight to see, and made me feel relaxed and invigorated. I really enjoy travelling like this.

Outside it was hot as hell, as the expression goes. Seated in the bus, I could feel the hot air flowing in through the windows. Daman was so peaceful and now Udvada is so hot, as if I were in a desert. In 30 minutes, I was at Udvada railway station.

I alighted from the bus and headed to the train station, trying to figure out if there is a train that would take me to Vapi. There was none. What’s more, the ticket counters were empty and the platform was abandoned. A few people were sitting on the platform, clearly seeking to kill time until the train arrived.

One of these waiting passengers advised me to cross over as the NH8 runs parallel to the train tracks. From there I would get a rickshaw or a bus to Vapi. Luckily, I got a semi full rickshaw to take me to Vapi. It was like a tum tum which could accommodate around 11 people. I managed to get a back seat in it.

I enjoyed the view from here. The two -wheelers and four-wheelers were racing along on the highway and in the midst of all that motion, our rickshaw was plodding ahead at a very slow pace.
I saw a fort like structure up on the hills in a distance. I saw the bastions. It stood silent on the hill, watching the highway and the traffic on it. None of my fellow passengers could provide any information on it.

In about 30 minutes time I alighted at Vapi. The fare for the journey was Rs 20. My passengers told me to board a rickshaw to the railway station. When I told them that I wanted to head to Silvassa, they advised me to get back into the rickshaw. A while later, I alighted at the stop from where I was supposed to get a rickshaw to Silvassa.

The rickshaw journey was very annoying. The roads were very bad. To make matters worse, the driver was playing some raucous music in his rickshaw. The songs were playing on tweeters; there was no bass. The so-called music was blasting right into my ears, adding to the discomfort of my travel experience.  You see, we were four of us sitting on the back seat. But the hope of reaching Silvassa kept me going.

The songs that were being played were spoof songs of hit Bollywood songs and hilarious Gujarati songs. Who knows? The songs might have been fun to listen to. If only the volume were a little low.

Finally after 45 minutes, I reached Silvassa. Phew!

Church of Our Lady of Piety

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Very close to the Tribal Museum on the road to Sayali stands a grey coloured structure called the Church of Our Lady of Piety.

This church is made of stone and is painted grey in colour. The border on the stone is white. Most Portuguese churches are made of mud, but this is the first one I had come across that was made of stone.

Church of Our Lady of Piety

The church was constructed in the year 1897. A hundred years later, in 1997, an extension was added. The church is very small and has no pulpit; the main altar is small and beautifully carved out of wood and varnished in brown. A huge main altar, and side altars and a pulpit are a constant in all Portuguese churches. I wonder why this one was constructed differently.

The road outside is abuzz with heavy traffic, but all the noise and cacophony just fades out once you step inside this church. Sitting here is so peaceful that I feel totally cut off from the outside world.