DTSnation Palasdhari - Sun 29th July

Dait: Sunday 29th Jul

Meeting time: 6am at Dadar stn (main bridge) near booking counter

Schedule: Express train to Karjat at 6:15am, Meeting chief guest from Pune @ Karjat 8:15am, Palasdhari one station after Karjat - 'explore' the Palasdhara lake, walk across the dam, to a vatterfall.

Event will also involve award ceremony for 'Bravery at the Waterfalls - Bhandhadra'

Chief Guest: Dig-nitry (nose only) from Pune.
Confirmed attendance: 7 human-bings (4guys 3 goles) and 2 extra terrace-tree-yells
**acclaimed performance of 'Tujhe Dekha Toh' in the train by little Saar-cook-Khan and KillJoy.


**colours in actual will appear greener as they are in photos
**photos stolen from some1s flickr...go ahead...sue che!

Igatpuri We-all-gat-puri

Spendings
Train = 40+40 (express train, Dadar to Igatpuri and back)
Rickshaw = 90 /person
Food + Chai = 90
TOTAL = Rs230 (per person)

Get-to-Puri-->
Train - We caught the (6:20 daily from Dadar) from platform 1 on the central side (this is not a local ticket so booking is at the end of platform no. 6 Central - you need to mention the train you are going to take) it takes 2 1/2 hrs by express to get to Igatpuri by train.
{2paisetip - you can also take the local train (central line to Kasara and then jeep from Kasara to Igatpuri))instead of the express but my advice is not to cuz there are 1) the journey turns out to be excruciatingly long, 2) v few trains to Kasara from Dadar 3) ticket price differs only by 20Rs - not worth it}

from Igatpuri to Bhandhadra
Rickshaw - we sorted out a super excellent deal with Anil - Mr HardlyKnowsTheRouteWhenHighOnGhutka....the deal was pay for petrol plus Rs 150 (or as we wished) - we stuffed 5 in the rick and were fine
{2paisetip - good idea?bad idea? - well really depends how it works for you
bad idea - the rickshaw is quite slow and cant climb the ghats too well
good idea - each trecherous slope meant we had to get off and hike.... worked for us - was fun from the otherwise 2 1/2 hr monotonous ride}
Cab - cabbies were quoting Rs 450 - which I'm guessing is reasonable since its 45kms to Bhandhadra, the cab ride will be much much quicker.

Food - We picked up stuff from this place called Sai Sadan which is at the outskirts of Ghoti village (while leaving). Ordered parathas (gobi, paneer - was adviced by Anil against the aloo). They charged us more than the menu prices with the excuse that 'some prices had changed' - we fought a bit but let it pass.
The food was quite good - paisa vasool even with the over chargingness.

To Do
WE - visited
Arthur Lake (en route to Randh falls) - the main/commercial viewing point is nothing spectacular (maybe cuz its closed during monsoons) but another viewing point a few kms ahead is a lot more spectacular...that looks over the entire lake

Randh Falls (15kms from Bhandhadhra)- quite spectacular but too 'commercial', I'd suggest spotting a waterfall along the way (numerous one's to choose from) and hike - would be a lot beautiful and 'untouched'/pristine.
Also - the 'commercial' viewing point is on one side of the gorge, if time permitted we really wanted to hike a way to the otherside cuz it was a lot more beautiful there.

ToBuy
Pedas!! - We picked some at Arthur Lake, thanks to NeilD's risk to taste some...we all fell in love with them..I picked 2 packets to trip on during the week

Travel Back
2paisewarning - the return train journey involed a 'one evenings stand' for 1.5 hrs (till Kalyan) - trains on the way back are bit crowded...but was not that bad since the day didn't involve much of a trek

Rait-ings
Beautifulity: 3/5 - beautiful but getting commercial, would definitely give it a better rating when (the next time) we visit 1 of the 'un-noticed' waterfalls instead
Conveyniance: 3/5 - littlebittlefaraways - 2.5hrs by express train, Bhandhadra - another 45km away
Budgetwise: 3.5/5 - more coz of the rickshaw/cab ride to Bhandhadra
Tiringness: 4/5 - visiting Randh waterfalls and Arther lake involve hardly any walking

Overall - 3.25/5 - definite scope for improvement if more 'exploration' from the commercial sites is invested in.

Igat-pics-puri

Its soo green bro

Walking Sushi's

Poisonous death choking sushi's

fuelling

hairstylist Neil Dantas and his scalp care tips

ek kaddak petrol dya

seated significance

going where no rickshaw has gone before

trying to rub off the baldness

view during take-off

sets of 300 - 'form a shield' take

chasing the impotent rickshaw that cudn't take us all uphill

praise you Lameass

Randh (DMC) waterfalls

dakyu-menting it all

menu-set in wood

cheers to dat!!

Intended destination - Igatpuri

When: Saturday14th and/or Sunday 15th July (since some baggars were aksing for Saturday pre-ponement lats time)
Where: place called Igatpuri and Bhandara
(all info and images http://hikebandardhara.blogspot.com/ merci beacoup)









Attractions -
+ Tringalwadi fort
+ Camel valley
+ Talegaon Dam
+ Kalsubai peak - on the way to Bhandara
+ Bhandara - which is 45km from Igatpuri
+ Bhandardara lake (Wilson dam & Arthur Lake)
+ Randh Water falls - 11kms from Bhandara
+ Ratanghad Fort (about 22 km by road or by crossing the dam by boat).

Now obviously it wont be possible to see all of dese - will have to pick and choose depending on advice from the locals and logical reasoning there.

Overnight possibilities -
Why Overnight? - There are a bunch of places to see/ trek around Igatpuri....which would really take more than a single day.
Accom? I 'hear/see' a lot of people stay at
Ganak Motel (has a starting cost or Rs 300 - per room or person I dont know, I would believe its per room - in either case its a decent deal i reckon)

More detail in the upcoming days....

Fevicol tendencies??..(wanna join?) leave email addy and will update yow

07-01 Destination Matheran

yah yah - what to do...all peoples backed out thanks to unheardly cowheardly behaviour because of rains - so I called up Matheran helpline, and once they confirmed that they abolished the 'No Cuming Alone' policy I decided not to hessytate - here is my summary of the Mattyran hillstation

Ratings

Beautifulity - 4 on 5
(wide range of 'points' [see map] but only visible when clear weather)
Conveyniance - 5 on 5
(Neral train stn very close to Matheran - only 2 hours travel time from Dadar)
Budget'wise' 4.5 on 5
(thanks to the closeby train station and one way hike - Rs 111 (36+50+25) *excluding food)
Overall 4.5 on 5
(one of the few places in the world where no vehicles allowed - pristine environment barring the horse poo)

"It was the too much funs - life will never be the same again" Lemdu
"What a day...my ass aches...and for good reason for once" Lameass

How to get there?

Destination Neral (NOT NERUL) on the Central Line - I caught the train from Dadar (platform 1 on central side) and takes 2 hours (Rs36 for a return ticket from Bandra). You need to catch a Karjat [S] train - S as in 'display name on indicator', not 'slow'...in anycase both fast and slow trains stop at Neral (click here for stations on central line). 6am train reached at 8am -

At Neral caught a shared taxi (Rs 50 per head) to Matheran base. The other option is the toytrain which takes you all the way up - but the toytrain doesnt run during the monsoon so no cents detailing

The Cab will take you to the basecamp past which vehicles are not allowed, from there its a 1/2 hour walk to the market (see map - u basically walk along to the train track). If you take the toy train takes you all the way to the market (i.e. the start of the 'ring route' for the points)

Map of all the points

You basically follow the track to cover all the points - you can either go clockwise or anticlockwise (no - anticlockwise wont turn back time)
Loafing around all the points does'nt take too long (approx 3-4 hours) and there's not too much scope of 'trekking'. This makes it possible, in one day to see all the points and also walk one way up or down from Neral station. Walk down is preffered
*BI (BADidea) - Walking around with a pack of chips/food - I promise...you will be attacked by monkeys, not 'ek bandar clasroom ke andar' types...Im talking hugeass death defiying no shreek fearing super monkeys!












Must Carries
Nothing special really - the usual trek stuff, the recommended spare set of clothes and towel...contents (esp phone/wallet) securely wrapped in a plastic bag irrespective of the waterproofity of the backpack

Masst Buys
dunno - the usual chikki fudge I guess, but for
some reason I prefer Lonavala to shop for the chikky (no babes...not u)

Overnight stay
(I personally dont like overnights as they 1. double or triple the budget, 2. usually involves alkahole - meaning less moving and more laziness.)

But some decently good hotels there - prices at one of them approx -
Rs 2,000 per room (4 seater) during peak*
or rs 300-400 per person (same 4 seater) during off peak
*peak defined as school holidays and any weekend connected to a public holiday

Hike/Walk down (preferred since easier as quicker (2.5 hrs compared to around a 5 hour climb up) and also leaves the option to skip it altogether as its not 'that stunning'...in case for some reason time does not permit)- as mentioned takes 2.5 to 3 hours. Quite scenic and enjoyable. Especially tough on the joints and is not an easy at all, as assumed since downhill.
*BI - wearing those synthetic rain shorts without underwear is not advisable no matter how comfortable...the frictional discomfort will rub on only later!
*GI - Dont necessarily ruffle your feathers over the weathers - I was soo sure the central line would be closed considering it poured all the way during my hike down...to my amazement the trains were only a bit late but ran as per schedule travel time, and the heavy rain wasn't evident after Kalyan. And more heavy rains means more waterfalls and more mushy stuffses....i loav mushy stuffsess!


Here are views whilst walking down


Any other gringos with more informs about these place please give the infos for all the publicks to benifatting - also email leaves for inform about next LameassLemdu event (scheduled for 14th or 15th July - either Lonavla or lake place near Igatpuri)