Arjungad aka Bagwada fort in Bagwada near Vapi in Gujarat (India)

Monday, January 30, 2017

After visiting Kille Pardi, we decided to walk on the over crowded roads of the Pardi town to reach the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway.

Fortification of Bagwada fort aka Arjungad

We had refreshments there and boarded a shared rickshaw to Chauraha (Crossroad of four roads) at a cost of Rs.20 for two. From there we boarded another shared rickshaw to alight at the Bagwada Toll Plaza. It cost us Rs. 20 for two. 

Bagwada Rail station

We asked the locals for directions and they asked us to cross the railway line to reach the Bagwada fort base village. The Bagwada Rail station is located very close to the rail crossing. So if you alight at the station, when travelling by the passenger train to Valsad. You can walk it out to the fort. 

It took us around 25 minutes (walking) to reach the Bagwada Fort base village from the Rail crossing. We asked the locals of directions and finally reached the stairs that would take us, straight to the fort. 

Stairs to Bagwada fort aka Arjungad from Bagwada base village

After climbing up the stone staircase for about around 20 minutes we reach the Main and only entrance to the fort. The shade of the trees will stop the sun's heat from reaching you. There is a bell at the entrance. We rang the bell and then walked in the fort premises. 

We were greeted by identical rooms  on either side once we entered the fort premises. Not sure of the significance of these rooms. 

Entrance to Bagwada fort aka Arjungad

The fort is rectangular in shape and has four bastions on the four corners. The bastion offers a fantastic view of the land. We can see the railway line, Mumbai Ahmedabad highway and the  long and winding Kolak River from the side that is not fortified. The fort is fortified on three sides. 

Not much is known about the history of this place. But if you know about it, then do share with me, so that I can upload it on my blog.
The fort is very small in size, it will hardly take 15 minutes to see it. There is a Mahalaxmi Temple atop the fort premises. There is also a water body near the fort premises. Not sure if the water is portable. As there was no one atop the fort premises. 

Thats us

There is no food and water available on the fort premises. So food and water needs to be carried. Food and water is available in the base village.  

We then headed back to Bagwada village and from there to Bagwada Toll Plaza. From there we boarded a shared rickshaw to drop us to Chauraha (crossroad at Vapi). It cost us Rs. 40 for two. 

From the crossroad, we boarded another rickshaw to reach to Vapi Rail station. It cost us Rs.20 for two. 

Mahalaxmi temple atop Bagwada fort aka Arjungad

Fathima stood in the line to book a ticket to Valsad from Vapi. She booked the unreserved tickets at a cost of Rs.90 for two. By then Mohsin messaged me that our return tickets to Mumbai from Valsad via the Jodhpur Express have been confirmed. That bought a smile across my face. Now we didn't have to travel by the general compartment to Mumbai. 

View from Bagwada fort aka Arjungad

We boarded the Karnavati Express, from Vapi to reach Valsad in around 25 minutes. Now we had a major task ahead of us. We had to hunt for a place to stay in Valsad. As it was the Diwali, we were sure that we might not get a place to stay. After checking out a couple of hotels,  finally we got a place to stay in Hotel Sunshine near the Chauraha (crossroad at Valsad). The rooms were descent, though the cost was a bit high. Rs.900 for a double bed, non ac room. 

We had dinner in the form of Gujarati Thali at Hotel Mansarovar. It was filling, Cost us Rs.80 each. but I was more happy and content with the Thali I had at Junagadh.

Bastion at Bagwada fort aka Arjungad

The next morning, we woke up and headed to Raja and Rani, to have some mouth watering vada pav and cutlet. It was the best food I had on this Valsad trip so far. The Vada in the Pav was big and size and very tasty.

We then boarded the Jodhpur Express at 9:52 AM at Valsad to reach Borivali in Mumbai around 11:45 AM. The train traveled non stop to Borivali from Valsad. Again shortest travel time. There was hardly anyone travelling in the train. 

Gujarati Thali at Hotel Mansarover

On our return we could locate, Parnera Fort and Arjungad Fort perched atop the hill when we passed by from the respective closest stations. 

I was happy that I managed to explore Parnera Fort, Kille Pardi and Arjungad in Gujarat. I was saddened that I couldn't explore Ballalgad in village Kajali, Dhinsu Fort in Phanse and Indragad in Pali Karambeli. These formed the itinerary of next bike trip. 

Morning breakfast

We enjoyed the trip a lot, thanks to the winters, it wasn't that hot and made travelling easy up and down the hill. it didn't tire us out.

Keep reading and Keep exploring...

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!

Daman

Monday, June 11, 2012

Whenever one thinks of Daman, what is the first thing that comes to one’s mind?

If your answer is liquor, then you are absolutely right. Daman is supposed to be a haven for people who love to drink. Most people visit Daman to drink liquor as it is available a cheaper cost, compared to Maharashtra and Gujarat.

There are liquor shops all over the place. Every third shop is a liquor shop plus most of the hotels too serve liquor. I guess this is the reason why it is a haven for all drinkers. But of course the price of liquor is cheaper in Goa than in Daman. Then why do people head here? I don’t know.

Daman was a Portuguese colony like Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Vasai and Mumbai. For a history buff, Daman has loads to offer, including old churches, forts and old houses.

Daman is located near the confluence of the Daman Ganga River and the Arabian Sea. As history states, Daman was acquired by the Portuguese from the Shah of Gujarat. For 400 years, it was ruled by the Portuguese until in 1961 it was integrated into India after the Indian Army, the Navy and the Air Force joined hands to make it a part of India.

Daman consists of Moti Daman and Nani Daman. Moti Daman is older than the other. But both are old enough. Moti Daman and Nani Daman are connected by two bridges, one meant for heavy traffic and the other for pedestrians and cyclists. Though the water in the river recedes when it is low tide, one cannot cross via the water. The fishing boats parked at both Moti and Nani Daman do not allow passage between the two.

Daman has many historical monuments. The forts that guard the coast are St Jerome Fort in Nani Daman and the Fort of Moti Daman. As Daman is a Union Territory, all the government buildings are located in Moti and Nani Daman. It is also famous for its beaches, Devka Beach and Jampore Beach.

There are four churches here. The Church of Our Lady of the Sea is situated in St Jerome Fort, and the other three are located in the Fort of Moti Daman. These are the Church of Our Lady of Remedies, the Church of Our Lady of Augustus, the Church of Our Lady of Rosary and the Cathedral of Bom Jesus.

Moti Daman Fort also houses the New and the Old Lighthouses, the Dominican Monastery and the House of Bocade and offers a spectacularly beautiful view of the fishing boats parked in the creek that divides Moti and Nani Daman.

The streets near the beaches are very narrow and mostly deserted. But these streets lead to beautiful and old houses. These houses are either ground-floor structures or a storey tall with tiled roofs. They are brightly painted and provide good material for photographers. Most of the houses have a small porch ahead of them, but nothing like the houses in Goa. Even though both Goa and Daman were earlier ruled by the Portuguese, the architecture and design of the houses is markedly different.

The windows of these houses are what caught my attention.  Though all of them are made of wood, each one appears to have been designed in a different and unique manner.

The markets here are flooded with goods, both Indian and Chinese makes of almost everything. Daman offers accommodation options to suit everyone. There are options for the budgeted traveller, businessman as well as those willing to shell out more for luxuries. In terms of food too, there is something for everyone. North Indian, South Indian, Moghlai, Gujarati food, take your pick. Sadly, Daman does not seem to have anything special to offer by way of its own particular cuisine.

There are mini buses, taxis and rickshaws which cater to travel needs within Daman, other than the private vehicles. But they leave from various locations across Daman. There is no common point for public transport here. Daman is so small that you can view all the sights here in two days.

Most travel websites talk about Daman and Diu together. I guess this is so because of long-ago history lessons in which we learned to speak of Goa, Daman and Diu in the same breath. I too made the mistake of assuming that Daman and Diu were near each other on the map. In reality, you have to undergo a ten-hour journey just to reach Diu from Daman by road or rail transport. So don’t be fooled the way I was into thinking I could tackle both places on the same trip.

As for how I got here, I alighted at Vapi and got in a shared taxi, which took me to Nani Daman.

Daman is very close to Vapi railway station. Outside the station there are shared taxis which charge Rs 20 per head, rickshaws which charge Rs 150 for a special trip and Gujarat State Transport buses. I don’t know the price of the bus ticket. One can reach Daman by road, rail and air as a mode of transport.

So do plan a trip to Daman. There is much to see and do here.

Train trip: Andheri to Vapi

Monday, May 7, 2012

Train travel has always excited me, ever since my childhood days. There is something about the experiences that a train journey brings to you that makes it fun and worth all the effort and inconvenience, especially when the trains are crowded.

On my visit to Vapi, Gujarat, I decided to travel on a Tuesday. I hoped that the unreserved compartment would be empty as the weekend had just gone by.

As I had not made reservations for the train to Vapi, I decided to travel in the unreserved compartment of the Mumbai Surat Express aka Intercity Express. The train arrived at 7:06 am on platform no 8 at Andheri and was expected to reach Vapi at 9:29 am.

With a ticket for the Intercity Express, I was standing on platform no 8. The fact that there were only 10 other passengers on the platform pleased me. I thought it would increase my chances of getting a place to sit in the unreserved compartment of the train.  My watch indicated the time as 6:40 am.  As the clock struck 7:00, the platform began to suddenly get very crowded. ‘Oh God,’ I moaned. ‘Now I will never get a place to sit in the train. Forget sitting. I’d be lucky if I got a place to stand.’

No sooner did the train arrive than everyone rushed to board the compartment. Generally, I prefer to avoid crowded trains, but in this case I had no plan B in place, so I had to board the train, come what may.

The train was packed with people; luckily I got a place to stand. Guess where. Near the latrine of the compartment. It was moaning time again. ‘Oh no, this place stinks. Do I have to travel like this all the way to Vapi?’ As always there was no immediate reply to my question and I decided to manage to the best of my abilities.

Until the train reached Boisar, a pit stop on the way to Vapi, all that I could see were the people standing in front of me in the cranked up position and the people who had come to empty their tanks in the train latrine.

As people from the train exited from Boisar, I found myself a place to sit. ‘Thank You, God, for answering my prayers.’ This time I had progressed to the entrance of the compartment. It was a good place to sit plus it was blowing as though I were sitting in front of an AC. ‘I am loving it.’

Having found a good place to sit in the train, I began to do what I do best – Observe.

The chilly breeze running through my hair and the chills that I was increasingly beginning to feel did not in any way deter me from sitting near the doorway and enjoying the view outside.

I saw a few houses near the tracks. The children who were playing near the houses stopped to see us pass by and waved out to me. I waved back enthusiastically. The smiles on their faces bought a smile on my face. For all I know, they might be waving out to all the trains that pass by on this track. I didn’t care. I felt good.

Later I saw a cluster of houses in the distance. They sat there, untouched by the excitement and upheaval that the train brought into their lives. They seemed to take each day as it comes, leading a worriless and stress free life.

The train crossed over a few water bodies on the manmade bridges built over them. Most of the water had dried up as we were nearing the summer season. In the water I saw a few women washing their clothes in the water.

When I wash my clothes, I put them in a washing machine, press a few buttons on it and, hey presto, the machine washes them for me.

I have never had the experience of washing my clothes in a setting like this. In the villages, washing clothes is a chore performed by the womenfolk. They wash clothes near the water bodies and then dry them on the rocks nearby. So after a wash in the water they get dried on the rocks under the gaze of the hot sun, making the clothes crisp.

The day I upgrade to becoming an offbeat traveler, I’ll be doing all this. I smiled at the thought.

A few cattle were having a nice bath in the water. I didn't let myself dwell too long on what that implied, but shifted my gaze to some other cattle that were grazing in the fields.

I saw fields full of dried grass all around the tracks. Minutes later the view changed to coconut trees and palm trees, only to be replaced later by chikoo trees.

I love chikoos and chikoo milkshake too. And here I saw whole farms of chikoos. This is the largest plantation in Maharashtra. It felt nice to know that all the chikoos that I had ever eaten had sprung from this soil.

I saw a few people walking with bags in their hands in the middle of nowhere. I guess they were walking to the nearest railway station in order to board a train to go to work. In the villages most people are not very well off. So if they stay far away from the closest railway line, they have to walk. They have no other option.

Finally the train reached Vapi railway station at 9:35 am.

I have always found train travel exciting, and this time was no exception. This time I saw houses with tiled roofs, children playing nearby, farms everywhere, coconut, palm and chickoo trees, and water bodies. When I travel by train in Mumbai, all I can see are buildings built dangerously close to the railway tracks, and creeks.

I wish I could see a view like this every day in the city. I guess that is practically impossible. Fortunately, travelling outside the city is possible. That is why I head out of the city every time I get an opportunity to do so. You too should make a trip and enjoy the scenic views outside the city.