Xpressions

Originally known as Katraj Snake park, this has now been expanded to add animals which were shifted from Peshwe Park.  Season is great and these people have taken efforts to maintain the park well. There are variety of deers, chinkara, Nilgai, 2 elephants as well, though they dont seem to be wild. We were lucky enough to spot the tiger in its playful mood. But the white tiger and the leopards were not particularly interested in showing themselves.   The park has decent parking facilities. Lots of street food right outside it, but does not look too clean or healthy. There is a canteen inside which is good for some light snacks and cold drinks. Being a weekend, it was a bit crowded. An additional attraction is boating in the adjascent katraj lake. They also have battery operated cars at resonable charges to move around. Overall a great weekend outing if you prefer to be outdoors in this fine weather rather then watching some silly movi...

Back from a wonderful vacation ... and still floating on its memories ... somebody give me a pinch. Its monday morning and I need to be awake and alert for the day's work. Oh .. but it was so good there, my mind keeps floating back ... :) Sharing a few snaps here ... as I cant stop revisiting it again and again ...

I had collected this information from various reviews on the internet. Added finer details after I actually visited the place in Oct 2010. How to Reach : Tarkarli is 5 kms from Malvan. Route 1 – Pune – Kolhapur - via Radhanagari ghat – Malvan - Tarkarli Picturesque route, radhanagari dam backwaters on the way. Road is deserted and lonely but entirely through forest area and very scenic. Risky if traveling at evening/night time as there is no help nearby in case of any kind of emergencies. Not much traffic Route 2 – Pune – Kolhapur -  via Gaganbawda ghat – Malvan - Tarkarli More traffic compared to radhanagari route. Goes through several small villages on the way hence not too risky but less beautiful compared to radhanagari. We were able to visit ‘gul’ (jaggery) making outlets on this way and were able to see the complete process, eat the fresh prepared gul and buy some as well. What to do : Beach : Tarkarli beach Nearby beaches like devbag beach and chivla beach. Boat ri...

Had a wonderful diwali this year. We had made a killa in our terrace and decorated  it with little clay statues of Shivaji Maharaj and 'mavlas'. kandil and diyas define diwali and afcourse gifts specially dryfruits complete it. Best part is the 'faral' which includes chakali, ladoos, karanji and shev ... yummy. Sharing few snaps of my favorite diwali stuff.

Wow .. the city looks amazing. Everybody has decorated their houses with lights and lanterns. I so love this time of the year. @Magarpatta they had done this amamzing thing ... they had asked the residents and office people to come out on streets and light lamps on the entire road around the aditi gardens in the centre of the city. And they had switched off the street lights. When we saw it from our office windows it looked so awesome. Entire road was illuminated through thousands of lamps and everyone was out on streets wishing each other and taking snaps. The magarpatta management had also arranged for a light and firecrackers show. Really made my day ... :) Just had a huge breakfast of the traditional 'faral' .. and the kitchen smells wonderful ... preps for lunch going in full swing .. :D Wishing everyone a very happy and joyeous Diwali .... Deepawali chya hardik shubheccha!!

Just back from a wonderful, awesome weekend trip to Tarkarli ... Completely unexploited and uncrowded, its an excellent beach and amazing sea food ... :) pomplet, surmai, kolambi, tisrya ... you name it and you have it ... Also tried snorkelling .... wonderful experiance. Going to search the history-geography of corals now. Collected so many beautiful shells and real big ones. Ohh ... was that my phone ringing??!! ... Good God ... am i back in Pune!! works's calling .... :(

4 years, 6 months and 3days ... this is what it took me to come back to this page ... Gosh!! .. what was I thinking?? ... or rather what was I doing all this time?? Hmm .. well for starters ... I got married .. :) But even then it seems like these 4 years have simply vanished. Are we in some kind of time machine? .. which seems to be running in a fast forward mode?? Ok .. things are coming back to me now ... I had been to one onsite trip, changed 2 jobs and afcourse there was this bad recession. I've made quite a few trips and attended many weddings. And yes I've changed 3 houses!! ... that did take up a whole lot of time. I can only be thankful, I've not had to change cities. In my usual day-to-day routine I always forget to take stock of what I have have done so far. But if I sit and think, looks like I have been doing quite a lot of things. Ohh .. but as always the list of things 'to do' is always huge and getting bigger all the ...

Had a great trip this weekend, away from the urban influences.We had been to Murud-Janjira, a small town on the Konkan coastal strip. It has a beautiful and amazingly unadulterated beach strip with white sands, blue waters and the greenery around. The mighty Janjira - the uncaptured fort completes the picture. Stayed there at the Golden swan resort which is bang on the beach.The resort is nicely managed. It has 2 sections - the main section and the newly added section. The newly added section is a bit too much secluded from the main section. May be its just my fears but it does not look too safe at night. But overall loved my stay there. Janjira is a sea-fort, the only fort which was not captured by the brave Maratha king Shivaji Maharaj. We need to travel to the fort on sailboats which start from the Rajapuri jetty in Murud. The main gate of the fort even though facing the shore, is built in such a way that it can be seen only...